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EU SHIPSAN ACT JA - Newsletter: Issue 25

07 September 2017/Categories: News, Newsletters

Download the EU SHIPSAN ACT JA - Newsletter: Issue 25 in .pdf format


Editorial



Dr. Martin Dirksen-Fischer, Head of Hamburg Port Health Authority, Germany








Dear readers, 

When this newsletter is reaching you, summer is almost over. We all hope that you had a wonderful time of vacation and fun, ready for new work coming up. And there is some. I personally had the great privilege to be invited by CHAEFA to a meeting in Lisbon in June, presenting our Online Risk Assessment tool that we in Hamburg developed together with our friends from Lithuania. This meeting was exciting because it was the chance to learn more about other programs supported by the EU in the field. It was, like our project, a very good mixture of younger and older experts.
I think that is utterly important that we as experienced professionals make sure that we spent a considerable part of our time to work with those just starting their careers in the field. Of course, it takes time to introduce younger colleagues to our ideas and concepts. Think about it the next time a student applies for an internship.

As we learn in the section “News from the leadership”, the member states of the EU nominated the partners for the next joint action coming up soon. As you noticed, the next joint action will also focus on the ground crossing points of entry. Even when these ground crossing points are of course mentioned in the International Health Regulations, it is easy to agree that it is absolutely worthwhile to concentrate on this somehow neglected issue and to develop SOPs etc. for the possible problems surrounding these areas.
Our colleague Martin Walker is again presenting a very interesting article on the new Ballast Water Convention. As I said before: work coming up. Martin, thanks for preparing us again for new challenges!
Alison Jones introduces us to the problems of radioactive contaminated goods. It is important to notice that all the relevant EU legislation can be found in the paper.
Please make sure that you read the article from Koraljka Knezic from Croatia in the section: People from the SHIPSAN Consortium.

Last not least: Have a look at the article from my dear colleagues and friends in Taiwan, Dr. Wu and Yu-hui Tsai on the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A very nice place indeed.
We will meet each other soon! All the very best again from Hamburg, Germany to you all.



News from the leadership

Prof Christos Hadjichristodoulou and Dr Barbara Mouchtouri, University of Thessaly, Greece

New Joint Action on preparedness and action at points of entry (air, maritime and ground crossing)
On 7th of June 2017, the authorities of the EU MS nominated as partners in the joint action 04-2017 “Preparedness and action at points of entry (ports, airports, ground crossings)” participated in the Info-day on Joint Actions organised by the European Commission and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) held in Luxemburg. More information about the info day can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/chafea/health/2017-infoday-ja-presentations_en.html. MS representatives were informed about the new procedures for proposal submission and had a preparatory meeting for the proposal preparation.

The preparatory meeting took place among the representatives from the nominated persons in the joint action from 13 Member States, CHAFEA, DG SANTE, FRONTEX. The roles of participants were discussed including the work package leaders and coordination of the joint action. The proposal is under development by the nominated authorities and several teleconferences have been conducted for the work plan development including budgetary and administrative issues.

The deadline for proposal submission is the 28th September 2017. Further information regarding the progress of the call is available at the CHAFEA website: http://ec.europa.eu/chafea/health/actions.html

Finally, a meeting was held among the new joint action coordinator and the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) on 13th July 2017 where the new joint action activities in relation to the maritime sector were discussed.




Thematic Sections

Environmental health and hygiene on ships
Ballast Water Update


Martin Walker, Port Health Officer, Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority, Felixstowe, England

Key Message: An update about the Ballast Water Convention due to enter into force next month.

Introduction
Readers may recall the series of articles that I published in the SHIPSAN ACT Newsletter from 2015 introducing various aspects of Ballast Water operations. At that time, the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention was awaiting ratification but this has now occurred and the International Ballast Water Management Convention enters into force on 8 September 2017. This occurred with Finland’s accession of the Convention, taking it past the target of greater than 30 states ratification, representing 35% of the worlds merchant shipping tonnage1.
The BWM Convention was driven by concern about the role of ballast water in ships introducing alien spieces which could harm or destroy susceptible ecosystems. There was also concern about the risk of spread of infectitious diseases (such as cholera) from the uncontrolled discharge of ballast water. It is this latter risk that is of interest to public health inspectors.

The Application of the BWM Convention2
The scope of the convention is wide with most types of vessels covered by the requirements. The convention applies to all ships entitled to fly the flag of any State (“Party”) and those not entitled to fly a Party flag but which operate under the authority of a Party. Amongst others, the Convention does not apply to:

1. Ships not designed or constructed to carry ballast water or those that carry permanent ballast water in sealed tanks;

2. Those operating only within States Party waters

3. Any warship, naval auxiliary or other shipowned or operated by a State and only on non-commercial service.

Regulation E-1 of the Convention requires ships of 400 gross tonnage or above to be subjected to surveys and certification requirements.
Since the delayed introduction of the Convention, timescales for compliance have moved. Newly constructed ships must comply with all requirements from delivery. When the convention enters force, other vessels over 400 gross tonnage will need to have an approved Ballast Water Management Plan and an International Ballast Water Management Certificate (the form of which is set out in Appendix 1 of the Convention. For existing vessels, the next renewal survey of their International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate becomes significant. This will require them to have an approved Ballast Water Treatment System installed and a new International Ballast Water Management Certificate.

Example of an International Ballast Water Management Certificate:



Key requirements
Firstly, all ships covered by the convention will need to hold a valid Ballast Water Management Plan (Regulation B-1). This plan must cover various matters including safety procedures, implementation actions to meet the requirements of the Convention, sediment disposal, co-ordination of ballast water discharges to sea and designated persons. Plans can take various forms and models are available such as those from Lloyds Register3. The plan needs to be specific to the ship and be approved by the relevant administration (the Government under whose flag the ship is operating).
Secondly, Regulation B-2 of the convention requires all relevant ships to maintain a Ballast Water Record Book (paper or electronic). Appendix 2 of the Convention sets out the information to be recorded.
Regulation B-3 covers Ballast Water Management and the phased timetabling for vessels to move from Ballast Water Exchange to Ballast Water Management (i.e. treatment of the ballast water). Regulation B-4 sets out the current requirements for Ballast Water Exchange (e.g. minimum depths and distances from land). Regulation B-5 refers to the appropriate management and removal of sediments in ballast tanks. Finally, Regulation B-6 covers the Duties of Officers and Crew.
From a public health perspective, we will have an interest in Regulation D-1 (the standards for Ballast Water Exchange) and Regulation D-2 (the Ballast Water Performance Standard which includes the levels of indicator microbes for the human health standard).
As the timetable moves and more vessels require retrofitting of Ballast Water Management systems, Regulation D-3 sets out the process for type approval of systems. Any systems must be approved by relevant Governments under guidelines set out by the International Maritime Organization (I.M.O.).

Suggested approach for inspectors
It should be noted that the prime enforcement role will fall to Port State Control, so inspectors should be aware and recognise this. However, ballast water is part of the Ship Sanitation Inspection and inspectors have a role in the public health protection aspects of ballast water operations. Personally, I do try to carry out a general check of documentation (within the usual time/resource constraints) to try to ensure that some of the key requirements of the above are in place. WHO have previously said that it is not expected that inspectors will be carrying out ballast water sampling/enforcing the convention under normal circumstances. That is a role for Port State Control. In the case of suspicion of significant problems, notifications to your local Port State Control and possibly joint working could be appropriate.

Possibility of changes?
Implementation of the Convention has not been without challenges. There are continuing moves to amend dates because of concerns about the practicalities of compliance by ships. Amendments were tabled at the recent Marine Environment Protection Committee Meeting (MEPC 71) for a delay in the implementation of the dates for compliance3. This had the effect of postponing compliance for some vessels from the previously agreed 5 years to 7 years. The final possible date for compliance will be 8 September 20244:

Source: NEPIA (North East P&I Association Limited) http://www.nepia.com/news/circulars/international-convention-for-the-control-and-management-of-ships-ballast-water-and-sediments-and-us-ballast-water-management-regulations/

Further resources
For those that haven’t tried it yet, I can recommend the Globallast Partnerships e-learning course5 (interesting, and the quizzes are challenging but well put together). For those with funding available, there are face to face training courses out there (for example Lloyds Register, SQE Academy and Warsash Maritime Academy). I haven’t attended these so cannot comment upon their suitability though. Online searches also yield a lot of results about ballast water management.

Conclusions
The entry into force of this long awaited Convention should have a positive effect for both the environment and public health. However, it is complex and adds to the myriad of considerations for inspectors carrying out ship sanitation inspections. As far as I can, I will try to cover any notable changes through the SHIPSAN ACT newsletter but also through PAGNet6. I suspect that there may still be changes during this transitional period.

References:
1 World Maritime News; http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/201520/imos-bwm-convention-to-enter-into-force-in-september-2017/ 

2 http://www.bsh.de/de/Meeresdaten/Umweltschutz/Ballastwasser/Konvention_en.pdf
3 http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/mepc-71-brief-ballast-water-management-implementation-scheme-agreed-in-principle/
4 http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/17-MEPC-71.aspx
5 http://archive.iwlearn.net/globallast.imo.org/globallast.imo.org/learning/index.html
6 https://extranet.who.int/pagnet/home



Chemical and radiological issues on ships

A review of changes in EU regulations regarding radiation contaminated goods imported to EU Member States from Japan

Alison Jones

Following the earthquake and tsunami off the east coast of Japan on 11 March 2011, parts of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant were severely damaged which resulted in the release of significant quantities of radioactivity into the environment. Of significance with regards to the contamination of Japan’s exported goods, was the large amount of radioactivity that was released to the air and deposited onto land resulting in the contamination of crops being grown across Japan.

On 25 March 2011, a special regulation was issued by the European Commission (EC) that imposed controls on the import into the European Union of foodstuffs and feedstuffs that originated in or were consigned from Japan, with emphasis on food grown in the Japanese prefectures most affected by the accident (EC, 2011a). Products that had left Japan before 28 March 2011 and those that were harvested or processed before 11 March 2011 were excluded as they could not have been contaminated. Two specific types of material were subject to regulation by the EC: foodstuffs, which are products intended for human consumption either immediately or after processing, and animal feed.

Under the conditions given in the regulation, the Japanese authorities were required to certify that food and feed were not significantly contaminated prior to export. Such certification could be given if the product either originated from outside the specified prefectures of Japan known to have been affected by radioactive contamination or, if it did originate from within those regions, it had been tested to confirm any contamination present was below maximum permissible levels (MPLs) (EC, 2011a). Any test results obtained on products due to be exported to the EU were sent to the EU through the Food and Feed Safety Alerts (RASFF) and the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange (ECURIE). In addition the EU regulation required that products of animal origin could only enter through a Member State’s Border Inspection Post (BIP) and products of non-animal origin could only enter through Designated Points of Entry (DPE). There was also a requirement for authorities in Japan to carry out identity checks on certain products produced in areas outside those where specific controls were imposed, in order to maintain confidence that the levels of contamination were low.

The EC regulations have been amended a number of times since they were introduced, mainly as a result of improvements in the information available about which products were likely to be contaminated and to what levels. Table 1 provides a summary of the main EC regulations applying to the import of food and feed from Japan, showing the MPLs for 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I and provides a summary of the most important changes.

Table 1. Main changes in EC regulations regarding food and feed from Japan following the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident


An important amendment made to the regulations during 2011 included the adoption of the MPLs used by the Japanese authorities (EC, 2011b) and the addition of other prefectures due to high levels of radioactive caesium found to be present in green tea leaves (EC, 2011c; EC, 2011d).
During 2012, there were more revisions amending the percentage of samples that were required to be tested for caesium (EC, 2012a); certain foods were excluded from the regulation (EC, 2012b); and new MPLs were adopted based on those used by the Japanese authorities, (EC, 2012c). Minor amendments were introduced in subsequent years. In 2016, a review was undertaken by the EC which took into account the more than 81 000 results of sampling and analysis on radioactivity in feed and food, plus more than 237 000 results of radioactivity in beef. Following this review a new regulation was implemented (EC, 2016), which is still in place, and restated the MPLs for food and feed and listed the products from specific prefectures that still required sampling and analysis for 134Cs and 137Cs.
In addition to permissible levels for food and feed the EC introduced a common threshold dose for the surface dose rate of ships or ships’ containers that, if exceeded, would result in more detailed investigations being performed and if necessary protective measures taken. On 15 April 2011 the threshold was set to 0.2 Sv h-1 at 1 m from the surface of the ship or container (EC, 2011f). The adequacy of the screening thresholds proposed by the EC was confirmed in early June 2011 by the Group of Experts established under Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty (Article 31 Group of Experts, 2011). The Japanese authorities measured radiation levels on ships and containers leaving Japan for foreign ports and, if measurements exceeded the threshold value, the ships were not permitted to leave the ports of Tokyo, Kawasaki or Yokohama. Official certificates recording radiation levels were issued to ship owners. With regard to passengers on ships, the International Maritime Organisation issued a press release indicating that screening of passengers for radiation arriving from Japan was considered unnecessary, as the radiation levels that were being measured did not present health or transportation safety hazards to passengers or crew. Monitoring of ships arriving in European ports carried out subsequently showed no significant levels of contamination and on 28 April 2011 the Commission decided there was no longer a need for systematic screening of ships and containers, as radiation monitoring around airports and seaports in Japan confirmed levels remained well within safe limits from a health perspective (EC, 2011g).

References
Article 31 Group of Experts (2011). Meeting on 8-9 June, opinion related to the accident in Fukushima. Measures with regard to containers and conveyances, and goods (other than food, feed, or cosmetics or medicinal products) imported into the EU after the accident in Fukushima. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/2011_06_09_opinion_fukushima_nonfood.pdf.

EC (2011a). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 297/2011 of 25 March 2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 54(L80), 5-8.

EC (2011b). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 351/2011 of 11 April 2011 amending Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 54(L97), 20-23.

EC (2011c). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 506/2011 of 23 May 2011 amending Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 54(L136), 52-55.

EC (2011d). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 657/2011 of 7 July 2011 amending Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 54(l180), 39-42.

EC (2011e). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 961/2011 of 27 September 2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station and repealing Regulation (EU) No 297/2011. Official Journal of the European Community 54(L252), 10-15.

EC (2011f). [Private communication, EC]

EC (2011g). [Private communication, EC]

EC (2012a). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 250/2012 of 21 March 2012 amending Regulation (EU) No 961/2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 55(L82), 3-4.

EC (2012b). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 284/2012 of 29 March 2012 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2011. Official Journal of the European Community 55(L92), 16-23.

EC (2012c). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 561/2012 of 27 June 2012 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 55(L168), 17-20.

EC (2012d). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 996/2012 of 26 October 2012 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012. Official Journal of the European Community 55(L92), 16-23.

EC (2014). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 322/2014 of 28 March 2014 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. Official Journal of the European Community 57(L95), 1-11.

EC (2016). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/6 of 5 January 2016 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014. Official Journal of the European Community 59(L3), 5-15.



Events

Past events:

CHAFEA workshop: Healthy work environments, active health promotion and diseases prevention at workplace
When: 8-9 June 2017 Where: Lisbon, Portugal
The Health Directorate for Health, DGS from Portugal, in collaboration with the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency and the European Commission organized the conference. Dr. Martin Dirksen-Fischer presented the EU SHIPSAN ACT focusing on the web-based risk assessment tool for occupational health risks per cargo ship type developed by EU SHIPSAN ACT Joint Action using the EU-OSHA Online Interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) tool.

Other forthcoming events:

9th International Conference on Legionella
When: 26th - 30th September 2017 Where: Rome, Italy
Prof. Christos Hadjichristodoulou, representing EU SHIPSAN ACT, will give a presentation titled Legionella colonization of water systems aboard passenger ships and differences with accommodation sites (hotels etc.) For further information please visit the conference website http://www.legionella2017.com/en/

19th Ballast Water Management Conference
When: 15th November 2017 - 16th November 2017 Where: Antwerp – Belgium
The conference will provide essential, expert guidance to shipowner/operators on how to prepare for and manage the BWT Systems in terms of selection, installation and technical operations, as well as advice on compliance, PSC and regulation once the convention is in place. The conference will also address Type Approval and system excellences for the BWT System Manufacturers.
For further information please visit the conference website: http://www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/ballast-water-management-conference-europe/

XI International Hispanic Francophone Congress of Maritime Medicine
Science, Technology and Ethics, Pillars of Maritime Health in the 21st Century

When: 20-22 September 2017 Where: Panama
The general objective of the conference is the multinational exchange of experiences in the certification, prevention and treatment of the health of seafarers, with emphasis in the digitization, standardization and globalization of the information.
For further information please visit the conference website: https://www.chfmmpanama.org/copy-of-inicio



People from the SHIPSAN consortium


Koraljka Knezic

My name is Koraljka Knezic and I come from Croatia. Croatia is a small country with a long coast which has more than thousand islands along Adriatic Sea.


I was born in the capital city, Zagreb, where I completed my studies and received a diploma in food technology and after an MSc in nutrition science from the University of Food Technology and Biotechnology.

Since 2005 I have been working in the Ministry of Health. I started my work in the Department for Implementation of the EU projects and International organizations and have become acquainted with the SHIPSAN project since. During 2007-2011 I was working as State Sanitary Inspector in the Food Safety Department and in 2011 was appointed as Head of the Border Sanitary Inspection Service. Over this period I actively participated in SHIPSAN project activates in Croatia and in 2012 was nominated as contact person and project’s coordinator for Croatia.

In May 2014 I moved to the Port of Rijeka from the central office and since then have worked as Senior State Border Sanitary Inspector-specialist. I have started to perform inspections of ships, on regular basic. During this period I was trained as a SHIPSAN inspector and have just recently finished my first 2 inspections in the Port of Split.

I strongly support and believe in the SHIPSAN Project and looking forward to its continuation.

In the meantime I will continue with the work and implementation of everything learned through this valuable project.


Recent Publications

The Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH) as a tool to detect maritime traffic-related health risks: analysis of MDH forms submitted to Spanish ports, October 2014 to March 2015

Eurosurveillance, Volume 22, Issue 24, 15 June 2017
López-Gigosos RM, Segura M, Díez-Díaz RM, Ureña I, Urzay D, Guillot P, Guerra-Neira A, Rivera A, Pérez-Cobaleda Á, Martín A, Nuñez-Torrón M, Alvarez B, Faraco M, Barrera JM, Calvo MJ, Gallegos J, Bermejo A, Aramburu C, Dávila M, Carreras F, Neipp R, Mariscal A.

Abstract:
The international maritime traffic of people and goods has often contributed to the spread of pathogens affecting public health. The Maritime Declaration of Health (MDH), according to the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), is a document containing data related to the state of health on board a ship during passage and on arrival at port. It is a useful tool for early detection of public health risks. The main objective of our study was to evaluate compliance with the model provided in the IHR, focusing on the format and degree of completion of MDH forms received at Spanish ports. We reviewed the content of 802 MDH forms submitted to nine Spanish ports between October 2014 and March 2015. Study results show that 22% of MDH forms presented did not comply with the recommended model and 39% were incomplete. The proportion of cargo ships with correct and complete MDH forms was lower than passenger ships; thus, the nine health questions were answered less frequently by cargo ships than passenger ships (63% vs 90%, p value < 0.001). The appropriate demand and usage of MDH forms by competent authorities should improve the quality of the document as a tool and improve risk assessment.
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=22815

Legionella risk assessment in cruise ships and ferries
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2017 Jun 12;24(2):276-282. Epub 2017 Jun 12.
Laganà P, Gambuzza ME, Delia S.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28664708

Abstract:
Introduction: The increasing development of marine traffic has led to a rise in the incidence of legionellosis among travellers. It occurs in similar environments, especially closed and crowded, and aboard ships Legionella survives and multiplies easily in water pipes, spreading into the environment through air conditioning systems and water distribution points. Although in recent years in the construction of cruise ships preventive measures aimed at curbing the proliferation of Legionella (design, materials, focus on the operation and maintenance of the water system), have been taken account, little or no attention has been paid to small ships which, in many cases, are old and not well maintained.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency and severity of Legionella contamination in ferries and cruise ships in order to adopt more specific control measures.

Materials and method: A prevalence study was carried out on 10 ferries and 6 cruise ships docking or in transit across the port of Messina (Sicily, Italy). Water and air samples collected from many critical points were tested for qualitative and quantitative identification of Legionella.

Results and conclusions: Legionella pneumophila sg 1 was isolated from the samples of shower and tap water in 7 (70%) of the 10 ferries examined, and in 3 (33%) of the 6 cruise ships examined, and L. pneumophila sg 2-14 in 8 (80%) and 1 (16.7%) of these ships, respectively. No Legionella contamination was found in whirlpool baths, air and ice samples. In conclusion, the data obtained confirm higher levels of Legionella contamination in local ferries and cruise ships, underlining the need to adopt corrective actions more specific for these smaller vessels.



What’s new on the website

Do you want to keep up to date with upcoming events?
All upcoming SHIPSAN ACT and other events are posted in the SHIPSAN ACT website under the News and Events section. Check it out! http://www.shipsan.eu/Home/NewsandEvents.aspx 



Port in focus




The port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Yu-hui Tsai - officer of Quarantine Division, Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan
Yi-Chun Wu - Division Director of Quarantine Division, Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan

Taiwan, is an island nation which sits astride Asia Pacific’s main trade routes. There are 4 international commercial ports of which Kaohsiung port is located at a crossroads of global trade. It eventually became the nation’s largest international commerce port.

The port was known as a natural lagoon occupied with a fishing village named “Takao” by natives at 16th century. It was gradually developed during Dutch era, Koxinga Era, and Qing Dynasty. In 1863, Takao officially opened for foreign trade as one of the condition according to Treaties of Tianjin. Further development plans were made to enhance the shipping volume within the Japanese era. Port of Takao was then given with a new name “Kaohsiung” and it created the economic miracle of Taiwan.

To date, the harbour area of Kaohsiung is 17,736 hectares big, it includes 1,871ha of land 15,865 of water and 18Kilometers of navigation channels. A total of 123 berths and 19 sets of mooring buoys allow it to handle up to 152 vessels simultaneously. Along with 27 container berths, there are also berths dedicated to handle coal, cement, bulk grains, petro chemicals and general bulk cargoes. The port handles 63% of nation’s entire annual overseas trade value and 70 % of container volume. With the quantity, Kaohsiung port has longstanding quality certification under ISO-9002, ISO-14001 and ISO-27001 information security standards. In addition to service quality, it also operates under TOSHMS occupational safety and health management system according to ILO-OSH guideline.

Development does bring a side-effect that no one is intended to, environmental pollution. To reduce carbon emission, port of Kaohsiung had made its effort by requiring ships to reduce the speed when calling to port, promoting the use of shore electricity and refurbishing buildings with solar power system etc. In 2014, the port of Kaohsiung received a green port certification which was the first and only among the Asia pacific region. As of today, 7 international ports of Taiwan have passed the green port certificate with EU ECOPOS recognition.

As known to the industry, Asia’s cruise market has been record-breaking these last two years. In addition to commerce focused, Port of Kaohsiung also serves as home port from this year on. Cruise liner offer destinations such as Hong Kong, Japan and Vietnam. The passenger growth from 42,998 to 127,950 person in 2017 is impressive. In recent years, the government of Kaohsiung city and TIPC has been working together to turn the heavy-industry harbour into a community friendly area. The redevelopment projects including fragment land consolidate and transform abandoned warehouses into culture facility e.g. new bay area and Pier-2. Facilities such as Kaohsiung public library, exhibition centre, Maritime culture and popular music centre are offering various events and activities. This transformation is also hoping to be of attractions to the rising cruise market. Centuries’ old port has been given new life and bringing its glory into the next century.

Source: Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC)










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