INLAND NAVIGATION IN CROATIA 2008

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1 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:20 AM Page 1 INLAND NAVIGATION IN CROATIA 2008 When defining its inland waterway transport strategy, Croatia needs to follow the European transport policy but also take into account its own specific traits in order to insure that the adjustment process is as successful as possible as well as beneficial for Croatian economic operators Strategy for the Development of Inland Waterway Transport in Republic of Croatia ( )

2 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 2 When an average citizen of Croatia hears the term navigation in 99 percent of the cases the first association is the sea navigation, which is not strange when we take into account the long maritime tradition of our country. Unfortunately, for a small number of people the first association would be the river due to the fact that Croatia s inland waterway transport potential is often forgotten. Croatia is, without a doubt, a Mediterranean country, but also a central European country situated on one of the most important European transport corridors Danube corridor. Three biggest Croatian rivers, Sava (562 km long), Drava (305 km) and Danube (188 km) are international rivers and an integral part of the European inland waterway network, according to the European Agreement On Main Inland Waterways of International Importance (AGN, 1997). Although the condition of our rivers today is far from ideal, recent awareness of their great potential is giving hope that positive changes are on the way in this transport sector. Croatia, hoping to become a member of the European Union in the near future, has fully accepted the initiative of the European Commission, which, according to the White Paper (European Transport Policy from 2001) gives an advantage to the inland navigation in comparison to other modes of transport. In this light, it is realistic to expect more positive attention towards inland navigation in the near future, as well as to ensure greater financial means for maintenance and rehabilitation of our rivers in order to develop the sustainable transport system of inland waterways which could be successfully integrated into the Trans-European transport network. Of course, there is a lot of work ahead of us. In the last fifteen years, inland navigation was almost marginalised, partly due to the Croatian homeland war and partly due to the lack of interest for this type of transport. However, as we become more and more aware of importance of environmental protection and as we are trying to solve the problem of traffic congestion on our roads, inland navigation presents itself as the perfect solution. This cost-effective and environment friendly type of transport, which can be optimally combined into the concept of intermodal transport, indisputably has a very bright future in Europe. In this light, Croatia has no choice but to join the European trends and to welcome the accession to the European community with inland navigation harmonised with the European standards. This annual overview of the most important events in 2008 is our modest attempt to promote inland navigation in order for Croatian public to become aware of benefits and potentials of this type of transport. Damir Obad General Manager/Inland Navigation Development Centre CONTENTS: Inland Waterway Transport in Croatia Status Quo... 3 Inland Navigation Directorate... 6 Feasibility Study and Project Documentation for the Rehabilitation and Development of Transport and Navigation on the Sava River Waterway... 8 CRORIS Project of RIS Implementation in Croatia...10 FP7 projects: PLATINA and RISING...12 POWA 2008 Conference Statistics...16

3 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 3 INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT IN CROATIA STATUS QUO INLAND WATERWAY TRANSPORT IN CROATIA STATUS QUO Croatia is a country with strategically favourable geographical position. Situated in the very heart of Europe and Pan- European corridor, Croatia is a very important link in the chain of several transport routes (corridors Vb, Vc, X and VII Danube corridor). The position on the corridor VII makes Croatia one of the Danube countries with broad network of inland waterways which potential is still unexploited. Inland waterway network The total length of inland waterways in Croatia amounts to 804,1 km (539,2 km of international waterways and 264,9 km of national and trans-national waterways). Out of 539,2 km of international waterways, 286,9 km are categorized under class IV. Croatia is located on the Danube corridor with three main rivers: Sava (Croatian stretch of 562 km), Drava (305 km) and Danube (188 km). According to the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of International Importance (AGN), which was signed and ratified by the Republic of Croatia, rivers Sava, Drava and Danube and the future Danube-Sava canal are part of the network of European inland waterways and inland ports in Osijek, Vukovar, Slavonski Brod and Sisak are part of the network of European inland ports open for international transport. Signing the AGN agreement, Croatia also made a commitment to build and maintain its international waterways in compliance with standards set for the waterway categories from IV up to Vb. Out of existing inland waterways in Croatia, Danube has best conditions for navigation and is classified as AGN class VIc waterway on the entire Croatian stretch. Drava doesn t have such favourable conditions for navigation due to the seasonal water level decrease and consists of three stretches with different AGN class (II,III and IV). The longest river in Croatia, Sava, is in the least favourable state for navigation due to the 15 year long neglect and war consequences. On the major part of its waterway Sava is classified as AGN class III waterway while the only commercial transport on this stretch is crude oil transport between Rušćica (near Slavonski Brod) and Sisak. On the remaining part of Sava the only navigation consists of vessels for the sand and gravel exploitation. In mid 2008, under the sponsorship of the International Sava River Basin Commission (Sava Commission), Feasibility Study and Project Documentation for the Rehabilitation and Development of Transport and Navigation on the Sava River Waterway was 3

4 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 4 finished, which is to be used as a basis for all future projects and investments in the Sava waterway. Present condition in figures According to the 2007 statistical data, inland waterway transport accounts for just 0,3% of total cargo transport in Croatia, while total cargo transport in inland ports amounted to 1 million and 635 thousand tonnes, which is 62 thousand Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. There are four port authorities: Sisak, Slavonski Brod, Osijek and Vukovar which work closely with Harbour Master s Offices in these ports. Agency for Inland Waterways is a public institution under administrative supervision of the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, responsible for management and maintenance of inland waterways in Croatia. tonnes less (5,48%) less than in Nevertheless, if we look at these figures in a longer time span, the growth trend can be seen. According to the estimations for 2008, in comparison with results from 2007 the decrease in cargo transport by inland waterways will amount to approx. 2,55%. Shippers face a somewhat better situation and they even record growth in transport. The biggest growth in 2007 was by Dunavski Lloyd Sisak Plc. which amounted to approx. 25% more than the previous year. Commercial fleet in Croatia consists of 57 ships with total capacity of more than 44 thousand tonnes, but with average age of 40 years. This capacity is not sufficient to cover current transport demand for transport to/from Croatian inland ports. For this reason Croatian shippers cover only 20% of overall transport in Croatian inland ports, the rest is performed by foreign shippers. According to the data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, 385 thousand tonnes of cargo was transported on Croatian inland waterways in 2007, whereas in first nine months of 2008, the figure was 194 thousand tonnes. Institutional framework Institutional framework of inland navigation in Croatia consists primarily of the Inland Navigation Directorate which operates within the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. Within the framework of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, special territorial units Harbour Master s Offices in Sisak, Slavonski Brod, Osijek and Vukovar operate and their primary function is to control and monitor the legislation which concerns the safety of navigation. Within the Ministry, the Directorate for the Navigation Safety, Sea and Inland Waterways Protection is also operating and deals with inspection, administrative and expert affairs within the sector. Port authorities represent public institutions for management and development of ports and terminals on Croatian rivers and terminals and are within the jurisdiction oft he Other important institutions for inland navigation sector are: Croatian Register of Shipping, Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction as well as Hrvatske Vode. Legal basis for the regulation of inland navigation sector in Croatia is Inland Navigation and Inland Ports Act which was adopted at the end of Activities of subjects involved in this sector are regulated by numerous regulations and directives and Croatia is also the signatory of a large number of international agreements concerning inland navigation, including Convention regarding the Regime of Navigation on the Danube, Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin, European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of International Importance (AGN), Budapest Convention on the Contract for the Carriage of Goods by Inland Waterway (CMNI) and European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN). Inland ports The biggest inland port in Croatia is the Port Vukovar, situated on the Danube River waterway, with transhipment of 811 thousand tonnes of cargo in 2007, which represents a 11,5% decrease in comparison with Reasons for this decrease are probably decrease in the transhipment of the iron ore from the coal-mine Omarska in Bosnia and Herzegovina and WTO decision on abolition of sugar subventions which caused the decrease of around 100 thousand tonnes of cargo at the Port of Vukovar. In the meantime, there was an increase in the transhipment of grains and also clay which is being exported to Romania and Bulgaria by company Opeka. The future of the port Vukovar will depend on the plans for further expansion of the port towards east and for the first phase of implementation of this project it is necessary to invest about 40 million Euro. Port Vukovar East should be finished by the 2012 and should have a total capacity of 2,5

5 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 5 million tonnes of dry cargo and 800 thousand tonnes of liquid cargo. After the new port is finished, further operations of the Port of Vukovar should be connected to the future Danube-Sava canal. For the Port of Osijek, a Master plan for the development of the port is finished, which includes the existing port in Nemetin. According to the Master plan, it is foreseen to close the port basin in order to prevent constant deposition of sand order to satisfy strict EU standards and prepare for the future market conditions. Until 2007 Dunavski Lloyd was the only Croatian shipper which was changed with establishment of the company Dunavska Plovidba. The company has the head office in Vukovar and a branch office in Sisak and has two ships which can also navigate on river canals. Dunavska Plovidba plans to transport around 10 thousand and gravel into the old river bed. Other plans include modernization of port capacities for the transhipment of bulk cargo and building new port facilities for cargo used in construction industry. Future investments are expected also from the port concessionaire (Luka Tranzit d.d. part of the NEXE group), according to the 2006 Feasibility study for the construction of port infrastructure on the bulk cargo terminal South bank. During 2005 river shipway was open in the port Sisak, on the site of restored dry-dock. This project was necessary in order to enable safety inspection of ships on the river Sava. Without this object, which is the only shipway on Croatian inland waterways, our shippers would have no choice but to repair their ships in dry-docks in other Danube countries. In 2006 preliminary design for the project Croatian river nautical centre was made. This centre is planned to have a multipurpose character and will include facilities for leisurenautical activities, education and training of skippers, regional control centre for surveillance of navigation on Sava etc. The study on the possibilities of development of the port Sisak is also planned in the future. Main activities performed in the port of Slavonski Brod are focused on the project for development of port area i.e. construction of entire port area with all accompanying objects. The future port of Slavonski Brod is planned to have a capacity of 1,5 million tonnes of cargo per year. The port of Slavonski Brod will cover an area of approximately 1.3 million square meters and will enable numerous commercial activities (manufacturing, storage, transhipment, customs, catering etc.) Shippers Biggest river shipping company in Croatia is Dunavski Lloyd from Sisak, with 450 thousand tonnes of cargo transported in 2007 and with expectancy of increase of 50 thousand tonnes of extra cargo in Their fleet comprises of around 50 ships for cargo transport. In the upcoming years the company plans to modernize and renew the fleet in tonnes of cargo annually on the inland waterways of Croatia and European Union. This is the first company to sail on Main and Rhine under the Croatian flag. Strategy and guidelines for development Development of inland navigation in Croatia is defined within the Strategy for Transport Development adopted in 1999 by the Croatian parliament, which analyses status quo and defines direction for future development of all transport modes. More detailed plans are included in the Strategy for Development of Inland Waterway Transport in the Republic of Croatia for the period , which was adopted in This strategy is a Croatian contribution to implementation of European action programme NAIADES (Navigation and Inland Waterway Action and Development in Europe) and harmonization of principles of transport policies is conducted in six areas which include safety of navigation and environmental protection, markets, infrastructure, fleet, jobs and skills, promotion and administrative ability. In the future, the main and biggest infrastructure project for the inland waterway transport should be the construction of 61,5 km long multipurpose Danube-Sava canal, which is clearly specified in the Strategy for Transport Development from 1999 and Strategy for Development of Inland Waterway Transport from In the next ten years it is planned to allocate 5,5 billion kuna for this project. Development of River Information Services (RIS) system is also one of priorities according to the Strategy for Development of Inland Waterway Transport and also for the integration of river transport in intermodal transport network. In the future it is planned to establish the national RIS Control Centre which would be responsible for management of the RIS system in Croatia. The objective of Croatian government is to continue to stimulate the development of inland waterway transport in Croatia through rehabilitation of inland waterways, modernization of Croatian port and increase of river fleet capacity which is not sufficient even for current transport demand. 5

6 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 6 INLAND NAVIGATION DIRECTORATE Inland Navigation Directorate is one of eleven directorates in the structure of the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. According to the Directive on internal organization of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Development, main jurisdictions of the Directorate are to recommend the development policy for inland waterway transport, to ensure the enforcement of determined policy, to execute the legislation concerning inland waterway transport, shippers, inland ports, inland waterways, traffic and shipping activities and to plan and implement infrastructure construction projects and programmes for technological development and innovations. In a narrower sense activities of the Inland Navigation Directorate are as follows: Nomination and preparation of draft proposals of acts and other regulations, as well as regulative measures for management and administration of inland navigation system Participation in the activities of international organisations and commissions and nomination and participation in the preparation of draft proposals of agreements and other international acts Administrative supervision for application of regulations in inland navigation Coordination and supervision of activities of port authorities and the Agency for Inland Waterways Analysis of conditions of inland waterways, inland ports and business of economic subjects in inland navigation Nomination of development programmes for ports, inland waterways and shippers and programmes for technological development and innovations Within the Inland Navigation Directorate three separate departments are organised: Department of legal and international affairs Department of river transport and ports Department of planning and project management Department of legal and international affairs is constituted of two sections: Section for international legal affairs and harmonisation with European Community acquis and Section for legal affairs. According to this division Department of legal and international affairs has two important functions: first, this Department prepares draft proposals of acts and other regulations concerning inland navigational, supervises enforcement of inland navigation regulations and supervises activities of port authorities and Agency for inland waterways, and second, deals with affairs concerning harmonisation of Croatian regulations with regulations of European Union, prepares draft proposals of international and transnational agreements and conventions and participates in activities of international organisations dealing with inland navigation: UNECE (UN Economic Commission for Europe- Inland Transport Committee-Working Party on Inland Water Transport-Working Party on Technical and Safety Requirements in Inland Navigation), Danube Commission, Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine and Sava Commission. Department of river transport and ports is also divided in two sections: Section of shipping and navigation affairs and Section for ports and inland waterways. Duties of this Department are to nominate transport and economic policy for river transport and development programmes for ports, shippers and inland waterways, to coordinate and supervise the activities of port authorities and Agency for inland waterways, to coordinate affairs concerning maintenance, marking and construction of inland waterways, ports and terminals, to analyse the status and business of shippers and inland ports, to nominate regulative measures in the sector of river transport and to monitor and analyse commercial trends in the ports. Department of planning and project management is divided into: Section of project preparation and planning and Section of project management. Main activities of this Department are: preparation, planning and management of development projects for the inland navigation sector, budget control and coordination of procurement for inland navigation. Further, this Department also deals with activities of preparation of documentation and management of projects financed from dedicated programmes and funds of European Union, as well as from other international funds supporting inland navigation, and also preparation and implementation of research and development programmes, technological innovation programmes and programmes for support of inland navigation development. Janko Brnadrić, Assistant minister for inland navigation

7 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 7 Janko Brnardić, assistant minister for inland navigation, has spent almost entire his working life in the inland navigation sector. He was born in Lijevi Degoj, municipality Pokupsko, finished elementary and high-school in Sisak and graduated from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb. He started his professional career as an inland navigation ship officer and shipmaster. In 1984 he became a navigation safety inspector in the Harbour Master Office Sisak and in 1990 he was promoted to the captain of the Harbour Master s Office Sisak and stayed on that position until 2006 when he was appointed for assistant minister for inland navigation in the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. In his leisure time, Mr Brnardić is a passionate yachtsman and member and president of yacht club Siscia from Sisak as well as deputy president of the assembly of the Croatian Sailing Federation. 1. Before you were appointed assistant minister for inland navigation, you were the captain of the Harbour Master s Office Sisak for many years. Could you describe in short your experiences from that period and how is your current position different from the previous one? I was the captain of the Harbour Master s Office Sisak for a long period, from 1990 to Biggest difference between my current and previous job is that before my role was more operational and today it s more advisory and supervisory. As the captain of the Harbour Master Office Sisak I was responsible for the following affairs: supervision of safety of navigation, execution of navigational accident investigations, inspection, determination of vessel s navigability, determination of professional qualification of vessel s crew members for acquiring licenses for inland navigation professions, and also for registration and deleting of vessels from official register and issuing formal certificates, ship books and personal documents for crew. Today as assistant minister for inland navigation, I m primarily responsible for nomination of development policy for inland navigation, ensuring the enforcement of determined policy, acts and regulations concerning inland navigation, planning and enforcement of infrastructure construction projects and technological development and innovation programmes. Further, I consider promotion of river transport in Croatia and effort to give grater importance to this mean of transport an important task. 2. In the last few years, since you have been the head of the Inland Navigation Directorate, some positive changes in the inland navigation sector have become obvious. According to you, what are the most important developments in inland navigation in Croatia recently? I must admit that positive movements are certainly obvious in inland navigation in Croatia. Primarily I must emphasize positive changes regarding legislation. In the last few years several acts and regulations were adopted, which are regulating all aspects of inland navigation in Croatia and are in compliance with the legislation of the European Union. Inland Navigation and Inland Ports Act is a basic law which regulates inland navigation in Croatia and was adopted in 2007, while 2008 was especially productive year for legislation in inland navigation. In 2008 a number of regulations, directives and ordinances were adopted, including: Regulations on navigation on inland waterways, Regulations for professional qualification of inland navigation personnel, Regulations on certificates and books of inland navigation vessels and Regulations on River Information Services. I m especially satisfied with the fact that two development policy documents were also adopted: Strategy for development of inland waterway transport in Croatia ( ) and Mid-term development plan for inland waterways and inland ports. I also find very important the establishment of Agency for Inland Waterways, specialized agency for management of inland waterways, and also the initiation of the Sava initiative and later establishment of the Sava Commission with the goal to rehabilitate the river Sava. 3. How do you see inland navigation in Croatia in the next ten years? Considering the fact that we will became an EU member in that period, what is still needed to change in our inland navigation sector in order to be ready for the accession? Concerning the harmonisation of Croatian laws on inland navigation with the laws of European Union, our job is almost done. Our Inland Navigation and Inland Ports Act is in complete compliance with similar laws of EU member countries. I see the inland navigation in Croatia in the next ten years in the framework of the recently adopted Strategy for development of inland waterway transport in Croatia ( ) and Mid-term development plan for inland waterways and inland ports. We have defined our objectives in compliance with the European action plan for inland waterway transport NAIADES, which is oriented towards six areas: navigation safety and environmental protection, markets, infrastructure, shipping, jobs and skills, promotion and administrative ability. In the next 10 years I hope we will make significant progress in all six areas and our efforts are primarily oriented towards enhancement of existing status of infrastructure. Here we can divide our priorities between inland waterways and ports. Priorities concerning inland waterways are: maintaining the sections which comply with the requirements of international navigability class according to the European standards, upgrading of sections of international inland waterways which don t have a required navigability class (part of river Sava from Slavonski Šamac to Oprisavci and from Slavonski Brod to Sisak and part of trans-national inland waterway of river Drava from Osijek to Ždralice), implementation of River Information Services system on all inland waterways in Croatia, upgrading the quality of marking of inland waterways, application of environmental standards in the process of regulation and maintenance of inland waterways and in the end project for the construction of Danube-Sava channel which will hopefully start soon. Priorities concerning inland ports are: modernization and construction of additional capacities of the port Vukovar on the existing port area (in the zone of the city of Vukovar Priljevo New Port East ), development of the new port Osijek and transfer of old port Osijek on the location the new port, development of port Slavonski Brod and construction of new port Sisak-Crnac. In the next ten years, it is realistic to expect that we will succeed in accomplishing most of our objectives concerning enhancement of the status of inland waterways in Croatia, while concerning ports we hope that we will start all the specified projects and that most of them will be finished by

8 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 8 FEASIBILTY STUDY AND PROJECT DOCUMENTATION FOR THE REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT AND NAVIGATION ON THE SAVA RIVER WATERWAY Organised by the International Commission for the Sava River Basin (Sava Commission) and Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Development of Republic of Croatia, the results of the Feasibility Study and Project Documentation for the Rehabilitation and Development of Transport and Navigation on the Sava River Waterway were presented to the public. Public presentation, which was held on 14 th January 2009 and was opened by Mr. Branko Bačić, state secretary of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Development and Sava Commission chairman, offered the information on the course of study making, conclusions of the study and future action plan for the rehabilitation and development of transport on river Sava. The making of the study, which was equally financed by the riparian countries of the Framework agreement on the Sava river basin (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia and Republic of Serbia), started on the 1 st December 2007 and was finished on 31 st July 2008 with presentation of the Final report to the commissioner of the study, Sava Commission. This study was produced with a goal to develop the strategy and programme for the enhancement of the Sava river waterway in order to rehabilitate the trade and cargo and passenger transport. Analysis made in the framework of this study are to contribute to increase of public and pri- vate investments in transport on river Sava according to proposed economic and financial analysis, to propose the coordination of activities in such a way to define the priorities of public interest, to ensure the integrated approach in water management, enhancement of infrastructure, energy production, flood prevention and numerous environmental aspects in the Sava river basin. Numerous experts of different backgrounds participated in the making of the study including civil engineers, transport and logistics engineers, electrical and computer engineers, economists and environmental scientists. After intensive seven-months work on the study, following final conclusions were made: By structure, the Sava River waterway can be divided into two parts which characteristics are significantly different. Section Belgrade-Sisak is favourable for commercial transport and it is urgent to rehabilitate and upgrade the waterway on this section according to the dimensions of the Sava Commission classification. This section, besides great commercial potential also offers numerous possibilities for the development of nautical and other forms of tourism. On the other hand, for the section Sisak-Brežice only development of tourism is recommended. During the calculation of costs for the upgrading of the waterway downstream of Sisak from class IV to class V, it appeared that it is more cost-efficient to upgrade the waterway directly to the class Va because the difference in costs is only 7,1%. Total costs for the construction of the class IV waterway for section Belgrade-Sisak were estimated at EUR, while costs for the same section for the class Va waterway were estimated at EUR. Upgrading the waterway on the section upstream of Sisak is not commercially and financially justified. The only option for this section is to develop the class II waterway for the purpose of recreational navigation but this is foreseen in the long-term plans. If the Port of Rugvica, in the vicinity of Zagreb, is to be constructed and if there is an objective to develop the navigation on the section Sisak-Rugvica, this section needs to be Sava Commission class V waterway in order to be efficiently connected with section downstream from Sisak. There has to be emphasized once more that this

9 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 9 kind of development is not commercially and financially justified in any way and that decision on this project will have to come out of political, social or some other noncost-effective reasons. Final result of the study is the Action Plan for the Rehabilitation to SCC Class Va of Sava River section Belgrade-Sisak which proposes next steps in respect of rehabilitation of inland waterway transport. Among activities with high priority for rehabilitation and development of transport on the river Sava are authorization of results of this Feasibility Study, consensus on distribution of tasks and responsibilities among riparian countries, sources of financing, making detailed master plan for rehabilitation, making an environmental impact study and making a detailed master plan for the implementation of RIS. After preliminary works physical works need to follow, which include overall marking of the waterway, dredging and construction of hydraulic engineering projects, other rehabilitation works, implementation of RIS, as well as making several master plans for the development of tourism, environmental protection, port development and development of overall inland navigation sector. INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM PARTICIPATING IN THE PROJECT: PACIFIC CONSULTANTS INTERNATIONAL (PCI) (JAPAN) WITTEVEEN+BOS (NETHERLANDS) NEA (NETHERLANDS) CRUP (INLAND NAVIGATION DEVELOPMENT CENTRE) (CROATIA) DVOKUT-ECRO (CROATIA) 9

10 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 10 CRORIS PROJECT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF RIVER INFORMATION SERVICES IN CROATIA The term of River Information Services (RIS), information services specialized for inland waterway transport, emerged in Europe at the end of the last century. On the basis of results of several research and development projects and different applications, in 1998 European Commission had defined the concept of River Information services as harmonised information services created to support traffic and transport management in inland navigation, including interfaces to other transport modes. In 2001 Croatia participated in Pan-European conference on inland waterway transport in Rotterdam and signed, together with the rest of the European countries, a binding declaration that it will develop and implement RIS in the inland navigation system by the year Croatian development of RIS started in October 2003 when an official contract was signed between Inland Navigation Development Centre Ltd. (CRUP) and the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, which marks the official start of the CRORIS (Croatian River Information Services) project. With this contract CRUP was given the role of RIS coordinator for Croatia, which covers development, implementation and maintenance of the RIS system, and also representing Croatia in a various international scientific and expert groups involved with RIS. Shortly after the establishment of company in 2003, CRUP joined as an observer the Pan-European project COMPRIS (Consortium Operational Management Platform for River Information Services) which was initiated by the European Commission with the goal to standardise and harmonise elements of the RIS system on Danube and Rhine rivers. Within the Contract on development of information services system in inland navigation, CRUP created the study Concept for implementation of River Information Services in Croatia that is considered to be the

11 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 11 written basis of CRORIS project. Within the scope of this study a detailed work plan was elaborated that structured implementation of RIS in two phases: Phase I - Research and development parallel with FP5 project COMPRIS (Consortium Operational Management Platform for River Information Services) and Phase II: Installation of RIS on all Croatian inland waterways according to the European standards. The implementation of RIS was carried out according to the plan and at the end of 2005 Phase I was finished followed by implementation of Phase II. Phase II includes implementation of RIS on all inland waterway of Republic of Croatia (except Sava) and was finalised in Successful RIS implementation in Croatia resulted from several favourable factors. As Croatia is approaching EU membership and is in the process of harmonisation of its regulations with European transport policy, importance and benefits of inland waterway transport were finally recognised. Considering that main problems of inland navigation in Croatia were very bad condition of inland waterways and non-existence of marking and signalling system, in 2005 Croatian Agency for Inland Waterways was established with the purpose to act as responsible authority regarding these issues. Agency for Inland Waterways, as a government agency, also became responsible for management and supervision of the RIS system in Croatia. Development and implementation of RIS in Croatia was conducted hand-in-hand with other EU countries, simultaneously on two levels, administrative (Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Interior, Agency for Inland Waterways, port authorities, etc.) and commercial (port operators, shippers, etc.). After two years of hard work, on the 18 th January 2006 first RIS centre in Vukovar was established and today 100 % of Croatian part of Danube and commercial part of Drava is covered with the AIS signal. Next logical steps are equipping of Croatian river vessels with AIS transponders and introduction of RIS to commercial users. In the last couple of years there has been an evident interest of governmental administration for enhancement of inland waterway transport in Croatia. At the end of 2007 Inland Navigation and Inland Ports Act was adopted which is in full compliance with similar laws of EU member states and which regulates RIS in Croatia for the first time. In 2008 two very important documents were adopted: Regulations on River Information Services and Strategy for development of inland waterway transport in Croatia ( ), where RIS is defined as one of the most significant factors of safety of navigation in Croatia. In the last three years CRUP has managed to develop state-of-the-art system which is in compliance with RIS systems developed by EU member states. In the technical framework, Croatian RIS system fully meets requirements of the Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on harmonised river information services on inland waterways in the Community. The experience so far is that the technical development of RIS is on the same level of development as in other European countries, while the resolution of administrative issues is lacking behind. In order for the system to become completely functional it is necessary to legally regulate River Information Services, meaning to strictly define roles of all the stakeholders in the system, their rights and duties and to establish the main responsible body which will control the system, i.e. National RIS control centre. In the near future Croatia plans to extend RIS implementation on the Sava River in cooperation with neighbouring countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia. Having in mind current situation of unfavourable navigational conditions on the Sava River waterway, RIS implementation would have a positive effect on recovery of navigation on this river which has a significant transport and political significance in the region. 11

12 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 12 FP7 PROJECTS: PLATINA AND RISING During 2008 two significant European projects dealing with inland navigation received the financial support of the European Union through 7 th Framework Programme (FP7). 7 th Framework Programme is the main instrument of the European Commission for financing of scientific research and development which helps to organise cooperation between universities, research centres and industry (including small and medium enterprises) and offers financial support for their scientific projects. First cycle of framework programme started in 1984 and Croatia, as a candidate country, has had the opportunity to participate in this programme since 1 st January In the framework of 7 th Framework Programme, Croatia will participate in projects PLATINA - Platform for the implementation of NAIADES (22 partners from 9 European countries) and RISING - RIS services for improving the integration of inland waterway transport into intermodal chains (23 partners from 11 countries). In both projects Croatia will be represented by Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP). PLATINA On 2 nd June 2008 European Commission started the project Platform for the implementation of NAIADES (PLATINA), which represents important step in the promotion of inland waterway transport. Strategy for stimulation and promotion of benefits of inland navigation had been defined in 2001 in so called White paper, which represents the transport policy of European Union and specifies that every EU member state needs to strive to better exploitation of inland navigation in order to unburden congested transport corridors and to contribute to sustainable mobility. In order to define in more detail the actions of the European Commission regarding inland navigation, in 2001 integrated action programme for promotion of inland waterway transport (NAIADES) was published. PLATINA is a project foreseen as a sort of a platform for implementation of NAIADES. The main objective of this project is to support the European Commission, Member States and other European countries in implementation of actions for enhancement of inland navigation by bringing together all relevant actors concerned in a broad knowledge network, thereby maximising its contribution to the European policy goals. PLATINA as a coordinated action in the framework of 7 th Framework Programme for research and development will provide joint framework for further NAIADES actions until Project consortium includes 22 institutions (waterway operators and administrations, representatives of the IWT industry and fleet operators, promotion and development organisations, inland navigation educational institutions, experienced consultants and research institutes and international river protection commissions) from 9 European countries (Austria, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Croatia, Finland, Romania and Hungary). Project leaders are: via donau from Austria, Voies navigables de France from France, Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt from Germany, Promotie Binnenvaart Vlaamderen from Belgium and Rijkswaterstaat Centre for Transport and Navigation from Netherlands. As one of 22 project partners, CRUP is the only representative of Croatia. Organised according to the structure of NA- IADES (five action areas), project PLATINA comprises of five work packages oriented towards specific policy areas: market, fleet, jobs and skills, image and infrastructure. PLATINA will provide technical and organisational support for targeted policy actions by ensuring active participation of key stakeholders of the inland navigation sector, as well as organisations and administrations from Member States. Further, in the scope of PLATINA expert meeting and working groups will be organised, as well as research studies required for the implementation of actions. For the first project year following actions are planned: creation of information portal for inland navigation (available of the web address

13 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 13 PLATINA IN SHORT Project financed by the European Commission in the framework of the 7 th Framework Programme (FP7) for research and development Main objective: promotion of inland waterway transport on European level 22 partners from 9 countries Duration: 4 years (stat 2 nd June 2008) Financial value: 8.35 million EURO NAIADES Integrated action programme for promotion of inland waterway transport Published at the beginning of 2006 EU Council of Transport Ministers had adopted the plan in June 2006, European Parliament in October 2006 Mid 2006 European Commission had integrated NAIADES in European transport policy by revision of 2001 document establishment of inland navigation educational network and technical support for further development of River Information Services. In order to ensure the maximum political support for this project, a Steering Committee was established which includes representatives of the Ministries of Transport from all countries participating in the project. Croatian representative in the PLATINA Steering Committee is Mrs Marijana Cindrić, Head of Department of Planning and Project Management of the Inland Navigation Directorate. RISING Project named RISING RIS services for improving the integration of inland waterway transport into intermodal chains, had officially started on 1 st February 2009 and it is planned to last for 3 years. Co-financing of the project activities of 75% is ensured by the European Commission in the framework of 7 th Framework Programme for research and development (FP7). In the next 3 years project activities will be implemented by 23 project partners from 11 European countries, covering geographical area 13

14 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page Geographical area: 1 River Rajna 2 River Danube 3 German river network 2 from Norway to Greece and including three big geographical units of inland waterways rivers Rhine and Danube and German river network. Transport policy of European Union, clearly specified in the document White Paper from 2001, is focused on unburdening the roads network by diverting the traffic to other modes of transport (rail, short-sea shipping and inland waterway transport). Inland waterway transport was assessed as the mean of transport with greatest potential representing the most cost-efficient, safest and most environment friendly transport alternative. Former projects connected to the inland navigation development, which were significantly financially supported from European funds, were mainly oriented towards development of River Information Services. Multiannual investments in this area had resulted in rather good and broad implementation of RIS on national level in a standardised form which enables integration and communication between different national systems and utilisation of these systems in regional and European framework. Although there is much more to be improved regarding the existing RIS systems, the next step towards improvement of European transport network is efficient integration of RIS into intermodal transport chains i.e. innovative transport-logistic systems of other means of transport. Inland navigation sector is faced with new challenges, for example integration of existing services like Tracking and Tracing via AIS and Notices to Skippers in daily commercial activities of intermodal transport and logistic operators. Therefore, with general objective of stimulation of intermodal transport, specific activities of the RISING project will be directed towards implementation of models for management of intermodal transport chains as a whole. Intention of project partners is to elaborate the communication method i.e. interconnection of traffic data received via RIS and transport data received via existing transportlogistic systems. Final objective is to develop seamless transport chain which incorporates all transport modes, including the most cost-efficient one inland navigation. Project activities, which also include participation of Croatian representative Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP), will be based on specification of existing RIS capacities and general logistic demands on covered geographical area. Next step will be development of a new type of services which enable automatic reporting on changes of elements of tactical and strategic traffic information i.e. system which generates data from RIS according to the previously determined criteria and forwards the data in format of notices. For example, if water level on particular section decreases under the previously defined value, the system automatically generates corresponding notice. Further, this type of service will be implemented in the Event management application which has a function of a kind of control room in a way to compare received notices with existing transport-logistic system and generates following steps according to the new situation. In the scope of RISINA a prototype of Voyage Plan Module will be also developed. With the goal of maximum utilization of all threes tools, in the scope of RISING seven demonstrations (pilot implementation) will be organised in order to test the developed systems in given conditions.

15 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 15 POWA CONFERENCE 2008 Božana Matoš, Port Authority Vukovar Damir Obad, Inland Navigation Development Centre Robert Schachermayer, via donau On 18 th and 19 th September 2008, international conference on ports and waterways (POWA) was held in Dubrovnik under the title Development of ports and waterways in the context of enlargement of the European Union. This conference was held third year in a row and attracts more and more participants from maritime and inland navigation sector every year. Last year conference was held with the auspices of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, City of Dubrovnik and University of Dubrovnik and under the sponsorship of Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP), Port authority Vukovar, Port authority Slavonski Brod, Port authority Osijek, Port authority Sisak, Port authority Dubrovnik, Port authority Ploče and Port authority Rijeka. Objective of the conference is enhancement of safety and flexibility in maritime and inland navigation transport, reduction of transport effects on environment and improvement of transport performances and integration of intermodal transport in Croatia into the European transport network. Therefore, this international conference represents the place for exchange of ideas, knowledge and know-how, as well as for discussion on management, planning and development of ports and waterways in the light of integration of Croatia into the European transport infrastructure network. Themes of POWA 2008 conference were: port management, intermodality, safety and protection, intelligent transport systems, ship and port logistic, short-sea shipping, environmental protection, legal aspects and education and training. Presenters on POWA 2008 were numerous experts from Croatia and Europe from the following institutions: via donau (Austria) RSOE (Hungary) Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP) Plovput (Srbija) Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb Port Authority Vukovar Brodocentar Sisak Next POWA conference under the title ADRI- ATIC3S Final conference will be held on 10 th and 11 th September 2009 in Zagreb with the auspices of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure and under the organisation of Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP) and Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centre Croatia. 15

16 CRUP-godisnjak-ENG-7:Layout 1 10/1/09 8:21 AM Page 16 STATISTICS 2008 Traffic on inland waterways ( ) UNIT 2008 INLAND NAVIGATION IN CROATIA 2008 Publisher: Inland Navigation Development Centre (CRUP) Trnjanska cesta 37, Zagreb, Croatia Tel: Fax: Editor: Renata Kadrić Text written by: Renata Kadrić Nataša Dobrinić Marina Tušek Graphic design: Renata Nikoletić CRAGO TRANSPORTED INTERNAL TRAFFIC INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC TONNE KILOMETRES INTERNAL TRAFFIC INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC 1000 TONNES 1000 TONNES 1000 TONNES MILLION MILLION MILLION Traffic in ports on inland waterways ( ) CARGO TRAFFIC INTERNAL TRAFFIC LOADING UNLOADING EXPORT IMPORT TRANSIT LOADING UNLOADING TONNES Published with the support of Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Source: Central Bureau of Statistics