Outputs and Results achieved under the NMC-project by mid-2004

Transcription

1 ANNUAL EVALUATION REPORT 2004 FOR THE INTERREG IIIB PROJECT NORTHERN MARITIME CORRIDOR Outputs and Results achieved under the NMC-project by mid-2004 Report RF-2004/170 Draft Version (June 2004) elaborated by RF-Rogaland Research (Norway) & EureConsult S.A. (Luxembourg) - 1 -

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. General Introduction 1 2. Overview on output achievement by regional and transnational activities under different strands The output achievement from regional activities The output achievement from transnational activities 6 3. Bottom up perspective: Outputs & results achieved at the level of individual regional maritime clusters 3.1. Update of the general composition of regional/local maritime clusters and "seafood branches" established in different NMC partner areas 3.2. A description of activities and related outputs achieved by each regional cluster and a discussion of emerging results 3.3. Explaining different patterns of performance between regional maritime clusters 4. Transnational perspective: Outputs & results achieved at the level of specific NMC-strands Transnational activities and outputs/results achieved under NMC-Strand Transnational activities and outputs/results achieved under NMC-Strand Transnational activities and outputs/results achieved under NMC-Strand Transnational activities and outputs/results achieved under NMC-Strand Overall conclusions and recommendations

3 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION After the first two years of implementing the Northern Maritime Corridor project (NMC), one can realistically assume that regional and transnational activities realised during the period have already generated a significant number of outputs. Based upon the jointly agreed thematic focus as set out in the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the ongoing evaluation of the transnational NMC-project, the 2 nd Annual Evaluation Report 2004 will assess what kind of outputs NMC-activities have already achieved or are about to achieve and whether these outputs are in line with the initial planning in the project proposal or not. In addition, the report will also attempt forecasting some of the results that are expected to materialise after the NMC-project has completed its activities. After this general introduction, the Annual Evaluation Report 2004 will give an overall and updated overview on the output achievement by regional and transnational activities under the different NMC-strands (Chapter 2). This assessment will mostly compare the prescriptions of the initial NMC-project submission with the current achievements realised by May This chapter will also give some indications on variations and similarities in project performance between regional maritime clusters and strands. In the main part of the evaluation report (Chapters 3 and 4), the overall output/result achievement of NMC will be analysed on ground of a double perspective: Chapter 3 of the evaluation will adopt a bottom-up perspective by assessing the variety in performance of output/result achievement at the level of existing regional maritime clusters. After a brief update of the cluster-composition (ref. the annual evaluation 2003), the evaluation will assess what kind of area-specific outputs and results have been generated by regional and transnational activities so far. The chapter will map both (1) outputs/results as prescribed in the NMC-project application and (2) other kinds of outputs/results (i.e. b-to-b meetings). The chapter also attempts to address explanations for a varying performance of output/result achievement by regional clusters (i.e. specific working methods etc). Finally, the chapter will also summarise suggestions from regional maritime clusters regarding a possible improvement of the performance of regional output/result achievement. Chapter 4 will adopt a transnational perspective by analysing output/result achievement at the level of selected transnational Strands (Strands 2-5). After a brief update of cooperation intensity grids for Strands 2 and 3 (see: Annual Evaluation Report 2003), the report will assess the strand-specific output/result achievement stemming from transnational co-operation activities within the NMC-project. The assessment will identify what kind of outputs/results has been generated so far and what spatial range these outputs/results have in practice. Beyond comparing prescribed and actually achieved outputs/results by stand, this chapter also attempts to give in-depth explanations for a different performance. Finally, this part will also address the question of how to adjust transnational strand activities in order to further improve the performance

4 The final chapter of the Annual Evaluation Report 2004 (Chapter 5) will summarise the main findings that can be derived from the previous assessment and develop specific conclusions / recommendation for both the area-based partnerships (maritime clusters) and the transnational networking among maritime clusters and seafood-branches. This comprehensive presentation of conclusions and recommendations shall also help stimulating a discussion at transnational level on eventual needs for improvements / adjustments of the NMC-project approach as a whole. For the elaboration of this 2 nd Annual Evaluation Report, the consultants have adopted the following assessment method: Direct-interviews with different stakeholders in the NMC-projects have been realised while attending the 4 th IMG-meeting at the Coastal Express (13 th November 2003), the international Strand 5 seminar in Trondheim (14 th November 2003) and at the meeting between the 4 regional partners in West Norway on transnational Strand 2 activities (16 th March 2004). Finally, semi-structured phone interviews were carried out in April-May 2004 with key stakeholders of the NMC-project (regional cluster co-ordinators; transnational strand managers), each lasting for approximately 30 minutes or more. In parallel, desk research (by consulting the documents available on the NMCwebsite) has been realised in order to get an overview on reported activities and outputs, both at the level of each region and strand by strand

5 2. OVERVIEW ON OUTPUT ACHIEVEMENT BY REGIONAL AND TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVITIES UNDER DIFFERENT STRANDS The original description of the NMC project (both North Sea Region and Northern Periphery) gives an overview of the prescribed activities to be performed by regional maritime clusters and by transnational co-operation in different strands. This overview constitutes the formal basis for mirroring the actual performance and is the starting point for each section below. The tables below are mainly based on information from the NMC-web portal, but also from Lead partner. This chapter will mainly focus on output achievement from a top down perspective i.e. what is reported according to the prescription The output achievement from regional activities Regional activities are mainly concentrated on Strand 2 and Strand 3. From the annual evaluation report in 2003 we found a considerable variation between the different maritime clusters regarding output achievement. This tendency is still present with regard to the activities under Strand 2 and Strand 3. Prescribed regional activities for Strand 2 for July December 2003 and January June 2004 includes: 2Rc) Examine the obstacles (time, frequencies, costs, intermodality, and connection to hinterland) to transference of goods from truck / rail to ship for different corridors / type of goods. SWOT analyses can be a possible tool with respect to this activity. Arranging a regional workshop/seminar could be one option for presenting and discussing the analysis. Participating in sessions in international NMC workshops in 2003 and 2004 will be a part of the networking activity. Completion date of SWOT: Dec Rd) Develop a co-ordinated action plan (in the maritime transport cluster) to meet the defined challenges and to increase the competitiveness of Short Sea Shipping. Completion date for action plan: June Rf) Propose changes to the services (type of carrier, destinations, frequencies, for example) based on input from activity 2Re, in order to increase the competitiveness of Short Sea Shipping. Organising the demand-side (goods-owners), especially larger industrial firms in each region, will be crucial for creating support and buying power for new services. The output of this activity should be suggestions for specific services (origin, destination, frequencies etc.) Completion date: Dec Rg) Make contact both with the present maritime charters (shipowners) serving the region, the shipowners associations and potential new charters, in order to discuss development of services in each sea corridor. Participating in a session in an international NMC workshop in 2004 will be a part of preparing for the discussion / negotiation between different commercial and public organisations. May start in

6 The table below cover all reports that should have been submitted during 2002, 2003 and first half of Checking off has mainly been based on registered reports on the NMC web portal. There may be some errors. Generally the web portal seems inadequate with regard to give an easily understood overview of the deliverables. This is mainly due to variation between the same types of regional report with regard to topics covered and that the reports are not named after activity. Table 1: Output achievement of regional activities under Strand 2a and 2b Activity 2Ra: Description of regional SSS situation Strand 2a Promote Short Sea Shipping onshore Activity 2Rb: Examination of goods transfer potentials Activity 2Rc SWOT analyses Activity 2Rd Action plan Strand 2 b Develop New services in the corridor Activity 2Re: Activity 2Rf Assessment Suggestions of existing for specific SSS services new services Aberdeenshire X X X X Amsterdam X X X X Cuxhaven X X? X X Finnmark X X X Groningen X X X?? Highlands & Islands X X X X X Hordaland X X X X X Kommunforb. Västerbotten Møre og Romsdal X X X X NORA Nordland X?? X Nord-Trøndelag X X Rogaland X X X X Sogn og Fjordane X X X Sør-Trøndelag X X Troms X X X X West and Oost Vlaanderen X X X X Amsterdam participates in Strand 2a; Sør-Trøndelag participates in Strand 2b ; Vest-Agder does not participate in Strand 2 The table indicates considerable variations between different regional maritime clusters with regard to deliverables under Strand 2. Another finding seems to be the majority of regional are to late in delivering the prescribed reports. Activity 2Rc is completed in one or another way in most regional clusters. Some regional maritime clusters have prepared a preliminary SWOT (as a chapter in another report), while others have prepared a more comprehensive one. The discussion in the cluster regarding the findings of the SWOT has to a varying degree been performed. However, in most regional clusters the understanding of obstacles and opportunities with regard to short sea shipping. Development of co-ordinated action plans (2Rd) have not been fulfilled in any of the regional clusters. Generally actions and activities seem to happen by chance or incrementally and they are partly linked to transnational NMC-activities

7 Only a few regional clusters have submitted separate reports with suggestions for new services (2Rf). Ideas on new services from regional maritime clusters have however been put forward and developed further in contact with the transnational strand managers. In some occasions scenarios or more theoretically ideas on new services have been described in reports. Members from different regional clusters have participated in international workshops regarding among others development of new services especially in Amsterdam but also in Murmansk / Archangelsk (ref activity 2Rg). Development of new short sea services have also been topic in some of the BtoB meetings between different regions. Prescribed regional activities for Strand 3 for July December 2003 and January June 2004 includes: 3Rd) Arrange a regional workshop with the seafood branch in order to discuss the results of the regional studies and develop a regional action plan on how to meet the challenges. Input to the transnational action plan. Completion date: December Re) Participation in workshop sessions in an international NMC workshop in spring 2004 and The table below cover all reports in Strand 3 that should have been submitted during 2002, 2003 and first half of Checking off has mainly been based on registered reports on the NMC web portal. Table 2: Output achievement of regional activities under Strand 3 Activity 3Ra: Establishment of a seafood branch Strand 3 Seafood transport and Logistics Activity 3Rb: Description of existing seafood solutions Activity 3Rc Development of seafood transport solutions Aberdeenshire X X X Cuxhaven X X X Finnmark 1) X X Groningen X X X Highlands & Islands X X Hordaland X X X Kommunforb. Västerbotten Møre og Romsdal X X X X NORA X Nordland 1) X Nord-Trøndelag 1) Rogaland X X X Sogn og Fjordane X X Troms 1) X X West and Oost Vlaanderen X X X Amsterdam, Vest-Agder and Sør-Trøndelag are not participating in Strand 3 1) Lead Partner ( NP) have organised Seafood branches in the 4 northernmost counties in Norway Activity 3Rd Action plan - 5 -

8 The table indicates that some of the regional clusters have not yet submitted the report on constraints for transferring seafood from truck to ship / scenarios (Activity 3 Rc) that should be delivered in June Action plans that should be delivered by December 2003 have not been delivered by some of the regional cluster. Outputs from the regional maritime clusters with regard to Strand 3 are not on schedule. The activities in the regional maritime clusters regarding Seafood transport and logistics seems for the majority of the regions to be amalgamated with the activities in Strand 2. As mentioned above members form the different regional clusters have participated in international workshops and BtoB meetings where among others transport of seafood has been on the agenda. Regional outputs from the transnational activities in Strand 4 and Strand 5 are not prescribed. The participation from regional cluster members in the workshops, seminars and meetings in these strands should however be mentioned The output achievement from transnational activities The notion transnational activity is used about activities that is open for - and serves all regional maritime clusters. The specific outputs from transnational activities are among others transnational meetings and seminars, strand-specific transnational workshops, reports covering strand-specific for larger areas. The table below lists transnational reports and studies that can be found on the NMC-web. Table 3: Transnational reports and studies (2002 mid 2004) Report / Study Strand Date Data Delivery for the Northern Maritime Corridor 2 April 2003 Further Breakdown of Transport Flow Information for the NMC 2 July 2003 A practical business case on market survey for SSS company Samskip 2 Feb 2004 Viking Cruise Itinerary Study 2 April 2004 A review of the disposition and trends in seafood distribution associated with the regions of the Northern Maritime Corridor 3 Sep Synopsis of regional reports on the existing situation for the transportation of seafood. 3 Oct Description of Base to base Transport 4 May 2003 Description of Petroleum Related Transport in the Barents Sea 4 Sept Russian Fact Finding Mission: Main objectives and results 4 Oct Russian Fact Finding Mission: Day to day report from Moscow Oct Oct The Official Strategy of Russia for development of the Oil and gas Sector in Northwest Russia for the period till May 2004 Artic Transportation System of Export of Oil from the Northwest Russia 4 June 2004 Maritime Transportation in the UK and Cross Border Logistics between UK and Norway 4 Draft Description of risk management strategies 5 March 2003 Assessment of Risk Management Issues 5 Aug Germany Quality shipping 5 Aug Overview of responsibilities in Respect to Risk Management 5 Nov Risk Management strategies and Issues for Russia 5 May

9 With regard to the prescribed submission of transnational reports and studies in the NMCproject description the following are missing: Strand 2: Overview of relevant studies (activity 2Ta) Strand 3: Analyses for a maritime service that effects a modal shift (activity 3Tc) Strand 4: Development of alternative concepts and action plans (activity 4Tc-d) Strand 5: Evaluation of the appropriateness of risk management strategies (act. 5Tc) There may however be changes to the original prescription that alter the missing list above. The table below lists transnational meetings, seminars and workshops in the period mid 2003 mid 2004 arranged by the NMC-project. The table does also indicate what strand that this activity is linked to. Some of the activities did also incorporate BtoB meetings between regional maritime clusters. A separate BtoB meeting between Aberdeen and West Vlaanderen was arranged in February Table 4: Transnational meetings / seminars and workshops (mid 2003 mid 2004) International meeting / seminar Date Str. 2 Str. 3 Str. 4 Str. 5 IMG meeting in Groningen June 2003 X X X X To make short Sea shipping work in the Northern Maritime Corridor Groningen seminar June 2003 X X X X NMC Inter Trade Event in Cuxhaven Sept X X Orkney International Science Festival Sept X X X X Strand manager workshop in Orkney Sept X X X X Strand 5 workshop in Ålesund Oct X Fact finding mission to Russia (Moscow) Oct X Strand 2 workshop in Cuxhaven Nov X Strand 3 working group meeting Belgium Nov X IMG Meeting at Hurtigruten in Trondheim Nov X X X X NMC seminar Sea Safety in Trondheim Nov X Strand 4 workshop in Stavanger Des X Manager workshop Kristiansand Jan X X X X Cross Border Strategy Workshop Aberdeen Feb X Strand 5 working group meeting Aberdeen Feb X Inter Trade Event Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Mar X X X X Oostende (West-Vlaanderen) mission to Bergen, Ålesund, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø April 2004 X X Strand 2 working group meeting Amsterdam April 2004 X European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, NMC May 2004 X Strand 2 and 3 manager meeting in Brussels May 2004 X X Int. Workshop Risk Man. Strategies in Zeebrugge June 2004 X x X IMG meeting in Iceland June 2004 X X X X Seafood Logistics in Iceland June 2004 X The project description includes a comprehensive specification of transnational activities that should be performed partly as ongoing activities and partly in specific time periods. The NMC project have however adapted a certain degree of flexibility allowing for adjustments of prescribed activities, and a detailed follow up of the prescription would therefore not be suitable. More detailed information about output and results from transnational activities can however be found in Chapter

10 3. BOTTOM-UP PERSPECTIVE: OUTPUTS & RESULTS ACHIEVED AT THE LEVEL OF INDIVIDUAL REGIONAL MARITIME CLUSTERS 3.1. Update of the general composition of regional/local maritime clusters and "seafood branches" established in different NMC partner areas The general composition of regional / local maritime clusters and seafood branches in the different NMC partner areas in spring 2004 has mainly the same characteristics as described in the annual evaluation report This means that the overall number of members participating in the regional maritime clusters/seafood branches is frequently too small and the composition of regional maritime clusters/seafood branches is unbalanced compared to the actual scope of actors involved in the regional maritime economy. Although some regional clusters experiences increased attendance on regional NMCactivities from new- and potential partners, recruitment of new members and increasing the participation level of existing members still appear as major challenges for the majority of the regional maritime clusters. The variations in the composition of regional maritime clusters between the different regions are significant and can partly be explained as a result of the difference of the regional context the cluster works within. The significant variation between the different clusters with regard to support and attendance of NMC-activities does also reflect the regional lead partners and the cluster members capability and willingness to utilize the NMC-project. Some of the regional maritime clusters must therefore develop another and more active approach to the NMC-project if they shall benefit from the participation. Summary overview on the situation of regional maritime clusters The regional maritime cluster in Amsterdam did not experience changes in its composition. Over time, mutual work within the cluster has become closer, but still it needs continues attention. The cluster has established a regional logistical platform with a board and mutual work focuses on intermodal hinterland transport, rail and barge. In this platform mayor industries and other regional partners participate. In Aberdeenshire, no changes can be observed in the composition of the regional maritime cluster. Due to the close links between NMC-Strands 2 and 3, the cluster meetings bring together key actors from both strands. The composition of the local maritime cluster in Cuxhaven is more or less the same. Around - 8 -

11 10 to 15 actors from the local maritime economy are regularly participating in the cluster meetings. Sometimes, also additional observers are attending the meetings. Among the cluster participants, one can identify basically two groups: (1) some very active participants and (2) a larger number of more passive cluster members. Finnmark maritime cluster consist of less than 10 partners with the ports as main instances and the fish industry and goods owners in western part of Finnmark are still weakly represented. Due to a general pessimistic attitude between the majority of the cluster members regarding the possibilities of moving more of land-based cargo to ship the internal activity has been rather low. For the NMC-partner Groningen Seaports, one can observe that the number of clustermembers did not change during the last months. There are 3 business actors that participate actively in the local maritime cluster 1. Further to this, one of Groningen Seaports account managers has recently become involved in the project (since November 2003). Generally speaking, the maritime cluster in the Highlands & Islands is characterised by a stable participation of some key actors from the maritime transport business and from the public sector. In recent time, however, the cluster has experienced a slight reduction in private sector involvement (i.e. companies from the maritime business). The actors that have left the cluster were initially motivated by curiosity on the NMC project and have over time developed a more critical appraisal of the cost and benefits associated to their participation 2. In Hordaland maritime cluster, there has been a change in the persons representing regional lead partner, but the continuity in the project seems to be taken care of. Formally there have not been any changes in the cluster, but representatives from Kysten-Bergen, Bergen Cargo, Fjordline, Bergen Shipping/Baltic Line and from Lerøy (salmon export company) have been invited and attend the cluster meetings on some occasions and events. Møre and Romsdal maritime cluster have members from all of the three towns Ålesund, Kristiansand and Molde. Some of the members are not active at all, while others have been very active and seem to be tired. We have succeeded in getting two new partners that are really occupied with transport and logistics. The activity in the seafood strand have however been reduced due to some of the persons in these companies have changed jobs. Still we have more than 20 cluster members. The composition of the regional maritime cluster in the NORA partner area is pretty much the same as initially designed. There are only a few important actors in the NORA-area that are also highly competing among each other. The NORA-cluster has experienced a slight increase in membership, as one public authority responsible for safety at sea and one maritime business have recently joined the group. There are no changes in the composition of Nordland maritime cluster. Formally there are not so many members, but the activities are targeted mainly at two types of cargo owners namely seafood and metal industry. The leader of the Regional cluster in Nordland is also responsible for logistics in Industriforum Nord and has thereby insight in the needs especially for the members of that forum. There have however been difficult to mobilise cargo owners generally for the NMC project both due to long distances and different interest 1 Veem & Factor BV and Sealane Coldstorage BV, both member of the Foundation of business interest Eemshaven, and the Chamber of Commerce in Groningen. 2 The actors stepping out of the regional NMC-cluster activities did partly not see the direct benefit from the NMC project for themselves and/or experienced different kinds of resource pressures (i.e. shortage of available time or staff in some of the businesses)

12 between these. Nordland County has a separate web-portal for the NMC-project in Norwegian language that informs about the different regional activities that finds place The maritime cluster in Rogaland is mainly the same as before, but two new members have joined (AMR Reuters shipping agent and Felleskjøpet, a cargo owner). The cluster organises regular meetings twice per ½ year alternating between Haugesund and Stavanger. The cooperation with other counties in West Norway has developed positively and will hopefully proceed. The main problem for the maritime cluster in Sogn og Fjordane has been to get the industry and the ports to attend in strand meetings and to really take part in the project. Potential member has been difficult to engage they are all to busy and does not believe that the NMC project will result in any difference. The cluster is organised in the same way and with the same members as before but there have been very little activity in the cluster the last ¾ year. The goods owner alliance initiated by Norske Skog, the ports of Trondheim, Verdal / Levanger and the two county councils constitute the joint maritime clusters of Nord- Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The leader of this alliance has an agreement with the two county councils regarding reporting to the NMC-project. Representatives from the two counties and Trondheim port attend the NMC-meetings on behalf of the cluster. The goods owner alliance runs the other NMC-related activities in accordance with the needs of the members in that alliance. The maritime cluster in Troms is organised in the same way and with the same members as before. Cargo owners, transporters and shipping agencies are still missing. We have had 4 cluster meetings since October The main problem has been to get the industry to attend the meetings. The lack of budget for conducting studies and other activities represents another problem. There have been no changes in the composition of the regional maritime cluster (RMC) in Vest-Agder when comes to formal membership. However, some of the members have not attended the last meetings, but we do not interpret this as a withdrawal of the membership. The working methods of the RMC are to a large extent the same as before, but the RMC Board has more or less turned out to be a redundant structure because the RMC is not taking any major decisions on policy and allocation of funds and all members of the Cluster Board are regularly attending the plenary meetings anyhow. We have come to the conclusion that there is no need for and additional gain from organising separate Board meetings In West Vlaanderen, a system of local maritime clusters has been established for the NMCproject (Zeebrugge cluster, Gent cluster, Oostende cluster), each composed of various actors from the local maritime economy. Over time, one can observe that more companies from the maritime economy have become involved. The most important factors stimulating a stronger direct involvement of actors from the maritime economy have been the emergence of opportunities for direct economic benefits/spin-offs and specific transnational meetings that were organised during the past month (e.g. Cuxhaven Inter-trading Event in the case of Strand 3)

13 Supporting instances for the NMC project As a part of the organisation of the NMC-project in Norway an interdepartmental group was established already at the outset. Representatives from seven ministries have attended the meetings in this group3. The activity of this group can, formally, not be seen as a part of the regular NMC activity governed by lead partner. A number of meetings have been arranged with attendance of the lead partners and representatives for the ministries. The first meetings were general and informative, later the meetings have been focusing on specific issues / strands, such as: maritime safety (Strand 5), petroleum development (Strand 4) and short sea shipping (Strand 2). The contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been used to facilitate contact with the Russian Ministries in Moscow, via the Russian Embassy and also to coordinate the regional cooperation with the authorities in Murmansk and Archangel. This contact has been crucial with regard to this dimension of the project and can be said to be a main task for the interdepartmental group. The NMC-project has also been on the agenda for other international organisations in the Northern Areas as the Artic Council and the Barents-cooperation, and the interdepartmental group is the link to these organisations. The group has been used for spreading information about the project to the other Ministries, and the NMC project is explicitly mentioned in the previous National Transportation and will also be mentioned in the white paper about the Northern Area (coming in summer 2004). Regarding the spatial focus for the interdepartmental group, more focus on issues in the North Sea area, especially in connection with the development and implementation of EU policy, could be needed in order to serve this part of the project. To sum up: The interdepartmental group functions as an arena for spreading information about NMC to other ministries, and has for certain areas (especially with regard to the cooperation with NW-Russia) contributed to the objectives of the NMC-project. The Barents secretariat is another supporting instance for the NMC-project. Lead partners of the NMC-project in consultation with the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government decided by the end of 2002 that the Barents Secretariat should be hired as a coordinating institution regarding the Russian dimension in this project and to establish cooperation with different partners in Russia. The secretariats premier contact with the NMCproject is via Lead Partners in Bodø and Stavanger, but the different strands and especially Strand 4 and 5 have been supported regarding their need for contact with Russian partners. The contribution from the secretariat is delimited to bring the actors and representatives for the Russian regions (both public and industrial) in contact with relevant strands. The Barents secretariat has, besides the general meeting activity, been responsible as organisers (technical facilitators) of (1) the international port conference in April 2003 in Kirkenes, (2) the fact finding session for Strand 4 in Moscow in October 2003 and (3) the meetings in Murmansk and Archangel in March Gradually the Russian partners have got and understanding of the NMC-project and how to use the opportunity to develop and utilise the Northern Maritime Corridor and to develop business to business relations via NMC. Russian participation (both form the public and the industry) in all strands has been achieved. 3 This includes Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry

14 3.2. A description of activities and related outputs achieved by each regional cluster and a discussion of emerging results There are significant variations between the different regional maritime clusters both when comes to activities, outputs and emerging results. The following examination of the regional clusters really confirms this. Such variations could also, at least to a certain degree, be expected among others related to the variation both in composition of clusters and the contexts these clusters works within. The following section will briefly describe (1) outputs (meetings and reports), (2) contribution to transnational NMC-activities (among others regional inputs / involvement in transnational analysis, attendance at transnational NMC-events and participation in BtoB meetings) and (3) provisional results. Regional maritime clusters core participation in the NMC-project concentrates on Strand 2 and Strand 3. Activities, outputs and preliminary results are thus mainly delimited to these two strands. Amsterdam The immediate outputs generated by regional activities in Amsterdam have been individual cluster member meetings about the development new short sea shipping services, meetings of the established logistical platform and several meetings on a national level with regional partners involved. Amsterdam s own contributions for transnational NMC activities are dynamic and tend also to progress recently with regard to a delivery of compulsory outputs. The regional description has been finalized and a last concept for the required SWOT is ready and will be delivered probably in July Also the action plan for the coming period is in preparation. In addition to that a feasibility study was started that assesses new short sea shipping links between Amsterdam and the west coast of Norway, also including an examination of possibilities to use a Marco Polo grant for next phase of this project. Finally, an input is prepared together with other regional parties for the Dutch EU-Presidency that explores possibilities for further developing the concept of Motorways of the Sea. 4 With respect to potential results, one can expect that regional and transnational NMCactivities as well as their related outputs will reach the following in this NMC-partner area 5 : NMC activities are considered very positive, as they allow bringing together industry, terminals and logistic service providers together the area and give a better chance to develop new intermodal possibilities. It is however worthwhile mentioning that working together on an effective cluster takes time. What is still lacking in the NMC-project is the linking of the several clusters with each other. This could be a challenging task for the next NMC-period. An indirect real result of NMC, which is mostly related to the existence of a regional maritime cluster, is that Amsterdam could develop a new short sea shipping service to St. Petersburg 6. 4 This proposal especially asks for more attention given to door-to-door concepts, including short sea shipping but also rail and/or inland waterways for pre- and end haulage. 5 Amsterdam only participates in Strand 2a, development of onshore activities. 6 Finnlines operates since June 2004 a new short sea shipping service once a week between Amsterdam and St. Petersburg. Although St. Petersburg is not part of the NMC, the existing regional cluster has helped a lot in developing this new line

15 Aberdeenshire The immediate outputs generated by regional activities in Aberdeenshire have been regular meetings of the maritime cluster (normally organised 3 or 4 times a year, mainly due to the workload and time pressure of actors involved), individual local visits of the cluster manager to specific key actors involved in the cluster, the elaboration of the 6-weekly newsletters (with the aim to keep all cluster partners informed about NMC activities) and standard reporting on NMC-activities. With regard to the own contributions of Aberdeenshire maritime cluster to strandspecific transnational NMC-activities, one can observe a variable degree of outputachievement: The elaboration of the required regional inputs for transnational activities under Strands 2 and 3 (regional reports, SWOT-analysis action plans) has only be partly accomplished by Aberdeen. Regional actors were involved in some pilot activities realised in the field of short sea shipping (Strand 2): A direct involvement can be noted for the pilot activity that practically tested shipping a container from the Shetlands over Aberdeen to the EU mainland (Samskip Study). In the pilot study exploring the establishment of a Web-based cargo information system between Aberdeenshire, Amsterdam and Bergen/Stavanger, regional actors from the local business community did however not want to get involved. Recently, Aberdeenshire has received several visits from other NMC-partner areas, mostly located in the North Sea area of NMC. 7 Local actors from Aberdeenshire, in the contrary, were however not this intensively participating in transnational NMCmeetings/workshops/visits organised elsewhere. There was no attendance from Aberdeenshire to the Cuxhaven Inter-trading Event (Strand 3) and also a participation in the NMC-mission to Russia had to be cancelled by local actors mostly due to last minute time constraints. The regional and transnational NMC-activities as well as their related outputs allow making some assumptions on the provisional results that can expected to materialise in this partner area: For Aberdeenshire there are possibilities in the region to reach the strategically defined NMC-objectives regarding a promotion of short sea shipping (Strand 2). NMC has already provided a clearer understanding of the current situation for short sea shipping within and between the partner regions involved in the project. A certain region-specific deception is however linked to the outcomes of the "Samskip Study", which could not reach an extension of the new shipping service towards the UK by including Aberdeen in the routing. In order to capitalise work that has already been carried out under Strand 2 (and Strand 3), Aberdeenshire Council wishes to undertake a specific Market Survey with the aim to build a credible business case for the inclusion of a Scottish port (mainland and/or Northern Isles) and assist the development of new port calls in the Faeroe Islands and Iceland. 8 This could lead to new and improved links between ports on the western edge of the NMC (maritime connections from Scotland, Orkney and Shetland and the Faeroe Islands, to Immingham in England and the Continent of Europe and vice versa). Development of trade between Iceland, the Faeroe Islands and Scotland is also possible, depending on the ultimate frequency of the service. 7 Representatives of a cold store located in Cuxhaven have visited local actors in Aberdeen and Peterhead. Belgium actors involved in short sea shipping have visited Aberdeen. Norwegian actors from the oil business have also visited Aberdeen. 8 The central aims of the assignment are to carry out a thorough Market Survey and produce a Business Case. The outcome will provide a profile of the market and a list of contacts for Samskip s sales staff to follow up directly. It will be assumed that Samskip will approach the ports (Aberdeen, Peterhead, Lerwick and Torshavn) directly for discussions and negotiations

16 There are also concrete potentials to regionally achieve NMC-objectives defined for the maritime transport in the seafood sector (Strand 3). Complementary to Strand 2, seafood and seafood transportation industries operating within the NMC-partner regions have been clearly researched and quantified, chiefly through the reports produced by Nautilus Consultants. Some study work has already been undertaken to investigate support for the seafood industry with faster and more sophisticated Short Sea Shipping solutions. One such study, Opportunity and definition study for a high speed maritime link between Scotland, Continental Europe and Norway has already been published. However, a more realistic scenario, utilising existing short sea services, has also been identified. This scenario is currently subject to a project proposal (i.e. Providing a RoRo-Relay Service between the Northern Periphery and North Sea Regions of the NMC ). Cuxhaven The most important outputs of local maritime cluster activities in Cuxhaven are regular meetings of the maritime cluster (organised once or twice per month), ongoing reporting and the initiation / realisation of a specific study in connection with Strand 2 activities, which is currently in the phase of finalisation. The study assesses potentials to establish new short sea shipping and roro-maritime transport links towards Norway for all types of cargo, especially in the Norwegian North Sea Area (Bergen, Stavanger). Cuxhaven s own contribution to transnational activities focuses mostly on Strands 2 and 3 of NMC. The outputs realised so far cover an elaboration of the required regional reports and SWOT-analysis (partly accomplished) as well as an active participation in various major NMC-events (e.g. IMG-meetings), specific workshops, fact-finding missions or business-tobusiness meetings. This has allowed broadening and further deepening contacts of Cuxhaven with different actors from the maritime economy in the NMC-area. The NMCmission to Russia, for example, has in general been valuable for local actors in Cuxhaven. The presence of high-level representatives has allowed participants from Cuxhaven establishing interesting contacts, which are followed up on an individual basis. Cuxhaven expects that local and transnational NMC-activities will generate area-specific results, however with a varying degree of concreteness and direct economic impact. The Cuxhaven-study assessing short sea shipping and roro maritime transport potentials for in the North Sea area (Strand 2) is valuable to the local actors, but it will only have a limited direct result/impact on actually deepening short sea shipping. This is due to the fact that a practical realisation of findings and recommendations in the study is mainly depending upon the concrete will of ship-owners to consider these potentials in their concrete planning of maritime transport routing. With regard to seafood transport and logistics (Strand 3), Cuxhaven expects that NMC can reveal or identify realistic potentials for transferring seafood cargo from "wheel to keel". The practical implementation and realisation of such a transfer will however be difficult. Finnmark Outputs from the activities in the regional cluster in Finnmark since October 2003 have been (1) a joint meeting with the regional maritime cluster in Troms on the subject of maritime

17 transport of seafood and (2) a phone-meeting between the cluster members in February and the reports (a) Regional Assessment of the Potential of Goods and the Demand for Short Sea Shipping and (b) Assessment of Important Constraints and Potentials in Seafood Transportation and Logistics. We will have a new meeting in May as a follow-up of the meeting in Tromsø, because the attendance from the partners in Finnmark was rather delimited at that meeting. Generally the belief in achieving the objectives of NMC from cluster members varies, but the majority thinks that the NMC will not lead to immediate changes with regard to moving landbased transport to sea. Most of the goods (mainly frozen fish) do already go by ship, and proposals on new routes have not come yet. Sea transport of fresh fish between Finnmark and the continent are not regarded as competitive compared to truck because of the huge distance. This constitutes a part of the clusters contribution to the transnational analysis in Strand 2. Another and more optimistic contribution can be found in the regional report Assessment of Potential of Goods and Demand for Short Sea Shipping that put up some scenarios regarding maritime transport to and from Finnmark. Currently the regional cluster is looking into a new initiative regarding transit-goods from Russia (the project the Pomor Gateway) and developing Kirkenes Port as a bridge connection to Russia. Representatives form the regional cluster attended the Inter Trade Event in Cuxhaven and the meetings and seminars in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in March. Presently it seems too early to point at emerging results from the NMC-activity in Finnmark as new services. The potential for improved transport infrastructure eastbound seems however more promising than southbound. International contacts and the established seafood network in the northern counties can be seen as another type of result of the regional activity. Groningen Seaports The main outputs from local activities carried out by Groningen Seaports are regular maritime cluster meetings (4 regional cluster meetings during the last ¾ year) and substantial preparatory work on a new short sea shipping initiative that matches well with the objectives of Strands 2 and 3. This local initiative focuses on the establishment of a new short sea shipping liner service from Eemshaven to Norway 9 and explores the setting up of a niche market by using CRYO-Containers 10, which can also be interesting for the seafood industry and maritime transport of seafood products. Groningen s own contribution to transnational activities focused mostly on an elaboration of the required regional reports and SWOT-analysis for Strands 2 and 3 and on a participation in transnational activities such as IMG-meetings and seminars, fact-finding missions, workshops or business-to-business meetings (Strands 2, 3 and 5). The abovementioned local preparation of a short sea liner service & CRYO-Container initiative as also become a specific input for Strands 2 and 3. 9 The local companies Veem & Factor and Sealane are interested in this service. Groningen Seaports realized some desk research on the liner service idea for own local/regional use (i.e. analysis of the NEA report; elaboration of a detailed report with transport flows, ongoing analysis of companies that have cargo for a future liner service). 10 This is a new concept of freezing containers. It is already running for some years in the United States and the manufacturer of this container wants to introduce this concept in Europe. The idea has already been presented by a consultant, hired by Groningen Seaports, during the Cuxhaven meeting of Strand 3 in October/November

18 Groningen Seaports considers that regional/local and transnational activities as well as their outputs let expect the emergence of area-specific results that match well with the overall objectives of the NMC-project. The most important result in the field short sea shipping (Strand 2) are that NMCactivities will serve industrial needs for effective transport solutions, help to develop competitive intermodal transport solutions between regions bordering the North Sea and the Northern Periphery and break the trend of increased land-based transportation. With regard to Groningen s initiative on a new liner service, the expectations are however very realistic : The result of the ongoing process for an establishment of such a service is very uncertain and there is still a long way to go. In the field of seafood transport and logistics (Strand 3), the expected results are that NMC-activities will help creating new and efficient transport solutions that strengthen both, the position of Scotland, Orkney, Shetland, Faeroe Island and Norway as major European seafood producers, and the capacity of the seafood processing industry in the EU-countries for guaranteeing a delivery of high quality seafood. Highlands & Islands The outputs of regional activities in the Highlands & Islands area cover regular joint meetings of the regional maritime cluster (organised in different sub-groups), an elaboration of regional action plans and the realisation of new follow-up activities. These ongoing regioninternal follow-up activities capitalise on work previously realised under NMC (i.e. SWOTanalyses, action plans) and allow, for example, examining the overall implications of NMC on area-specific maritime policy measures that will be submitted to the Scottish Parliament. 11 As in the case of other NMC-partners, the regional contribution to transnational NMCactivities focused mostly on an elaboration of the required regional reports / SWOT-analysis and on a participation in transnational meetings and events (seminars, fact-finding missions, workshops, business-to-business meetings). During the past 6 to 8 months, the increasing density of transnational activities have also motivated the participation of Highlands & Islands in several pilot activities covering fields such as ferry activities and container trans-shipment, cruise liner activities, oil business and Arctic oil transport. With regard to the emerging results, one can say that all ongoing NMC activities are of an immense help to the local maritime business community in the Highlands & Islands, especially in the field of maritime transport. A general impression is also that transnational working contacts are increasingly getting closer. Especially the recent transnational events under Strand 2 have allowed the area establishing concrete and interesting contacts on new ferry or maritime transport links regarding container transport (roro lines between UK, Faeroe, Norway, Denmark) These first contacts revealed however that existing maritime services should be better organised (e.g. streamlining of freight rates). This can in the opinion of Highlands & Islands - realistically be achieved during the next six months. Especially the Kristiansand-Workshop in Norway (January 2004) has given an important input for transnational activities exploring the establishment of new shipping services 11 This regional-internal process covers aspects such as verification whether new port installations or new maritime services and other activities should be launched in the area and how container transshipment through the Highlands & Islands can be developed