Regional networking as success factor in the transformation processes of maritime industry: Experiences and perspectives from Baltic Sea countries

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E-governmental services in the Baltic Sea Region

This paper will present results of the surveys and new trends which were related to e-governmental issues. A common understanding of e-government is usage of ICT means in the public sector for delivering information and services to its customers and enterprises. The objective is improvement of public services and strengthening democratic processes. E-government is a popular topic in the political agenda throughout the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) with all countries having ICT development strategies, policies or agendas. However, often are missing goals for thematic developments which would take into account the needs of potential users. The structure of the paper is ordered to present firstly, the overall objectives of e-governance and e-services. Secondly, the data about the satisfaction level of enterprises for e-services is given. As there are not many comparable results available about the needs of the enterprises, the paper is based on two main sources. One of the important outcomes of the LogOn Baltic project was to provide empirical data about satisfaction level of enterprises with existing eservices and about the needs for new services. The aim of the INTERREG III B project LogOn Baltic was to present solutions for improving the interplay between Logistics and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) competence and spatial planning, strengthening the small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) competitiveness in the BSR. The ICT-related results of the LogOn Baltic project provide an overview of the existing ICT structures and services in the BSR, mainly based on a web-based scientific survey with nearly 1,100 responses. A second source is the survey on the satisfaction level with public services among enterprises in Estonia in the City of Tallinn, which shows similar trends with the LogOn Baltic project. The third part of the paper introduces some case studies on innovative e-services in Estonia and Germany together with the European initiative for the BSR to improve e-services for companies. --

Baltic States logistics and the East-West transport corridor

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Inventory Routing for Ammonia Supply in German Ports

Following the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in order to safeguard the realization of the Paris Agreement on climate protection, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have to be reduced by 50% by the year 2050. This objective shall be reached by decarbonization of maritime traffic, which is why ship operators currently increasingly search for alternative fuels. Moreover, since the start of the Ukrainian war in February 2022, this issue of alternative fuels has gained central importance in political agendas. A promising candidate for clean shipping that meets the IMO goals is ammonia since it is a carbon-free fuel. Ammonia (NH3) shows good advantages in handling and storage, and it ensures long sea voyages without any significant loss in cargo space for a reasonable price. Hence, ammonia has the potential to improve the environmental footprint of global shipping enormously. Induced by the introduction of stricter regulations in the so-called emission control areas (ECAs) in Northern Europe in 2015 as well as the renewed global sulfur cap, which entered into force in 2020, ship operators had to decide between different compliance methods, among which the most popular solutions are related to the use of expensive low-sulfur fuel oils, newbuilds and retrofits for the usage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or the installation of scrubber technology. A change to ammonia as a marine alternative fuel represents an additional novel future option, but the successful implementation depends on the availability of NH3 in the ports, i.e., on the installation of the maritime NH3 infrastructure. Currently, the single German NH3 terminal with maritime access is located in Brunsbüttel, the western entrance to Kiel Canal. The distribution of NH3 from the existing NH3 hub to other German ports can be analyzed by the mathematical model of an inventory routing problem (IRP) that is usually solved by combinatorial optimization methods. This paper investigates the interrelated research questions, how the distribution of marine NH3 fuel can be modeled as an IRP, which distribution mode is the most economic one for the German ports and which modal mix for the NH3 supply leads to the greenest distribution. The results of this paper are empirically validated by data that were collected in several EU projects on sustainable supply chain management and green logistics. The paper includes a special section that is dedicated to the discussion of the economic turbulences related to the Ukrainian war together with their implications on maritime shipping.Wismar University Research FundsPeer Reviewe

The East-West Transport Corridor and the shuttle train 'VIKING'

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Logistik in Mecklenburg: Entwicklungen und Trends

Die bundesdeutsche Logistikbranche boomt und ist ein echter "Jobmotor". Die Logistik ist nicht nur einer der größten Wirtschaftsbranchen in Deutschland und wird als Motor für Wachstum und Innovation gesehen. Sie führt damit auch zur Schaffung neuer, zukunftsfähiger Arbeitsplätze. Im Jahre 2006 erwirtschafteten rund 60.000 Unternehmen einen Jahresumsatz von ca. 170 Milliarden Euro. Dies entspricht einem Anteil von rund 7 % am Bruttoinlandsprodukt und repräsentiert etwa 25 Prozent des europäischen Marktvolumens aller Logistikdienstleistungen. Mit 2,7 Millionen Beschäftigten ist die Logistikwirtschaft die beschäftigungsreichste Industriebranche und für die kommenden Jahre wird mit einem weiteren Anstieg der Arbeitsplätze von vier Prozent gerechnet, d. h. die Nachfrage ist noch immer nicht befriedigt. --

Sustainable Electrification and Digitalisation for Greening Small and Medium-Sized Ports along the TEN-T Corridors

Despite the highest competition among the big EU seaports – gateways and hubs, such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg or Valencia, etc., which stand for the Core Ports in the European Union (EU) Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Core and Comprehensive Network, the present paper addresses challenges and raises potentials immanent in Small and Medium-Sized Ports (SMSPs) in the EU. Environmental responsibility and digital efficiency – Europe’s twin to a green and digital economy paves the way for SMSPs to improve innovation capacity, upgrade demanded future skills and competencies, accelerate EU policies compliant operational, environmental, digital, social, and market performance. The paper deploys a multi-case study approach. Using an ecosystem approach, the paper reveals potentials and pinpoints to key short- and long-term challenges pursuant to SMSPs in the three different EU macro-regions – Baltic Sea Region, AdriaticIonian Sea Region and Mediterranean Sea Region along the four TEN-T Core Network Corridors – Baltic-Adriatic, Orient-East Med, North Sea-Baltic and Scandinavian-Mediterranean. Departing from the role model – Baltic Sea Region – ports of Klaipeda, Wismar, Stralsund and 10 Estonian SPSMs are connected via TEN-T corridors with ports of Bari, la Spezia in Italy and Corfu and Igoumenitsa in Greece. In this vein, knowledge, skills and best practices are transferred from the North Europe to the South and vice versa using the concepts of co-creation and servitisation. Illustrated case studies reveal how all SMSPs are capable to kick-start environmental and digital transition with solutions on Onshore Power Supply (OPS), electrification and digitalisation of port operations through Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain solutions used for transport and monitoring operations

Investment Analysis of Waste Heat Recovery System Installations on Ships’ Engines

This study considers incentive provisions for investment decisions related to waste heat recovery system (WHRS) installations on ships to reduce CO2 emissions and improve ships’ engine efficiency. The economic assessment of WHRS installations in the shipping sector is not widely covered in the literature. A reason for this might be that the conventional financial evaluation of sensitive choices is commonly done through capital budgeting methods, which are not flexible enough to integrate future changes in fuel prices and long-term aspects of other costs. Thus, this work evaluates the WHRS investment using the classical budgeting instruments as well as the real-options approach (a more sophisticated approach) to accommodate the presumed expected future changes in the volatile maritime markets. Following the methodology of triangulation, three case studies of ships with varying operational conditions empirically validate the result to depict the practical use of the real-options evaluation method in investment assessment. The capital budgeting analysis reveals that the investment in maritime WHRS technology is only economically favorable under certain frame conditions projected in the work that shows a more realistic assessment of the project.</p

NFT-enriched smart contracts for smart circular economy models

A smart contract is an electronic transaction protocol intended to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the execution of the terms of underlying legal agreements. Thus, by following the traditional perception, smart contracts target reducing transaction costs, including arbitration and enforcement costs, by realizing trackable and irreversible transactions using blockchain technology for distributed databases. However, the potential of smart contracts goes far beyond cost reductions by facilitating the entrepreneurial collaboration of cross-organizational business processes. Industry 4.0 aims to create smart supply chains. Smart contracts and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) solutions can realize new smart business models in the circular economy. The recent case study from the automobile industry demonstrates how using NFT technology in the form of a digital certificate can become an integral part of smart product lifecycle management in the frame of a circular economy integrating innovative business models with smart service design concepts. By doing so, the use of NFT paves the way for dynamic and adaptable supply chains, evolving needs of stakeholders towards a sustainable and circular economy. The authors participated in research projects related to smart supply chains and circular economy. Thus, the paper discusses the question of how and to what extent smart contracting, blockchain technology, NFT solutions, and Service Design can facilitate the implementation of smart business models in the context of the circular economy. The research is based on expert interviews, surveys, and case studies from EU projects focusing on the Baltic Sea Region