Maritime Trade and Transport - HWWI

slipped down to a lower middle-class rating in a “Pisa for Logistics” study that might conceivably
be carried out 20 years from now. Considerable efforts in high-tech logistics are called for,
as well as the tapping of alternative funding sources. Here we are lagging far behind, even in a
European context.
Of primary importance, therefore, is making our existing transport avenues substantially
more efficient. The focus should be on support for transmodal logistics structures, e.g. it must
be possible to utilize different means of transport without constantly repacking the goods to be
transported. Containerization in its outward form is practically ideal for this purpose.
Clearly indicated is further progress in automation, which would hardly be conceivable
without the appropriate development of software applications. The diverse EU simulation
games and development plans point in this direction.
3.3 Top priority – The “transparent container”
The establishment and application of government regulations, especially on a coordinated
global basis, and with appropriate pressure brought to bear, can serve as an example of how
binding security standards can be introduced in the maritime transport sector. Then things can
progress very quickly. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the USA, several
laws went into effect. Their common goal was to enable monitoring and tracking throughout
the entire logistics chain worldwide. As of 2007, additional EU security guidelines
for “Enhancing Port Security” may be added to the guidelines of the “International Ship and
Port Facility Security” (ISPS) guidelines to be implemented beginning in July 2004.
The logistics sector fears the possible spiraling costs. It is true that ensuring internal and external
security is one of the primary responsibilities of governments. In this case, however, the
unavoidable costs will be completely externalized, that is, passed on to the transport service
suppliers and, in the final analysis, to each individual citizen.
Will ports become “high security zones”? Shipping agents, shipping companies, and port
operator companies that do not meet the requirements of
assigning an identification number to each ship,
monitoring loading and unloading, and
establishing physical access controls for ships and ports by setting up restricted areas (including
locking mechanisms on enclosures, gates, doors and windows)
are threatened with very detailed inspections, along with considerable delays in transfer operations
from the sea- to the land-based logistics chain.
The cost is enormous. The U.S. Port Authorities estimate the one-time expenses for
security installations at its own ports at $3.6 bn. If the expanded EU stipulations should go
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