Construction work on the quay wall is also on schedule. The RWG (Rotterdam World Gateway) deep-sea quay and barge/feeder quay will be completed this year. A lot of work is also going into the quays for the new terminal of APM Terminals. The emphasis of the work on Maasvlakte 2 is currently on the construction of the hard sea defences, the construction of the quays for the first container terminals and the preparations for the construction of infrastructure, such as roads, railway lines and cables and pipelines.

They called on industry leaders to:
• create a shared vision of how the industry should develop over the next 30 years;
• prepare for greater scrutiny and demands from customers and society with regard to social and environmental performance;
• build and convert ships to the highest standards of energy efficiency in anticipation of high and volatile fuel prices and demands for low-carbon performance;
• drive the development of co-ordinated, progressive legislation that rewards sustainability;
• develop innovative business models that encourage long-term investment and take into account social and environmental obligations.

Soren Stig Nielsen, Head of Sustainability, Maersk Line, said: “By creating a shared vision for sustainable growth, we can plot a new ambitious course. A course where shipping is viewed as a key enabler of responsible and sustainable economic development.”

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative brings together leaders from across the maritime sector with Forum for the Future and WWF. Its members are: ship owners and charterers BP Shipping, Cargill, Gearbulk, IMC, Maersk Line, Morgan Stanley, Rio Tinto Marine and Tsakos Energy Navigation ; shipbuilders, engineers and service providers Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Wartsila; ABN Amro bank; RSA insurance; and the classification society Lloyd’s Register.

Tom Boardley, Marine Director at Lloyd’s Register,  emphasised the importance of commercial interests working with technical expertise. “One of the real strengths of this initiative is the marriage of ship operating and ship engineering capability –  we all need to work together to help make shipping more sustainable,” he said.

Board level representatives launched the Sustainable Shipping Initiative Case for Action today at a summit chaired by Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future. It is designed as a resource for the entire industry and warns that companies should be ready for three key challenges over the next 30 years.
• Continued growth of free trade and strong global governance cannot be guaranteed. A decline in global trade would lead to greater competition and magnify competitive advantages. Companies should be prepared for this and work with the IMO on progressive regulation to anticipate future challenges.
• Shipping is likely to face increased scrutiny of its social and environmental performance, mirroring trends seen in other industries. Companies which can demonstrate a strong record on working conditions, fuel efficiency, prosecutions and similar factors are likely to be favoured bv customers and suppliers, including ports, financiers and insurers.
• Volatile and rising oil prices will push up costs significantly while climate change is increasing pressure on shipping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Companies can gain competitive advantage by investing in energy efficiency and the transition to new fuels.

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative Case for Action explores the risks and opportunities around each of these three challenges. It also warns that companies which do nothing may face serious consequences. The US auto industry came close to collapse in 2008, partly by failing to adapt to rising oil prices, and was only saved by a $25 billion government bailout.

In the next stage of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, members will create a shared vision of an industry in 2040 which is resilient, socially and environmentally responsible and profitable, and will commit to a set of actions to achieve this. The ultimate aim is to mobilise industry support for an action plan to achieve this vision, including engineering and technical initiatives, policy proposals and marketing and communications plans.

Jonathon Porritt said: “The leaders involved in this Initiative understand that success and sustainability must go hand in hand.  These practical actions which they will help deliver will not only make their businesses more robust, but will ensure a more secure future for all of us.”

Journalists can download the report, pictures and other information on the Sustainable Shipping Initiative from our media resources page at www.forumforthefuture.org/sustainable-shipping-initiative

From May 17th the Sustainable Shipping Initiative Case for Action can be downloaded by the public at www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/sustainable-shipping-initiative

At METEC 2011, TAIM WESER will basically be promoting its cranes for the steel industry, its bulk materials handling systems for the mining industry and for the processing of concentrates, pellets and additives for the metallurgical industry.

TAIM WESER will be located in pavilion 4, at stand A26, with a 48m2 stand at which it will be exhibiting its equipment and some of its most outstanding systems in the form of models and photographic reports. At the stand will be a large amount of graphic material and information on the systems the company installs and there will also be a model of a 240 t casting crane, a replica of the one supplied to a client in United Kingdom.

TAIM WESER, world leader in lifting and handling

TAIM WESER has over 100 years’ experience and a great number of international contracts to its name. The Zaragoza Company is currently carrying out projects for the iron and bulk handling industries in places like Brazil, Romania, Colombia, Germany, the Middle-East, Morocco, France, Tunisia and Peru, among others.

From its lifting business unit, TAIM WESER designs, manufactures and supplies a wide range of specialised cranes for the main industrial sectors, such as steel, petrochemicals, ports and nuclear, hydro-electric and thermal power stations.  The scope of its supplies includes E.O.T. and semi gantry and gantry cranes on rails or tyres. These cranes are designed and manufactured according to its clients’ specific requirements and always in accordance with the principles of safety, high performance, automation, precision of movement, low maintenance and operation costs and maximum availability.

In the steel industry in particular, TAIM WESER offers a wide range of products, which goes from cranes for scrap handling, either for indoor (E.O.T. cranes) or outdoor (portal cranes), scrap schemes, scrap basket transfer cars, furnace charging and teeming cranes, tundish cranes, handling cranes for rolling mills and forges up to cranes for lamination and cranes for finished product.

As far as the bulk handling sector is concerned, TAIM WESER specialises in developing the equipment necessary to transport, handling, loading and storage of bulk materials. The company supplies “turnkey” installations and equipment, which include different types of product, such as belt conveyors, stockyard equipment (different types of stackers and reclaimers), hoppers, shiploaders and truck and train loading stations.