This covers cargoes and the emerging tourism and cruise sector and expresses the strategic direction toward which the Port is headed. The Haifa Port Company launched an innovative website (www.haifaport.co.il) expressing the Company’s strategy for the coming years. This consists of excellence in service, transparency toward the customers and the public, innovation, addressing customers in the Arab countries neighboring Israel such as Jordan, and the strengthening of sectors like general cargo and tourism, including the cruises and tourism sectors with the preparations for the opening of the Port to the general public as part of the municipal Waterfront Plan. The State of Israel has in recent years been making a considerable effort, led by the Ministry of Transport to position Haifa Port at the forefront of the logistical chain in the Middle East. This includes completion of the “Valley Railway” project from the Port of Haifa to the Jordanian border, and far-reaching plans to connect to other countries as well. Haifa Port is now moving this project one step forward by directly addressing, in Arabic, its potential customers across the border and presenting its capabilities, plus real-time data, to the potential overseas customers, as well as to the Arabic-speaking Israeli citizens.

Eshel Armony, Chairman of the Haifa Port Company Board of Directors: “The new Internet website expresses the Company’s strategy for the coming years. The fact that the site provides full service in Arabic dovetails perfectly with our intention to open eastward transport channels and to increase our cooperation with the moving of goods throughout the Middle East”. Mendy Zaltzman, CEO of the Haifa Port Company: “The new website is an image of Haifa Port itself – high-quality, professional, service-oriented with a beauty and spirit unique to it. This is a substantial step upwards, positioning us in this field too, the online data field on the Web, at the highest level globally. In three words – Beware, it’s addictive”. Zohar Rom, Port Spokesman and Manager of Communications and the Cruise Sector: “One can confidently say that this is one of the world’s ten most advanced Port websites and also one of the most attractive. We have learned a lot from technologically leading ports like the Ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg, particularly in all matters concerning development of real-time technological tools. We now bring to our customers and to the general public a sleek website which is fun to browse and efficient to use – whether on a computer or on a mobile phone. The fact that the Port is fully localised for English and Arabic is an important message to the Port’s customers in Israel and in our neighboring countries. It is a clear, unmistakable statement that the Port is determined to become the main gateway into the Middle East”.

The Haifa Port website actually consists of a fully developed website in three languages – Hebrew, Arabic and English, where all the information is updated in all three languages. Besides all this, there are detailed informational pages in ten other languages. 

The new 30-year plan follows an extensive 2½ year review of more than 3,000 acres of port property and included more than 45 presentations to regional stakeholders and community groups, including more than 50 planning workshops, and interaction with nearly 500 stakeholders. The document takes a holistic look at the port, including cargo container facilities, automobile terminals, dry and liquid bulk cargo operations, cruise terminals and ferry landings. It will build on earlier planning work in the 1990s that ultimately led to the deepening of port channels to 50 feet, the raising of the Bayonne Bridge, container terminal expansions, realignment of and capacity enhancements to port roadways and the completion of the port’s $600 million ExpressRail network.

Release of the master plan comes at a time when the Port of New York and New Jersey is experiencing record cargo growth, which has pushed it into the position of No. 2 in the nation for the first time in two decades, surpassing the Port of Long Beach. During the first five months of 2019, the port set a new all-time record for cargo during that period, handling 3,041,814 TEUs.

“Our predecessors had the foresight to clearly understand the value of the port to regional jobs and economic activity and made substantial investments that today are paying huge dividends,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.  “This plan will continue the momentum we have built and drive this port to new heights that two decades ago would have seemed impossible to achieve.”

“This port is committed to maintaining its leadership position among the nation’s ports. This plan lays out a clearly defined roadmap for the future, one that integrates new technology into port operations, provides for more efficient movement of cargo and makes strategic decisions about the future composition of port property,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.  “This new master plan provides a vision that we believe will drive future cargo growth and the jobs and economic benefits it provides for the region. It also ensures sustainability and resiliency as key goals and commits the Port to enduring partnerships with our host communities.”

The primary objectives of the master plan are to provide opportunities for growth through stakeholder engagement; improve the port’s commercial value by investigating opportunities to maximize lease revenue; to continue to serve as an economic engine for the region; and to promote safe, resilient and environmentally sustainable operations in partnership with its tenants. 

The port master plan focuses on five guiding principles:

Ensuring Sustainability and Resiliency in all operations and future developments. 

Promoting Regional Economic Generation 

Establishing State of the Art facilities 

Providing a Platform for Partnership for all local stakeholders

Shaping Future Growth of the region

The Port Authority will continue to be sustainable and resilient, driving down diesel emissions, and minimising noise, congestion and environmental impacts at its facilities throughout the Port of New York and New Jersey.  Among other strategies, this will be achieved through the latest technologies to reduce or eliminate emissions (adopting electric and low-energy operations at facilities) and by enhancing collaboration with tenants and operators to incorporate performance goals and incentives into lease agreements.

With the completion of the plan, the Port Authority will now begin implementing the key findings and recommendations including a series of further studies, analysis and design work. 

Twice daily, the RoPax ferry Finbo Cargo enters the port of Muuga, which is about 20 kilometres east of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. On the Finnish side, Vuosaari – located in the east of Helsinki – is served. The focus of the new ferry connection is on truck and trailer traffic, though passengers with cars will also be transported. The Finbo Cargo has a transport capacity of nearly 2,000 lane metres for trucks, trailers and passenger cars.

Muuga relieves Tallinn of truck traffic

Eckerö Line already operates a ferry between the Estonian and Finnish capitals Tallinn and Helsinki. As a result of the increasing flow of goods between the two countries, the shipping company has expanded its services with the new RoPax ferry connection between Muuga and Vousaari. This is expected to unbundle freight and passenger traffic and to relieve urban centres of truck traffic.

The new Eckerö Line ferry connection is the second RoRo service after Tallink to connect Muuga with Finland. Vladimir Popov, CEO of HHLA TK Estonia, sees even further potential: “Muuga continues to develop into a multimodal RoRo hub and is an important component of HHLA’s network strategy.” Truck traffic via Muuga to Belarus, Ukraine and Western Europe has excellent growth potential. Furthermore, the Rail Baltica railway connection from Estonia to the European rail network will have a positive impact on the development of trailer traffic.

Taru Keronen, Managing Director of Eckerö Line: “We see great potential in the route and want to be involved in its development. Our cargo figures have been growing well in recent years, and more and more passengers are taking their cars when travelling to Estonia. We are now introducing a completely new solution to the route, which will accelerate the shift to Vuosaari for heavy traffic and create a new alternative for cargo and car travel,” says Keronen.