In the context of economic globalization, the freight volumes between Asia and Europe are constantly growing and results include the development of transport systems. Freight delivery is a challenge as the transit potential in these countries has to be improved. For example, on the main routes between the countries in the Black Sea Region, freight transport increased in 2004-2008 by up to 25% due to the sustainable economic growth of Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey.
In general, the transfer of freight from one mode of transport to another is a complex process which cannot guarantee the quality of transport services such as freight delivery time, the safety of pro-duct consumption and its transportation. Consequently, the most used transport solution which answers these challenges is complex multimodal traffic, mainly provided by railway and maritime routes. The increasing volume of goods has a positive impact on the development of the ferry transport market and a good operation of these services creates huge opportunities for the development of the Black Sea Region.
The countries in the Black Sea Region need ferry services as the demand is growing, but the current situation of these transport services cannot meet demands properly. Therefore, the segment is in great need of constant development. “For efficiently connecting the countries in the Wider Black Sea Area and ensuring a permanent freight flow, railway ferry services are absolutely necessary. They have to develop so as to meet transport demands and increase freight volumes in the region”, declared Helmut Meelich, Project Manager Transeuropean Railways – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The main engines of economic progress, tourism and trade, can only be stimulated by creating and guaranteeing the operation of the multimodal transport system in conditions of safety and maximum efficiency that ensures the interaction between the different transport modes. The development and extension of ferry lines reduces freight delivery times, removes overcrowding in transit and facilitates development. “These reasons are also supported by specialists in the area whose analyses highlight the necessity of ferryboat transport in the development of the business segment. According to experts, a dollar invested in the acquisition of a ferry and in the development of the auxiliary port infrastructure brings a 3 dollar profit, money which heads directly to transport companies and another 5 dollars for tourism. At the same time, the development of such services will significantly reduce the negative environmental impact”, declared Mihai Gheorghiade, Deputy General Manager of Constanţa Maritime Ports Administration.
Countries are interested in the development of ferry lines
One should bear in mind that there is a vast international experience in multimodal and intermodal connections using ferryboat lines. Such an experience can be turned to the benefit of the countries in the Black Sea Region. One of the best examples of developing efficient ferry lines and of their contribution to economic growth, trade development and, thus, international transport is the existence of regular ferry lines in Scandinavia, but also in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean Sea Region.
For example, the container train travelling from Klaipeda (Lithuania) to Đlichevsk (Ukraine) – “Viking”, is very important in the region as it supplies operating ferry connections between Đlichesk and Derince (Turkey) and helps expand the transport of freight to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asia. The project is developed through intergovernmental agreement regarding the transport of freight on the ferryboat lines in the ports of Turkey to Ukraine. “The countries and the region have to focus on implementing projects such as “Viking”, as it represents a good example for the development of services in the Black Sea Region, including port traffic growth”, explained Meelich.
Also, there are opportunities for the development of these services between the port of Constanţa and Samsun, as, due to the position of the Romanian port, on the pan-European Corridor IV, countries which don’t have access to the Black Sea, such as Hungary, are in need of transport on this corridor to Central Asia. Therefore, a modern and environmentally friendly line can be developed for the transport of freight on the route Hungary-Romania-Constanţa Seaport and farther to Anatolia.
Because traffic is bottlenecked, Turkey is interested in ferryboat services and pays special attention to the project for the establishment of a new transport line on the route Turkey-Russia, Russia-Middle East, taking into account the importance of the geographical position of Turkey to intercontinental railway traffic: Turkey is one of the most important countries, a bridge between Europe and Asia. Considering the commercial flow between Turkey and Russia, the authorities have established that the ferry railway transport service should be initiated between the ports of Samsun and Kavkas. If in 2005, the authorities were planning to initiate the operation of these services, in 2010, they became aware of the importance of the ferry transport and signed the agreements for the organisation of mixed transport on this route.
For the ferryboat lines as well, Turkey has invested in the construction of a railway section of 31 km (Tekirdağ- Muratlı) to permit the launch of the services between Tekirdağ-Derince-Bandırma. This service will shorten the distance between Europe and Turkey by around 600 km and transports will be cheaper.
Also, for the Commercial Port of Illichivsk (Ukraine), using multimodal transport services, railway plus maritime, has a major importance to economic development and for this, the authorities consider the optimisation of the factors influencing ferryboat traffic. The advantages of this type of transhipment via Illichivsk Port will rely on the volumes and the freight handling time, the regularity of services and the available equipments and infrastructure. The terminal is equipped with independent access points for motorised wagons and vehicles and the facilities permit the transhipment of 4.5 million tonnes in wagons, 10,000 motorised heavy vehicles and 250,000 cars.
“The complex has ferryboats with wagons and containers and it is the centre of two ferryboat lines functioning on the Black Sea: Illichivsk (Ukraine) – Varna (Bulgaria) – Poti/Batumi (Georgia) and Illichivsk – Derindge (Turkey). There are 5 ferryboats operating the connection lines of these ports. Those of Bulgaria and Ukraine have an individual capacity of 108 wagons or heavy trucks and those of Georgia, 50 wagons and 50 heavy trucks. The handling time varies between 10 and 18 hours and the journey takes 18 hours on the route Illichivsk – Varna, 44 hours on Illichivsk – Poti, 46 hours on Illichivsk – Batumi and 27 hours on llichivsk – Derindge”, explained the representatives of llichivsk Port.
Also, for making transhipment efficient, the surfaces dedicated to freight, wagons and vehicles (the port accommodates 450 containers and 60 trains) have direct connections to the ferry complex.
Problems in ports
For ferry services to be efficient, all decision-makers have to involve in solving problems which prevent the launch of new services and their adequate development. The presence of hindrances in the development of ferry services can be noticed both in the transport process and in freight flows which have a negative impact on trade development and in creating an efficient transport connection. Commercial activities are slackened because of the problems met in developing the infrastructure of seaports and adjacent areas and the insufficient development of border points in ports lead to a standstill in the development of international freight transport.
As regards ferry traffic, “there is an insufficient development level of the international market of this type of traffic, including the deficit of new ships, the lack of a clear schedule of services etc. Also, apart from the lack of interoperability insurance and the deficiency in using consignment notes in railway-maritime transport, another important problem is the relatively high cost of the ferry transport compared to other regions, because of poor competition: most lines in the Black Sea, compared to those in the Baltic and the Mediterranean Sea, are operated by just one shipping company”, explained the representative of Constanţa Seaport.
If all these problems are not solved, ferry lines will still face underdevelopment compared to the other transport modes which will lead to road traffic congestion, bottlenecks at cross-borders, additional costs for shippers and, last but not least, more expensive goods in the international trade network. Consequently, transit freight flows will turn their back to the Black Sea and will weigh the development of multimodal hubs in ports.
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