Communication from the Commission- Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping
Date: 2003-04-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: combined transport, common transport policy, container, harmonisation of standards, load, maritime transport












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52003DC0155

Communication from the Commission- Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping  /* COM/2003/0155 final */  









COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION - Programme for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping1. IntroductionIn September 2001 the Commission presented its "White Paper on European Transport Policy for 2010: time to decide" [1]. The Paper sets a number of ambitious targets to ensure competitiveness and sustainability of mobility also in 2010. Short Sea Shipping is an obvious choice to play a key role in reaching these targets. It can help curb the 50 % increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic forecasted in the Paper, it can help rebalance the modal split, bypass land bottlenecks, and it is safe and sustainable.[1]  COM(2001) 370, 12.9.2001.The political conviction that Short Sea Shipping is a priority for the European Union was also reconfirmed in the informal meeting of the European Union Transport Ministers in June 2002 in Gijón, Spain.2. Short Sea Shipping is a Growth IndustryAlready today Short Sea Shipping is highly successful and it is the only mode that has proved able to keep up with the growth of road transport. It performs 41% of all tonne-kilometres in Europe while the share of road transport is 43% [2]. Its growth rate is above that of European Union industrial production and its tonne-kilometre performance grew by up to 38% in the 1990's as compared to 40% growth in road transport (See Figure 1).[2]  Data for the year 2000, excluding pipelines. Source: EU Energy and Transport in Figures: Statistical Pocketbook 2002.&gt;REFERENCE TO A GRAPHIC&gt;Figure 1: Tonne-kilometre growth 1990-2000 in percent in road, Short Sea Shipping, inland waterways and rail. [3][3]  Main data source: EU Energy and Transport in Figures: Statistical Pocketbook 2002.3. How Can We Make Short Sea Shipping Even More Successful?To fully utilise Short Sea Shipping in Europe, it needs to be successfully integrated into logistics chains and offer seamless door-to-door operations. Such logistics chains should be managed and commercialised by single commercial entities, so-called "one-stop shops". These companies should offer customers a single contact point that takes responsibility for the whole intermodal chain. Furthermore, the notion of competition between modes should be replaced by complementarity because co-operation between modes is vital in chains involving more than one mode.Full integration of Short Sea Shipping into intermodal door-to-door supply chains still remains to be achieved. This is primarily for the industries to accomplish, but efforts at other levels can help the process and alleviate the framework obstacles that hinder Short Sea Shipping from developing faster:* It has not yet fully shed its past image as an old-fashioned industry;* It involves complex administrative and documentary procedures;* It requires enhanced port efficiency;* It needs new advanced technological solutions for ships, ports, loading units and telematics networks.A number of Community actions have already been taken or are envisaged to alleviate the obstacles and reinforce Short Sea Shipping in Europe. Among them one can mention:* Adoption of a Directive standardising certain reporting formalities for ships to arrive in and/or depart from ports in the Member States [4];[4]  Directive 2002/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 February 2002 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Member States of the Community, OJ L 67, 9.3.2002, p. 31.* Proposal for a new support programme "Marco Polo" [5];[5]  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the granting of Community financial assistance to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system, COM(2002) 54 final, 4.2.2002.* Proposal for a Directive on intermodal loading units [6];[6]  Annexed to this Communication.* Introduction of the "Motorways of the Sea" approach in the Commission White Paper on European Transport Policy for 2010;* Proposal for a Directive on market access to port services [7];[7]  Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on market access to port services, COM(2001) 35 final, 13.2.2001, as amended by COM(2002) 101 final, 19.2.2002.* Publication of a Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping [8];[8]  Commission Staff Working Paper: Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping, SEC(2002) 632, 29.5.2002.* Introduction of the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) in Customs transit;* Customs 2002 and 2007 [9] programmes and the project RALFH [10] funded under the Customs 2002 programme;[9]  Decision No 253/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2003 adopting an action programme for customs in the Community (Customs 2007), OJ L 36, 12.2.2003, p. 1.[10]  RALFH = Contact Group of Customs Managers of Northern Ports in the European Union: Rotterdam, Antwerp, Le Havre, Felixstowe and Hamburg. The project aims to improve practical Customs co-operation between ports.* Further development of telematics networks for ports and Short Sea Shipping.4. Why a Programme for Promotion?The achievement of the objectives of the White Paper will require intensified efforts from all parties to increase the use of Short Sea Shipping. Furthermore, the informal meeting of the European Union Transport Ministers in June 2002 in Gijón discussed the possibility of an action plan on the key issues for developing the political priority given to Short Sea Shipping. The Commission believes that such an initiative is warranted.This Communication presents a Programme that has the objective of promoting Short Sea Shipping. It consists of 14 individual actions subdivided into measures. The measures mention the responsible actors and timetable. The actions can be divided into legislative, technical and operational as follows:A. Legislative Actions1. Implementation of the Directive on certain reporting formalities for ships to arrive in and/or depart from ports in the Member States (IMO-FAL),2. Implementation of Marco Polo,3. Standardisation and harmonisation of intermodal loading units,4. Motorways of the Sea,5. Improving the environmental performance of Short Sea Shipping.B. Technical Actions6. Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping,7. Identification and elimination of obstacles to making Short Sea Shipping more successful than it is today,8. Approximation of national applications and computerisation of Community Customs procedures,9. Research and Technological Development.C. Operational Actions10. One-stop administrative shops,11. Ensuring the vital role of Short Sea Shipping Focal Points [11],[11]  Short Sea Shipping Focal Points are representatives of national maritime administrations. They are responsible for Short Sea Shipping in their administrations.12. Ensuring good functioning of and guidance to Short Sea Promotion Centres [12],[12]  Short Sea Promotion Centres (SPCs) or, in other words, national Short Sea Shipping Promotion Bureaux are industry-driven, impartial bodies promoting Short Sea Shipping.13. Promote the image of Short Sea Shipping as a successful transport alternative,14. Collection of statistical information.* * * * *PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGPROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 1IMO FALTo simplify the burden of documentary and administrative procedures, the European Parliament and the Council adopted in December 2001 the Commission proposal aiming to standardise certain reporting formalities for ships to arrive in and/or depart from ports in the Member States (so-called IMO FAL Directive [13]). The Directive is a direct result of the work to solve identified bottlenecks. It requires the Member States to accept the standard IMO FAL forms when the relevant arrival/departure information for a ship can be obtained with these forms. This means that the multitude of different national forms is now being replaced by one common set of forms. The Directive will have practical effect as of 9 September 2003 at the latest by which time the Member States will have to have brought into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with it.[13]  See footnote 4.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Follow up and ensure compliance with the Directive as well as its proper functioning.Responsible Actors: Commission services and Member States.Deadline: First stage: by 9 September 2003, then: continuous.2. Simplify the transfer into the new framework by providing on the Commission's public Short Sea Shipping Internet site [14] IMO FAL forms that are accessible to all and that can be downloaded, filled in on the computer and/or printed out for immediate use.[14]  http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/ maritime/sss/index_en.htm.Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: By mid-2003.3. Inform shipowners, agents and other relevant parties of the possibilities offered by the Directive.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Member States, industry associations, Focal Points and SPCs.Deadline: By 9 September 2003.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 2Marco PoloOne main instrument for giving support to the start-up phase of Short Sea Shipping projects in the Community was the programme "Pilot Actions for Combined Transport" (PACT). It proved to be beneficial to Short Sea Shipping which received a fair share of the annual PACT funding.The PACT programme expired at the end of 2001. The European Commission proposed [15] in February 2002 a successor to it. The new "Marco Polo" programme will make a substantial contribution to converting intermodality into a reality in Europe. With its foreseen annual budget of EUR18,75 million [16], it aims to contribute to shifting 12 billion tonne-kilometres a year from road to Short Sea Shipping, rail and inland waterways. The Council of the European Union reached a political agreement on the proposal in December 2002.[15]  See footnote 5.[16]  Budget foreseen for 1.1.2003 - 31.12.2006.The Motorways of the Sea (cf. Action Sheet No. 4), as a new key initiative, should be in a position to fully benefit from the Marco Polo programme as far as the starting up of new services is concerned.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Make Marco Polo operational as of 2003, which will allow funding of innovative and important Short Sea Shipping projects.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Parliament, Member States and industry.Deadline: Annual, until 2010 (budget foreseen initially for 4 years).2. Utilise fully the possibilities offered by Marco Polo support to start up viable and operational Short Sea Shipping services on or outside the Motorways of the Sea.Responsible Actors: Commission services and industry.Deadline: Annual, until 2010 (budget foreseen initially for 4 years).PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 3Intermodal Loading UnitsThe improvement of intermodal loading units (containers and swap-bodies) is one of the measures put forwards in the White Paper on European Transport Policy for 2010. The current multitude of different configurations of these units creates friction costs and delays in handling operations between modes. This should be overcome by harmonising certain handling characteristics of loading units, such as the top or bottom corner fittings or steering tunnels. Furthermore, swap bodies are generally not stackable and, therefore, not suitable for maritime transport. On the other hand, containers do not fully utilise the allowable dimensions in road transport [17]. Standardising a European loading unit that would combine the stackability of a container with the pallet-wide cargo space of a swap body could offer a solution.[17]  Cf. Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic, OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59, as subsequently corrected and amended.The Commission has examined intermodal loading units and attaches a legal proposal to this Communication. The proposal benefits maritime transport, because it helps decrease the friction costs in port handling and lets Short Sea Shipping acquire a larger share of the swap body market which has so far been confined to land transport.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Adopt the proposal on interoperability of intermodal loading units and implement it as soon as possible.Responsible Actors: Member States, Parliament and industry.Deadline: First stage by 2004. Continuous thereafter.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 4Motorways of the SeaThe Commission presented the notion of "Motorways of the Sea" in its White Paper on European Transport Policy. These Motorways should alleviate major land bottlenecks in the European transport system and enhance the logistics integration of Short Sea Shipping.Sea Motorways should make it possible to bypass land bottlenecks in Europe as part of comprehensive door-to-door logistics chains. Obvious examples of the bottlenecks would be the Alps and Pyrenees. Bypassing these natural bottlenecks by Short Sea Shipping would have an impact both on the Mediterranean and countries north of the mountain ranges. The value of including other, man-made bottlenecks is being assessed.Motorways of the Sea should offer efficient, regular and frequent services that can compete with road, for instance, in terms of transit time and price. Ports connected to the Motorways should have adequate hinterland connections and offer a high level of service to short-sea customers (including smooth administrative procedures). Telematics interconnections between ports, on the one hand, and ship's communication systems (such as Vessel Traffic Management and Information Systems - VTMIS), on the other, should be extended and become interoperable to integrate locally distributed systems into a European network.Cost estimates seem to indicate that the establishment of new regular shipping links would be considerably less costly than the construction of corresponding new land infrastructure.The Commission is currently working on the details of the Motorways of the Sea. One opportunity to present the details would obviously be the next revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Guidelines [18] by the end of 2003. This revision is currently being prepared by a High-Level Group composed of representatives of the Member States and accession countries and chaired by Mr Karel Van Miert, former Commissioner for Transport and Commission Vice-President.[18]  Decision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the Trans-European Transport Network, OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1, as amended by Decision No. 1346/2001/EC, OJ L 185, 6.7.2001, p. 1.Once finalised, the framework of the TEN-T could contribute to infrastructure investments related to the Sea Motorways, such as port infrastructure and port-hinterland connections. Furthermore, the new Marco Polo programme (cf. Action Sheet No. 2) could support starting up new services on the Motorways provided that they meet the requirements of the programme.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Finalise deliberations on the Motorways of the Sea to make adherence to them attractive to the market players with a view to fulfilling the objectives of the White Paper.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Member States and industry.Deadline: By mid-2003.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 5Improving the Environmental Performance of Short Sea ShippingMaritime transport has a much higher energy-efficiency than other modes of transport and is, in general, less harmful to the environment than other modes of transport per tonne or passenger carried. A modal shift to Short Sea Shipping could, for instance, constitute an important element in the Community strategy to fulfil the Kyoto obligations [19].[19]  The European Community and the Member States ratified the Kyoto Protocol in May 2002.The good environmental performance of shipping is, however, hampered, in particular, by sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions that are significantly higher than in other modes.The IMO Conference in September 1997 adopted new measures to reduce sulphur oxide [20] emissions from ship exhausts (new Annex VI to MARPOL 73/78). The Conference also adopted provisions allowing the establishment of special "SOx Emission Control Areas" where lower emission levels would apply. The Baltic Sea, North Sea and English Channel have been designated as such areas [21]. The ratification process of the new Annex has not been completed yet, and the new measures have not entered into force world-wide.[20]  The sulphur content of fuel oil used on board ships must not exceed 4,5% m/m.[21]  The sulphur content of fuel oil used on board ships must not exceed 1,5% m/m. Alternatively, ships must use other technological methods to limit SOx emissions.In November 2002 the Commission presented a proposal for a directive to reduce the sulphur content of marine fuels used in the European Union [22]. The proposal is partly based on the "SOx Emission Control Areas" established under Annex VI to MARPOL 73/78 but also goes further than that. Nevertheless, the proposal is part of a wider European strategy to ensure that maritime transport will be even less harmful to the environment than it is today. [23][22]  Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/32/EC as regards the sulphur content of marine fuels, COM(2002) 595 final, 20.11.2002.[23]  Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: A European Union strategy to reduce atmospheric emissions from seagoing ships, COM(2002) 595 final, 20.11.2002.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Improve the environmental performance of Short Sea Shipping by backing up and following the strategy that the Commission has presented, including the adoption and implementation of the legal proposal to reduce the sulphur content of marine fuels.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Member States, Parliament and industries.Deadline: First results by 2005. Continuous thereafter.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 6Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea ShippingPeople's immediate reaction to Customs procedures is that they are too complicated and decrease the attractiveness of Short Sea Shipping. But this reaction is too general to be satisfactory or lead to concrete improvements. In order to find operational solutions, it is imperative to identify the specific elements that might cause problems.For this purpose, the Commission Services published, in May 2002, a Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping [24]. It has a dual purpose:[24]  See footnote 8.* It outlines the Customs rules for Short Sea Shipping, including opportunities for using simplified procedures;* It gives a concise basis for identifying possible concrete needs for modifications or further simplifications.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Carry out consultations with the industry, Short Sea Shipping Focal Points and Short Sea Promotion Centres (SPCs) on the Guide to Customs Procedures for Short Sea Shipping. Based on the results of the consultations, examine whether amendments to the Customs rules may be undertaken or whether some issues could be addressed under the initiatives to approximate national applications of Community Customs rules and improve co-operation between national Customs services (cf. Action Sheet No. 8, measure 1).Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: By second half of 2003.2. Clarify the extent to which simplification opportunities offered by the current Customs rules are utilised (in particular, those for authorised regular shipping services and authorised consignors/consignees). If the current simplification regimes are not utilised, identify the reasons and study eventual modifications to the Customs rules. Assess technical measures to render Customs facilities simpler.Responsible Actors: Commission services, industry, Focal Points and SPCs.Deadline: By second half of 2003.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 7Identification and Elimination of Obstacles to Making Short Sea Shipping More Successful than It Is TodayAs from December 1999 the Commission has been collecting a list of obstacles that hamper the development of Short Sea Shipping. This "bottleneck exercise" also contains ideas towards possible solutions to the obstacles as well as best practices.The identified obstacles can be classified into five categories:* Short Sea Shipping has not yet fully shed its past image of an old-fashioned industry;* It has not yet achieved full integration in the intermodal logistics chain;* It involves complex administrative and documentary procedures;* It requires enhanced port efficiency;* Application of the rules and procedures differs between countries.Some of the obstacles are already being tackled (e.g. uniformity of ships' reporting forms, port efficiency and costs, and standardisation of loading units). In general, the identified and alleged obstacles are being tackled at various levels: EU, Member State, regional and local.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Scrutinise the identified obstacles systematically, item by item, with a view to eliminating them.Responsible Actors: Commission services with Focal Points and SPCs in co-operation with the Member States and industry.Deadline: By the end of 2003.2. Identify any further obstacles that hamper the development of Short Sea Shipping and work towards finding solutions to them.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Focal Points, industry and SPCs.Deadline: Continuous.3. Increase the efficiency of port services by adopting the proposal for a Directive on market access to port services [25] and implementing it as soon as possible.[25]  See footnote 7.Responsible Actors: Member States, Parliament and industries.Deadline: First results by the end 2003. Continuos thereafter.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 8Approximation of National Applications and Computerisation of Community Customs ProceduresCustoms procedures are an important part of Short Sea Shipping because a ship sailing from an EU port to another leaves the Community Customs territory only to enter it again when it arrives at the other port. The goods it carries normally lose their Community status unless this status is demonstrated by means of a status document or maintained under a transit procedure. This is an additional burden on Short Sea Shipping in comparison with land transport where corresponding loss of Community status does not normally occur between EU Member States provided there is no passage via a third country.The current movement towards electronic transmission of Customs data (e-Customs) should help Short Sea Shipping by speeding up and simplifying the procedures that are necessary for declaring the cargo.As one of the first steps in e-Customs, some 3000 Customs offices in 22 countries will soon implement the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) whereby the paperwork relating to transport under the single administrative document (SAD) will be replaced by electronic messages. As a second step, the system could, in the future, also extend to movements currently carried out under the simplified transit procedures for modes of transport and gradually become the backbone of e-Customs.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Approximate national applications of Community Customs rules and improve co-operation between national Customs services, in particular through the action programme for Customs in the Community (Customs 2007) and contact group of northern ports (RALFH). [26][26]  See footnotes 9 and 10.Responsible Actors: Commission services and Member States.Deadline: Continuous.2. Introduce the NCTS for Community and common transit procedures.Responsible Actors: Commission services and Member States.Deadline: By mid-2003.3. Continue legislative moves towards enabling the use of electronic rather than paper submissions towards the creation of a non-bureaucratic environment that limits the use of paper documents to the minimum.Responsible Actors: Commission services and Member States.Deadline: Continuous.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 9Research and Technological Development (RTD)The Community continuously carries out RTD actions to advance Short Sea Shipping and port procedures in line with the latest technological innovations. The objectives of this research have been, for instance to improve the quality, safety, security and environmental performance of maritime transport. Recently a Thematic Network for Short Sea Shipping was established with the aim to carry out work on topics that are of direct policy importance.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Carry out under a Thematic Network for Short Sea Shipping tasks that are of direct policy importance for Short Sea Shipping:- A comparative study of door-to-door transport prices between modes;- A comparative study of door-to-door environmental performance of Short Sea Shipping in relation to other modes;- Establishment of a distance matrix for easy conversion of available tonne data on Short Sea Shipping into tonne-kilometres (in co-ordination with the ongoing work in Eurostat).Responsible Actors: The chosen consortium in co-ordination with Commission services.Deadline: Until 2005.2. Utilise the 6th Framework Programme for RTD to develop:- Innovations in ship design (in particular fast ro-ro ships and new types of fast lo-lo ships but also other ship options);- Innovations in port technologies;- Dedicated equipment and technologies for Short Sea Shipping;- New technological solutions for administrative procedures.Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: By 2007.3. Disseminate concrete results of maritime RTD projects to a wide public in a clear and understandable way.Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: Continuous.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 10One-Stop Administrative ShopsAction should be taken at administrative level in Member States and ports to create "one-stop administrative shops" [27] that would further simplify and speed up the formalities relating to the arrival, departure and clearance of ships. This must be done without compromising safety or security.[27]  Such "one-stop administrative shops" are sometimes called "single windows".One-stop administrative shops could take several forms. The number of different authorities boarding every ship could be limited by delegating the task of carrying out certain formalities to another administration, the port administration or ship's agent, as is the case in some Member States. Furthermore, instead of having administrations spread around the port area, or even in neighbouring ports, there should be a single contact point in each port area for ships to fulfil all the necessary formalities or at least a help-desk giving information on which formalities to fulfil, how best to do it and where to do it. In any case, controls by different control bodies need co-ordinating so as to reduce, as much as possible, their interference with ship's operations.In addition to speeding up the formalities for ships, these one-stop administrative shops should also assist in stepping up the formalities relating to hinterland transport (road, rail and inland waterways) into and out of the port area.The use of electronic means of communication, using standardised messages, between the ship and authorities should be urgently developed. This usage should be extended to cover the whole logistics chain, as would be the case for security-related procedures (cf. also Action Sheets Nos. 4 and 8).FORESEEN MEASURES1. Promote the idea of one-stop administrative shops in ports to reduce, or at least co-ordinate, the number of administrations boarding and checking every ship and to offer port users a single contact point or help-desk for administrative formalities.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Member States, Port Authorities and Focal Points.Deadline: Continuous.2. Examine the opportunities offered by the Motorways of the Sea (cf. Action Sheet No. 4) introduced in the White Paper to advance these one-stop administrative shops.Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: By the end of 2003.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 11Ensuring the Vital Role of Short Sea Shipping Focal PointsAll maritime Member States and Norway and Iceland have appointed so-called Short Sea Shipping Focal Points who are government officials with the specific responsibility of promoting and developing Short Sea Shipping in their Member States. Since 1999 they have networked at European level to monitor needs and provide ideas and solutions to foster Short Sea Shipping. The Focal Points have regular meetings that are chaired by the Commission. The Commission also provides the Secretariat for the meetings and an Internet-based web tool (CIRCA [28]) to share information and ideas between meetings. With a view to the enlargement of the European Union, the accession countries Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia (and the candidate country Turkey) have appointed corresponding contact persons for Short Sea Shipping and participate in the work of the Focal Points' Group as observers.[28]  CIRCA = Communication and Information Resource Centre Administrator.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Ensure continuous co-operation between the Short Sea Shipping Focal Points and with the Commission by organising regular meetings and maintaining the flow of information between meetings via the Internet-based web tool (CIRCA).Responsible Actors: Commission services and Focal Points.Deadline: Continuous.2. Ensure the attachment of accession countries to the work of the Focal Points for them to attribute key importance to Short Sea Shipping from the beginning instead of putting unilateral importance on road transport.Responsible Actors: Commission services with Focal Points and SPCs.Deadline: As soon as possible.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 12Ensuring Good Functioning of and Guidance to Short Sea Promotion CentresAlmost all maritime Member States and Norway and Poland have national Short Sea Promotion Centres (SPCs). These Centres are driven by business interests and offer a practical tool to promote Short Sea Shipping at national level. They are essentially independent from specific interest groups, such as shipping companies and/or ports, and advise and encourage transport users to use Short Sea Shipping. The national Centres are presently being networked in the European Short Sea Network (ESN) [29] which offers a common tool for European promotion. Through networking, the Centres are also able to exchange information and best practises and provide practical advice to cover both ends of a short-sea journey. The Commission strongly supports these Centres, their work and their networking.[29]  See www.shortsea.info.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Ensure good functioning of the Short Sea Promotion Centres and their European Short Sea Network and guide their work towards concrete and practical ways to enhance the use of Short Sea Shipping.Responsible Actors: Commission services in co-operation with SPCs.Deadline: Continuous.2. Award political, practical and financial support to the work of the Short Sea Promotion Centres and their European network.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Focal Points, national authorities and industry.Deadline:         For general support and private financing: Continuous. For public financial support: Until the Centres reach self- sufficiency through membership fees and other private funding.3. Extend the geographical coverage of national Short Sea Promotion Centres to cover not only the EU Member States in the short-sea area but also the accession countries.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Focal Points and SPCs.Deadline: As soon as possible.4. Provide and share the responsibility of maintaining an Internet-based web tool (CIRCA [30]) for the exchange of information between the members of the European Short Sea Network and with the Commission services.[30]  See footnote 28.Responsible Actors: Commission services and SPCs.Deadline: Continuous.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 13Promote the Image of Short Sea Shipping as a Successful Transport AlternativeOne major action to enhance the use of Short Sea Shipping is to convert its image from that of an old-fashioned and slow mode to modern reality: that of a dynamic link in the door-to-door supply chain. Today Short Sea Shipping can generally offer speed, reliability, flexibility, regularity, frequency, and cargo safety to a high degree. Transport users should be better aware of this when making decisions on the choice of the mode.To accomplish this conversion, Short Sea Shipping services need to live up to the modern dynamic image, on the one hand, and awareness needs to be increased, in particular among shippers, of the opportunities that Short Sea Shipping can offer, on the other. This is primarily for the relevant industries to accomplish. However, also administrations and the Commission can substantially contribute.It should also be remembered that Short Sea Shipping does not cover only freight but moves hundreds of millions of passengers every year in Europe both on regular lines and cruises. For this, Short Sea Shipping needs to offer high level of passenger service both in ports and onboard the ships.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Make Short Sea Shipping and its modern potential known through distribution of information on the mode and participation in conferences, seminars and workshops that attract also transport users. Award substantial resources to public presentations.Responsible Actors: Commission services, Focal Points, industry and SPCs.Deadline: Continuous.2. Provide updated neutral information on Short Sea Shipping policy to the public through the Internet, including further development of existing web sites.Responsible Actors: Commission services [31], Focal Points, SPCs [32].[31]  See footnote 14.[32]  See the ESN web site www.shortsea.info and national SPCs' web sites (accessible through the ESN web site). This exercise includes an on-going compilation of European databases for liner shipping and tramp vessels.Deadline: Continuous.3. Provide examples of Short Sea Shipping Success Stories (and failures to learn from) through the Commission's Short Sea Shipping Internet site.Responsible Actors: Commission services.Deadline: Continuous.PROGRAMME FOR THE PROMOTION OF SHORT SEA SHIPPINGACTION SHEET 14Collection of Statistical InformationEuropean-wide statistics on Short Sea Shipping trade have not been sufficiently detailed. The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) and 22 of its member ports [33] have been providing statistical data to the Commission. The Commission is grateful to these ports and ESPO for co-ordinating the exercise. The method of using a sample of 15 European ports was already tested and proved to be sufficiently reliable in the Commission Communication of 1999.[33]  See footnote 3.The situation will improve over time because the Council Directive on maritime statistics [34] has now fully come into effect as of year 2000 (due to requested derogations, the 1997-1999 data may not be complete). There are about 350 ports providing detailed data under the Directive. The Directive can provide most of the data needed for Short Sea Shipping with the availability of data on "port-to-port" level. At the request of the Member States, dissemination is limited to "port-to-maritime coastal area". Nevertheless, it will still take a few years for the Directive to produce data series for analysing trends.[34]  Council Directive 95/64/EC of 8 December 1995 on statistical returns in respect of carriage of goods and passengers by sea, OJ L 320, 30.12.1995, p. 25, as implemented by Commission Decisions 98/385/EC of 13 May 1998, OJ L 174, 18.6.1998, p. 1, 2000/363/EC of 28 April 2000, OJ L 132, 5.6.2000, p.1 and 2001/423/EC of 22 May 2001, OJ L 151, 7.6.2001, p. 41.FORESEEN MEASURES1. Collect statistical information on Short Sea Shipping from the Maritime Directive and through ESPO in parallel until the Directive provides sufficient time series for establishing trends and making reliable comparisons between modes.Responsible Actors: Commission services in co-operation with ESPO and Focal Points.Deadline: Until 2006.2. Extend the collection of statistical information to the accession countries.Responsible Actors: Commission services in co-operation with ESPO and Focal Points.Deadline: By 2004.