Looking forward to Med Hub Day

DEBATING CLUB

PREVIEW • CHANGE IS UNDERWAY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN TERMINALLING SECTOR. THIS YEAR’S MED HUB DAY OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR WHAT IT ALL MEANS

FOR THE PAST three years, the Port of Tarragona has held a short seminar, the Med Hub Day, to bring together the various interests in bulk liquids logistics in the western Mediterranean region. This year, for obvious reasons, it cannot host the event in person but, given the importance of the discussions that take place there, it is going ahead with a virtual event, which takes place on 19 and 20 November.

This fourth Med Hub Day will be an interactive webinar, hosted through an online platform that will guarantee participation and networking between attendees. As before, it will aim to promote debate and exchange information about the strengths and opportunities that lie in the Mediterranean for the chemical and petrochemical supply chains.

For two days, storage terminal operators, port authorities, consignees, forwarders, market analysts and shippers from the chemical industry will meet online and discuss how the ‘new normal’ of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the sector – and how it plans to re-emerge into a postpandemic era where many of the old challenges, along with some new ones, will remain to be addressed.

LOTS TO TALK ABOUT Over the course of two days, different panel sessions will look at the role of the region’s ports in promoting bulk liquids handling – led by the Port of Tarragona, which has made the petrochemical sector a major focus of

TARRAGONA HAS BEEN WORKING TO DEVELOP its efforts in recent years; other panels will consider bulk liquids terminals, a sector in some flux after recent takeovers and investments, and the chemical and petrochemical sectors.

In addition, the programme will include a presentation on the outlook for the chemical tanker market, with particular emphasis on the impact of the ‘IMO 2020’ rule and future efforts by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to reduce the environmental impact of shipping activities. This has a significant impact on ports and terminals, as they will be the parties responsible for delivering cleaner fuels to ships calling at their jetties.

There will also be a look at rail-port intermodality as a surface transport link in a hub strategy. This again is an especial focus of the Port of Tarragona, which is expecting to be linked to the Euro-gauge network within the next two years, helping ease the flow of goods arriving at its quays through the port and onto a much wider hinterland. It is illustrative of the importance of this development that Patrick Hore, head of the sales and operations centre for chemicals at DB Cargo BTT, has been lined up as one of the speakers.

And, of course, no conference these days would be complete without a look at the Covid-19 epidemic and its impact on the petrochemical logistics chain.

The event will be moderated by Patrick Kulsen, managing director of Insights Global, an independent market research and consultancy company focusing on the international petroleum and petrochemical industries. Kulsen was founder of PJK International, which merged with TankTerminals.com in 2016.

It will be a great pity not to be able to visit the beautiful port city of Tarragona for this year’s Med Hub Day but the port has done a great job in once more bringing together the disparate interests in the bulk liquids business and some intensive discussions can be expected. The IV Med Hub Day 2020 is free to attend; those interested can register at www.hubdaytarragona. com.