Isra-Mart srl :Modal shift from road to sea saves 200 tonnes of carbon

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Philips Lighting has announced it will be transporting all its export containers from its distribution centre in Roosendaal to the Port of Rotterdam by freight barge instead of road, thereby reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 200 tonnes a year.

This modal shift from road to inland shipping is the result of a pilot carried out jointly with Maersk Line and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. They found that containers taken by truck to Maersk Line’s extended gate in Moerdijk and shipped inland to the deep-sea terminal in Rotterdam would save the company 80,000 road kilometres.

The modal shift was shown to have significant advantages in terms of accessibility as the Port of Rotterdam Authority anticipates a tripling of the port’s hinterland transport between now and 2035. Furthermore, the A15 will be under construction in Rotterdam in the coming years.

“We are making this modal shift with a view to the future. We keep ahead of the congestion, with sustainability as an important incentive,” said Krzysztof Przesmycki, global commodity strategy manager at Philips.

The current modal split for container transport in the port of Rotterdam is 47.5% road, 39% inland shipping and 13.5% rail.

In order to keep Rotterdam accessible in the future, the Port Authority said it wants to alter these percentages into 35% road, 45% inland shipping and 20% rail by 2035. In order to do this the Port Authority is making contractual agreements on the desired modal shift with the container terminals on Maasvlakte 2.

The environmental benefits of short sea shipping continue to hit the headlines.

By transporting an annual 600 containers by freight barge rather than by truck to the port of Rotterdam, Philips is saving the equivalent of 5000 trees, “as big as 24 football pitches” that would be needed “by way of compensation.”

“From the perspective of both accessibility and sustainability, a modal shift from road to inland shipping and rail will be an absolute necessity in the coming years,” commented Donald Baan, business manager logistics at Port of Rotterdam Authority.