CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES MARÍTIMAS

International Congress on Maritime Technological Innovations and Research 5th edition.

Estimados lectores, durante estos días 21-22 y 23 de noviembre estuve en el Congreso Internacional de Investigaciones Marítimas, un evento realmente enriquecedor desde todo punto de vista, en el cual tuve el honor de ir como ponente.

Dada la internaciolalidad del evento, toda mi conferencia fue en inglés, de todas formas dejo el texto del paper a vuestra disposición, quizá puede servir de referencia en investigaciones futuras.

Al Congreso asistieron delegaciones de casi todo el mundo, en especial América, Europa, y las conferencias o ponencias de verdad que fueron del más alto nivel de investigaciones marítiams mundiales, de hecho están siendo casi todas ellas, las nuevas referencias para darle recomendaciones a la Organización Marítima Internacional en los temas relacionados.

Esta fue la foto publicada en la prensa, en específico en el Diario Marítimas, y que comparto con ustedes.

También la siguiente foto es de algunos de los ponentes, en este caso Serbia y Polonia, con quienes tuve el agrado de compartir estos días de congreso.

Las ponencias fueron diversas, desde Construcción naval, seguridad de la vida humana, seguridad y protección marítima, Historia,

Las Sesiones estuvieron organizadas de la siguiente manera:

Session 1: Sea Transport and Waterborne Traffic
Session 2: Ship design and shipbuilding
Session 3: Sea Pollution and protection of environment
Session 4: Port Services and Management
Session 5: Modelisation in marine scenarios
Session 6: Engine, electrical and mechanical equipments

Session 7: Cargo systems and intermodality
Session 8: Port manoeuvring, safety and security
Session 9: High-Speed Vessels
Session 10: History and human factor
Session 11: Yachting and Pleasure boating technology
Session 12: Electronic equipments
Session 13: Maritime law and economics

Session 14: Marine environment research
Session 15: Equipment, Services & Maintenance

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En cada sesión hubo al menos seis conferencias, lo cual fue realmente académico y creo que uno de los mejores lugares donde aprender la realidad marítima mundial

También la siguiente foto es de algunos de los ponentes, en este caso Serbia y Polonia, con quienes tuve el agrado de compartir estos días de congreso.

Como objetivos del Cogreso, se planteó lo siguiente:

The International Congress on Maritime Technological Innovations and Research meets its 5th edition. The 1st editions was held in Barcelona (1999), the 2nd in Cádiz (2000), the 3rd in Bilbao (2002), the 4th in Barcelona (2004) and 5th edition will take place again in Barcelona. This congress was born as a response to the great development that navigation and maritime transport have undergone in the recent years. It has become to be a cyclical meeting for lecturers and researchers involved in this field. The organizer of this 4th congress is the Department of Nautical Science & Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and its basic aim is to offer a valid frame in which to present and analyse those research activities developed by public and private companies and institutions. Furthermore, the congress tries to examine those technological innovations stemming from research on maritime activities and transport. It thus represents an effort to coordinate and promote those proposals which appear and foster independently, and to maintain a forum with new groups for discussion on actual needs and general trends in the maritime domain.

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Ponencia: Publicada con derechos reservados bajo depósito legal: B-49177-2007

THE SECURITY OF THE CITIZEN’S PORTS

Professor: Jesús Ezequiel Martínez
Technical University of Catalonia
Department of Nautical Science & Engineering.


ABSTRACT

One of the most important subjects in relation with the functioning of the ports is the conversion of the aged & unused port’s spaces.

Entire societies can be developed and obtain the progress that they need when the ports stop giving the back to the city and develop great areas, in the majority of the cases abandoned, converting them in new spaces for the citizen’s enjoyment & tourist attractions; in short , economic developments creators of wealth for the cities located around the port.

Following this line of thinking the study of previous cases that have been developed successfully through projects of cultural, commercial, entertainment and country's heritage projects give social and economic benefits to the region. The typology of scopes and characteristic of these cases are different and wide, but the key fact is they’re all focused on common objectives like the use of port’s spaces and maritime fronts

With the come into force of the ISPS, appears a very important conflict, due that the new “citizens ports” must be incorporated to the Port facility security plan from the starting point of the project, until they are finished and implemented.

To determinate the non-compatibility of these theories (“The theory of the relation between the port and the cities” and the “Security of the ports facilities”) or to find a cohesion point where this two theories can coexist, is a very important task that must be assumed very cautiously.

All the agents involved must re-orientate their job in this kind of social projects, adding new security control systems on the commercials centre, museums, converted spaces, recreation zones, yacht harbours & marinas, because they all represent plenty source of income, that are the principal economic sustentation in the urbanized areas of the port.

The social development of countries could depend of this.


KEYWORDS

Port, ISPS, Port’s security, Citizen’s Ports, port- city interface, Society.

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As of 2001, important changes have come about in security matters, especially for the Western Hemisphere. Ports and vessels, given their vulnerability due to internationalization they represent, are the target for all kinds of terrorist attacks.

For years now the International maritime Organisation (IMO) has been establishing measures to prevent act of vandalism, such as piracy and attacks on vessels by insurgents in conflict zones.

However, to consider a port a high-risk location which could be used to perpetrate an attack on society or the port itself is a concept that has gained strength since 9/11.

One of the most important issues nowadays in the context of port functioning is precisely “the redevelopment of ports spaces”.

Entire societies can develop and obtain the progress desired by its people when the port stops being apart from the city, and starts developing large areas transforming them into new spaces to give services to the citizens and attracting tourists, henceforth becoming socio-economic complexes, generating wealth for the society.

Improved port-city relationships, the elaboration of an integrated management model that would take advantage of the favourable condition of both, and that would boost factors of endogenous growth for the port, the city and its broadest hinterland is a great alternative for sustainable development of any port city.

Revitalization, recycling, renovation, organisation, rehabilitation or remodelling of under-utilized port infrastructure can all be considered as restructured port space related concepts, where the objective is to develop new commercial, tourist, cultural and urbanistic activities on the port- city interface, contributing to the overall socio-economic development of the city.

Huge fourth & fifth - generation port developments and its related infrastructure, require large areas to develop commercial and logistic activities, forcing the port to expand in search of these areas. This is how the oldest docks which are nearest to the old part of cities come to be disuse, leaving empty docks and port’s stores. As a result, they leave certain areas under-utilized and in a derelict state.

Ambitious projects are often drawn up to re-convert these spaces by designing a Special Plan, approved by the port and local and government authorities.

These plans must orientate the remodelling of the berth and port’s stores areas with the purpose of opening them up to the city, integrating these zones into the city’s activity, creating areas for recreation, culture and entertainment in order to increase the richness of the metropolis, without taken the market segment of the previously established businesses.

Some of the more recurrent urban-territorial aspects taken into consideration in these plans are:

· To physically and visually integrate the port and the city to create a unified and dynamic relationship for the benefit of both.
· To renovate and open public access to the waterfront for citizens in an area of the port which, until now, has been totally restricted and solely utilized for port activity.
· To make the port more efficient consolidating the existing uses and allowing new development on the abandoned spaces.
· To promote an appropriate combination of uses to suit the needs of the local population, as well as the corresponding tourist population from any part of the world.
· To distribute the combined uses so as to facilitate a variety of activities in order to:
o Produce activity in the zone during the daytime and night time.
o Produce a variety of atmosphere both passive and active.
o Offer a wide array of activities to attract people of all ages and encourage frequent visits.
· To establish designs for buildings, public spaces and urban property to incorporate unique elements especially planned for the setting. In some cases emphasis is placed on some element of the plan, which could be a building or adjacent boulevard as a tourist attraction, to make a lasting impression.
· In case of building or port elements considered to be of historical value or heritage, and analysis of suitability is carried out for its recovery or recycling, appointing a cultural or historical nature, to the project, with regulations for the intervention.

Every Port has been adequately restructured over the last three decades has contributed
to finding the answer for the economic hardships of its surrounding urban area. Such is
the case of Baltimore, where the prime objective of the changes undergone by the old port was to assuage the serious financial crisis and improve the derelict state of the city centre.

Today, these initiatives have created more that 30,000 jobs and the zone is the centre of attraction for some 7 .5 million tourist a year. Similar case is happening now on other countries, for example: The Port of Barcelona in Spain, and Puerto Madero in Argentina

It must be clear that, according to the ISPS Code, not every facility located within the area of a port precinct can be referred to as a “Port facility”. This makes certain areas of the port vulnerable and susceptible to security alerts.

On the other hand, there is a possibility to extend the ISPS Code to any facility, when even if is not pursuant to the Code.

The areas outside of the interface are not contemplated in the Code, even though they are located within the very port, the do not represent, to effects of the Code, risk or vulnerability. Legally, in security means, they are unprotected even though they represent the highest affluence of the people though the port.

At present, research in underway to determinate the extent to which theses areas need to be safeguard or not, and subsequently propose actions that will guarantee safety and security to all developed areas of port with the aim of establishing a criteria to understanding whether the two trends – that of citizen’s ports and security of port facilities- are fully compatible, and if not, to find a cohesion point by which both principles may coexist.

The social development of ports cannot, under any circumstances, wane or be neglected. The growth of surrounding communities could depend on this.

The Incorporation of the ISPS Code and the ensuing Port Facility Security Plan (PSP) must orient these social projects to incorporate, with the necessary preponderance, their own security and control management systems at shopping areas, museums, redeveloped spaces, recreational areas and existing leisure harbours, which are often linked to community ports.

“The Port Vell” of Barcelona is a good example of this kind of areas, please, find below some pictures that can show the urban areas inside of the port facilities


Also, one picture from Puerto Madero in Argentina, where can be found the renovation of the unused port’s spaces that is now offered to the enjoyment of the citizens, and is also unprotected by the implementation of the PSP.

Puerto Madero, old port stores converted in offices for the privates companies.

CONCLUSION:

As can be appreciated on the previous images, all those areas of the port are not protected inside of the ISPS. This issue should be analyzed

The PSP must establish security measures based on the new concept of interface, to include “all areas within the port where the facilities are associated with the enjoyment of individuals and are also linked to the development of the adjacent communities”. This will also include areas like yachts harbours & marina and related activities, enabling adjustments in security issues to have a direct effect on the community ports, in term of increased security.

Once these measures are set in place, several measures should be taken into consideration. The facilities of the community port must be equipped with security cameras to facilitate greater control and surveillance in preventing terrorist attacks on the facilities from outside the interface.

Additionally, the conditions of ports security need to be constantly monitored based on the strategic planning for obtaining feedback, using their own experiences as well as those of others to meet this objective

It is of great importance to formulate plans in conjunction with state security organisms and to monitor these zones, as well as to equip the far-off areas with the necessary technological systems. A fast response should be guaranteed, in the case of any threat that may arise in the community port.

For this, the entire security and safety platform in these zones must also be technologically updated, giving more control on the prevention and in the case of an emergency.

Finally, there must be concrete and complete emergency plans in addition to the Port Facility Security Plan, taking into consideration the overall vision of the port facilities. With this, is possible to achieve efficient monitoring levels in order to respect the minimum security measures needed to protect the inhabitants of the port’s surrounding community.


BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:

MARÍ, RICARD. The Port’s Security. Barcelona: ICG Marge, 2005
MARÍ, RICARD. Security of the Port’s Facilities. Barcelona: ICG Marge. 2006
International Maritime Organisation ISPS Code, London, IMO. 2003
International Maritime Organisation. Ship Security Officer. Model course 3.19, London, IMO, 2003.
International Maritime Organisation (2003). Company Security Officer Model course 3.20, London, IMO, 2003.
International Maritime Organisation (2003). Port Facility Security Officer Model course 3.21, London, IMO, 2003

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Quiero hacer un especial reconocimiento al equipo de organización del congreso, integrado por personas avocadas por completo a la realización del mismo, en especial: Dr. Xavier Fco. Martínez de Osés, Dr. Rodríguez Martos, a Montse y Mireia y al equipo de estudiantes que colaboró en el evento realmente de manera ejemplar: Alba, Emma, y el chico que sale con ellas que no recuerdo su nombre pero no por eso es menos reconocido que los demás. Los felicitos, fueron los mejores anfitriones!!!

Felicidades!!!