With great success and almost 100 attendants from all over Europe, the final event of MEDNET Project, was held in May 27th, in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) conference hall, at the beginning of the European Maritime Day Celebration (27-29 May 2015). The Greek MEDNET partners – National Technical University of Athens: Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering, Port Authority of Patras and Port Authority of Igoumenitsa – organized and hosted a 3day Event under the title “Harmony in Blue” with the aim to capitalize the knowledge and pilot actions from all the MED financed projects since 2007, concerning:- Maritime Safety and Impact Management- Gateways & Hinterland connections- Customs Procedures and- Port Operations Representatives from more than 10 different MED Projects (MED PCS, MED.I.T.A, B2MOS, GIFT, MEMO, SEEMariner, Support, S-Port, CYSM, Medusa, SeaToLand among others) explained the aim of their Projects, exchanged knowledge and information regarding the methodology used, the pilots developed and the total implementation of each Project separately, in an effort to capitalize and share knowledge from the work done, benchmark processes and overview results, towards seamless logistics in the Mediterranean.All the participants and panelists, in 4 thematic panels, concluded that all the Projects had a similar root, which was to find initiative ways to ameliorate port operations, make supply chains more efficient, develop pilots that will simplify procedures and be adjustable to each different system, and produce practical solutions for all stakeholders.The 19 pilot videos of MEDNET presented during the capitalization event showed how the Project partners managed to simplify and harmonize port operations and custom procedures with one objective: to reach the ideal port. All the participants agreed that many steps were undertaken during the Project, but still the simplification and harmonization of port and custom operations is a huge challenge for the Mediterranean Ports in the future.One of the MEDNET implementations that was widely discussed, was the creation and operation of “The Observatory of Port Operations in the Mediterranean Sea” (www.med-observatory.ntua.gr), under Professor Dimitrios A. Tsamboulas’ (1950-2014) guidance, which is a valuable tool and an electronic information centre which monitors and is continuously informed on different aspects and procedures of the ports in the Mediterranean. The Observatory also provides best practices that can be followed in order to minimize time and cost as well as the technical parameters for enhancing quality and efficiency in the provision of port services. Moreover it acts as a mean of exchanging information and evaluating performance, and as an important guide /basis for collecting information, best practices and efficient administrative procedures.
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