SPANISH MARITIME NEWS (III)
1.- SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE COLLABORATION: ONE-STOP LOGISTICS SHOP
The President of the Spanish State Ports, Mr. José Llorca, has just held a meeting with the Presidents of the Portuguese ports of Sines, Faro, Portimao and Lisbon in order to explore the possibility of setting up a One-Stop Logistics Shop.
This project, aiming at reducing maritime paperwork, will be promptly submitted to the European Union to apply for CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) Funds.
2.- NEW SPANISH REGULATION ON STOWAGE
The ruling handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union last December 11th, sentencing Spain to modify the legislation on stowage for violation of the principles of freedom of establishment and competition, has forced Spain to amend the existing regulation contained in the Law of the State Ports and the Merchant Marine.
Even though the final contents of the new regulation are far from been clear, since they have to be negotiated with Brussels first and the shipping companies and trade unions then, some basic aspects of them have already come out. Thus, the labour relations will be governed by common labour law and not, as it has been happening so far, by special labour law.
But what it is more important is the disappearance, after a transitional period of six months, of the Companies Engaged in the Management of Port Workers (SAGEPs), and their replacement by Port Employment Centers (CEPs), open to domestic and foreign companies. Their main objective will be to employ stevedores, particularly those coming from SAGEPs, in exchange for aids and subsidies.
3.- PORT OF BILBAO: NEW LNG TANK
More than 1 million hours of work, 3 years of works and 130 million euros later, the regasification plant Bahia Bizkaia Gas (BBG) has inaugurated a new tank of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Port of Bilbao. This new infrastructure has a capacity of 150.000 m3 and together with the other two existing tanks adds up 450.000 m3 of total storage capacity.
4.- SPANISH ADOPTION OF AMENDMENTS TO RID 2015
The Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) has just published the Amendments to the Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID 2015), Annex to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF), done at Berne on May 9th, 1980, adopted by the Commission of Experts for the Transport of Dangerous Goods at its 53th Session held in Berne on May 22nd, 2014 (BOE number 46, February 23rd, 2015).