A national event on the topic “Challenges and resilience capacity of the Bulgarian ports in a changing black sea region” took place on June 8 2023 at the Nikola Y. Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA), Varna. The event was organized in the context of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea (CMA) by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria – National Coordinator of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea (CMA), Marine Cluster Bulgaria (MCB) – National Hub of the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism ( BSAM), with the support of BSAM, Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), Bulgarian Maritime Chamber and NVNA. The event was equally part of the European Maritime Day in My Country 2023 initiative.
The event gathered together more than 60 leaders and representatives of state institutions, ports, municipal administration, business, NGO, the scientific community, including Port of Varna EAD, BMF Port Burgas JSC, MTG Dolphin JSC, Executive Agency “Maritime Administration”, Bulgarian Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Varna Spaces, Municipality of Burgas, IO-BAS, DP “Port Infrastructure”, “Port of Burgas” EAD, Marine Antipollution Enterprise JSCO, FLAG Burgas-Kameno, Technical University-Varna, NVNA, DBA Group, Solumar OOD, Power Plant Ezerovo etc. The discussion, moderated by Mrs. Ilze Atanasova, Chairman of the Board of “Maritime Cluster Bulgaria” and Mr. Svilen Krajchev, Director of BASBA triggered different points of view, problems, as well as perspectives for the Bulgarian ports.
“Ports can become real innovation centers” – this is what Mrs. Charlina Vicheva, Director of the General Directorate “Maritime and Fisheries” at the EC, said in the congratulatory address at the opening of the event. According to her, maritime transport and ports will play a key role in achieving carbon neutrality of the EU’s blue economy by 2050. “…Therefore, I especially appreciate the fact that with today’s event in Varna, this dialogue is developing at the national and regional level…. I and my colleagues remain available to cooperate in any assistance you need within the framework of the Common Maritime Program for the Black Sea,” noted Ms. Vicheva.
“There is an urgent need for new transport routes and infrastructures that can provide reliable and efficient connectivity between the Western Balkans, Central Europe, the Black Sea region and Asia”, noted Mrs. Gabriela Mitova, Ministry of Transport and Communications of Republic of Bulgaria. She marked in her speech the growing importance of the Trans-Caspian route (s.k. “Middle Corridor”) which provides a real opportunity to include the ports of Varna and Burgas in the transnational corridor by providing a strategic and viable alternative, as well as mitigating the risks associated with political instability in the region and the increased tolls for crossing the Bosphorus.
Mr. Ivan Portnih, Mayor of the city of Varna, emphasized the need for a clear and consistent policy, agreed at the national and local level, for the coordinated development of the state and municipal infrastructure and improvement of the appearance of the public area of Varna port.
“Bulgaria is an entry point to Central and Eastern Europe and needs a developed system of intermodal terminals”, commented Mr. Nikola Kosev, Director of Operations of BMF Port Burgas JSC. According to him, the ports are only one piece of the international transport corridors. In order for them to operate effectively, there is an urgent need to develop a comprehensive, integrated infrastructure linking sea terminals with rail and road transport. The strategies being worked on lack concrete measures, goals, as well as in-depth analyses.
Reports of a mine threat and military action in Ukraine led to a sharp drop in Black Sea traffic. This, together with the increased fees for crossing the Bosphorus, bring an additional financial burden on the Bulgarian shipbuilding and ship repair plants, as well as on the ports, which limits their competitiveness to a certain extent. This was stated by Svetlin Stoyanov, Chairman of the “Bulgarian National Association for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair (BNAKK)” and Executive Director of “MTG – Dolphin”.
The Municipality of Burgas shared its aspiration to become an intelligent climate-neutral city. “We are making efforts for the city of Burgas to be recognized as a one stop for intelligent innovations” – this was the main message in the speech of Zoya Stoyanova, Municipality of Burgas.
The participants were introduced to numerous opportunities for financing projects under the NEXT Black Sea and Horizon Europe programs in the field of the Blue Economy, the green transition, as well as those related to ports.
In the speeches that followed, a number of challenges and perspectives for Bulgarian ports were examined and discussed, and the most urgent problems and the possibilities for solving them were outlined.
In summary, the participants highlighted the following challenges for Bulgarian ports in the changing reality of the Black Sea region:
– Lasting consequences of the pandemic since 2020, which started the disruption of logistics chains on a global level
– The military actions in Ukraine
– Necessity of a policy of protectionism in the context of world globalization
– Need for optimization of the regulatory framework defining complex interrelationships between institutions and complementary functions in the management of the port of Varna
– Challenges related to the Black Sea straits, such as increased tolls for crossing the Bosphorus – reduced traffic in the Black Sea, additional financial burdens on the business, especially shipbuilding and ship repair industry.
– Lack of a developed system of intermodal terminals – an integrated system of road, rail and port infrastructure
– The decarbonisation of maritime transport and ports – political will, decisions and concrete actions are needed for effective and sustainable transition towards Smart and Green Ports.
Considering the complexity of these challenges, the forum outlined numerous opportunities for the Bulgarian ports and the business and scientific community related to them, as well as the institutions at the state and municipal level:
– More effective interaction between the state and the municipality through coordinated and complementary policies, strategies and practical actions
– Investing in the development of intermodal terminals in the country, which open many perspectives for maritime transport
– Integration of smart and sustainable multimodal and intermodal transport chains in the Black Sea and Danube region
– The Black Sea straits – an opportunity for Bulgaria to react against the increase in tolls for crossing the straits
– Bulgarian Development Bank – an opportunity to create a reasonable financial instrument for reverse bank guarantees so as to create suitable conditions for the development of shipbuilding.
– Key role of personnel in the field of maritime knowledge. Training and retaining staff in the country. Analyzing the efficiency and expediency of the various processes and aspects in the educational system, the extent of career realisation, as well as developing the necessary measures to prevent the brain drain.
– Increasing investments in Smart Ports – project cooperation at the national and regional level
– The participation of Bulgaria through Port Infrastructure SOE, and Technical University – Varna in the international mega-project ILIAD (Horizon 2020) for the development of a digital twin of the world ocean creates an opportunity to assess the risk of the occurrence of various atmospheric phenomena, obtain reliable information in aggravated conditions, making informed decisions and preventing unwanted scenarios. This would lead to optimizing the operation of ports in maximum compliance with atmospheric conditions and a sufficient degree of accuracy in short-term forecasts.
Participants converged to the need for more events and forums like this one, in which representatives of the state administration and business participate and together form the necessary agenda in national, regional and municipal politics. It is important to have an active dialogue and cooperation to find solutions to the challenges and discover new opportunities for the maritime sector of Bulgaria.
Presentations:
1. Challenges for the Bulgarian ports in a changing Black Sea region
1.1 The new reality in the Black Sea and its impact on ports:
Varna Port EAD / Пристанище Варна ЕАД
BMF Port Burgas / БМФ Порт Бургас АД
MTG Dolphin AD/ МТГ Делфин АД
MARAD / ИА Морска администрация
Bulgarian Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry / Развитие на речния транспорт – опита на БРТПП
1.2 Ports as an element of the urban environment
Varna Spaces / СНЦ Пространствата на Варна
Municipality of Burgas / Община Бургас
1.3 The anthropogenic impact of port activities on the coastal ecosystem
IO – BAS / Институт по Океанология – БАН
Session 2. Perspectives for the Bulgarian ports
2.1 Potential and future of the Bulgarian ports and port terminals
Port Infrastructure SOE / ДП Пристанищна инфраструктура
Burgas Port EAD / Пристанище Бургас ЕАД
Marine Antipollution Enterprise / ПЧМВ АД
2.2 Role of Bulgarian fishing ports
FLAG Burgas – Kameno / МИРГ Бургас – Камено
2.3 New technologies and innovative models
Technical University Varna / Технически университет – Варна
NVNA / ВВМУ Н. Й. Вапцаров
DBA Group
Solumar
2.4 Black Sea Assistance Mechanism to the implementation of CMA (BSAM) – Financial instruments to support innovative ideas, assistance for project collaboration.
Морски клъстър България
Source: Marine Cluster Bulgaria /
