The City of Melbourne has just approved the feasibility study looking at this issue, after a consultation was held last spring. A heritage trail is to be created in the Docklands and Yarra River district. The “Mission to Seafarers”, an existing heritage-listed building at North Wharf, will also be redeveloped and is set to be an important component of the new strategy.

The port of Ravenna authorities have chosen Royal Caribbean Group to build and operate the new cruise terminal. By 2024, up to 300,000 passengers will pass through the new terminal every year, making the port an alternative to Venice. The facility will be integrated into the “Dunes Park” a 12 hectare site on which the Port is developing public spaces, cycle paths, and green spaces. The building will use a variety of solutions to limit its environmental footprint, and vessels will have access to shore power during stopovers. At other times, the terminal will be available for events intended for the citizens, including art and culture trails, fairs and exhibitions, sporting events, etc.

Canals and rivers that run through cities offer the possibility of rapid passenger transport to ease congestion on roads. If all-electric, this type of traffic would be a zero-carbon solution. Shell is preparing to launch an electric ferry service by 2023, serving the island of Bukom (Singapore) and the rest of the city state. Each ferry would have capacity for up to 200 passengers. A similar service is being prepared by Fassmer Shipyard based in Berne, Lower Saxony (Germany). The company is aiming to provide a service specifically to the city’s different districts, using an intermodal network concept dubbed “Cit-E”. Their electric boats will be able to operate for 14 hours on a single charge, and will range from a shuttle designed specifically for use on narrow canals, to a ferry for up to 100 passengers.

Ports remain unknown for many port city inhabitants. To address this issue and raise awareness on the impact of port activities in people’s daily routines, the Port of Montreal launched a new communication campaign titled “Anchored in the city”. The campaign will share some key figures on import and exports, explain what good pass through the port, while also introduce the people behind the numbers, as the “local heroes” that make all possible. Visitors will also be able to test their knowledge of the port and win a family cruise in the St. Lawrence River. At the same time, the Grand Quay of the Port of Montreal is hosting the art project “Les Visages de Montréal” until the end of 2022. The project is part of French artist JR’s “Inside Out Project Group Action” the largest global participatory art project.

After analysing different project scenarios for the future exterior port of San Antonio, the port authority has decided to adapt the original plan to protect the Ojos de Mar lagoons and its biodiversity, while still achieving the operational goals. This modification is part of the ongoing environmental assessment process that has considered the participations of hundreds of citizens and local stakeholders. Ojos de Mar will remain in the port jurisdiction and will count have a specific protection plan. The port project of San Antonio is the biggest port expansion in Chile in the last 150 years and can become an example of a large-scale intervention reconciling environmental protection and industrial growth.