Following a call for projects, the municipal council in Dublin (Ireland) has finally opted to keep the port in the city itself. Despite the housing crisis, it was seen as vital to ensure that the port activities remained in the city. Local politicians will work to identify new opportunities for creating additional homes. They rejected proposals to move the port to a new location outside Dublin. This positive outcome for “city-port” co-existence will spur new efforts to reconcile the city’s port identity with the growing need for new development land.

On 18 May 2022, at the “Assises québécoises de l’industrie du monde maritime”, an industry-wide event bringing together stakeholders in Quebec’s maritime sector, the province’s mayors once again declared their good relations with port authorities. Thanks to their communication, port spaces have been able to develop in Quebec without opposition. To continue in the same vein, the mayors have called on port authorities to maintain their approach focused on public information and consultation.

In a highly symbolic move, the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, has given the green light for the opening of the very first battery recycling plant in Rotterdam (Netherlands). Located in the industrial port zone, this next generation facility will be one of the largest in the world. It will collect spent batteries from electric vehicles and dismantle them to recover rare materials including lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The company behind the project is TES. It plans to recycle 10,000 tonnes from 2022, as part of a circular economy approach that is fully in line with goal 2 of the AIVP 2030 Agenda.

The Port of Seattle, the City and Borough of Juneau, Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, the leading international cruise lines, the Global Maritime Forum, the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition and Washington Maritime Blue have announced a commitment to study the feasibility of creating the world’s first green corridor for cruise ships.
This collaboration could speed the development of zero-emissions operations and vessels between Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington State. Nearly 300 cruise ships depart Seattle for Alaska in the space of six months.
If it goes ahead, the corridor will need long-term coordinated planning to determine the fuels and facilities required in ports of call.

This €1.6m eco-restoration project, which will take 12 months, is a joint effort by the Tarragona port authority and the municipal council of Vila-seca. The Prats d’Albinyana isa natural wetland area, part of the Natura 2000 network and the PEIN, located between the town of La Pineda and the ZAL or logistics platform of Vila-seca.

The project includes plans to create a large lagoon with a central island. The lagoon will allow the reintroduction of species such as the Spanish pond turtle, while the central island of around 27,000 m² will provide nesting areas for birds including the Audouin’s gull. Around the lagoon, a forest of more than 13,000 trees (poplars, willows) will be created. In addition, over 45,000 local plants and shrubs (rushes, grasses) will be planted.