South Korea and Greece are taking major steps to strengthen their cruise tourism capacity ahead of peak travel seasons. South Korea aims to attract 900,000 cruise passengers in 2025 by enhancing its port infrastructure, streamlining immigration processes, and expanding tourism content to better serve international travelers. Meanwhile, the Port of Piraeus (Greece) is receiving a significant upgrade in smart infrastructure and accessibility improvements to handle increased ferry and cruise traffic. These investments, set to be completed before the summer, include enhanced safety systems and digital services for passengers. Both countries are prioritizing modern, efficient port experiences to meet growing global cruise demand and support their broader tourism sectors.

From May 29 to June 9, the first edition of the free event “Culture(s) en Terrasse” will take place in Marseille’s “La Joliette” shopping center (France) and its terraces. These 12 days of festivities will combine art, literature, and gastronomy. This cultural immersion by a seafront has been organized in partnership with the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem). Meanwhile, HAROPA PORT (France) will organize river cruises to showcase its hubs in the Paris region from July to October. These tours will raise public awareness of the economic and ecological importance of river transport. It is a way of opening ports to their local communities and promoting a better understanding of their role in urban and regional logistics.

In the presence of the heads of the various regional and local authorities, the Port of Bordeaux (France) is launching the future prospect mission between 2040 and 2050. This roadmap aims to ensure that the port remains firmly rooted in its territorial, economic and, port ecosystem. Based on the Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux’s 2026-2030 strategic project, the mission will propose a forward-looking vision of the port’s main areas of activity in 2050. This vision is being developed in line with the national port strategy launched in 2021 and addresses key issues such as reindustrialization, the development of marine renewable energies, and the decarbonization of transport in conjunction with maritime and river transport.

On May 19^th, the Japanese government introduced its plans to achieve carbon net zero by 2050 at all Japanese ports via its Carbon Neutral Ports (CNP) initiative, backed by its certification process for container terminals. The initiative will be launched in June 2025 to objectively evaluate the terminals’ decarbonization efforts. It will involve evaluating various stratagems, including low-emission handling equipment, LED lighting on the terminal operation side, and efforts concerning carriers, such as zero-emission vessel fuels and truck appointment systems. The evaluation will include multiple certification levels from Levels 1 to 5. The certification will be granted for 3 years and the results will be publicly available.

Germany’s HGK Shipping has received government approval to operate the country’s first remote-controlled inland waterway vessel on a six-month trial route. Developed by Belgian remote shipping specialist “Seafar”, the technology should help cope with labor shortages. A remote operations center in Duisburg (Germany) will pilot the vessel, which is to operate with a full crew at first. Future phases will include reduced staff onboard and could allow crews to spend more time on land, thus attracting new talent to the profession. HGK initiative follows similar successful deployments in Belgium and the Netherlands and paves the way for smart shipping innovation on Germany’s canals. The permit was handed over by the German Federal Minister of Transport, Patrick Schnieder.

A Belgian television channel, VTM 2, showcases the activities of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium) through a reality TV series called De Haven. The series offers a behind-the-scenes look at the port, covering everything from ship maintenance and assistance to goods inspection. It also highlights the various roles of the people who work there. The show aims to bring the Port of Antwerp-Bruges closer to the public. Since its debut in October 2024, with seven weekly episodes aired so far, the series has attracted 400,000 viewers. This increased visibility has led to a boost in traffic to the port’s recruitment website, with the port authority reporting a significant rise in interest in job vacancies.