All five NAPA ports responded to the invitation to the meeting, in addition to the Presidents of the Ports of Venice, Ravenna and Trieste on the Italian side, and Denis Vukorepa, Executive Director of the Rijeka Port Authority and Boštjan Napast, President of the Management Board of the Port of Koper. They were unanimous that current challenges are always a good opportunity to find alternative solutions and make new deals. They also agreed that in the current uncertain times and constant change, cooperation between ports is the only true path to success.
“Good mutual relations and support between the North Adriatic ports are our strength and a business opportunity, especially at a time when the ports of Northern Europe are facing many challenges,” said Boštjan Napast, President of the Management Board of the Port of Koper. The Port of Koper cooperates well with neighbouring ports which offer mutual support to each other on the path to development. Last year, the ports together handled almost 3 million TEUs, of which 1 million TEUs were handled by Koper alone, making it the first port in the Adriatic to surpass the magic mark of one million container units handled in a single year. They will continue to look for opportunities for cooperation in the future, in particular in the fields of green gateway and sustainability.
There are already many advantages of cooperation: the transport route through the ports of the Northern Adriatic is certainly more economical – both in terms of time and energy. Transit time for cargo is 5 to 7 days shorter compared to Northern European ports, which means 50% less CO2 emissions into the environment.
