Global Port Safety

The Indo-Pacific is a fast-growing region of the world, with high-growth economies and major technology and financial hubs. It thereby accounts for a third of global maritime trade. But this momentum comes with new and complex risks and challenges. The increase in the circulation of sensitive goods, such as batteries and fertilisers, as well as the adoption of high-risk fuels, such as hydrogen and methanol due to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector, lead to situations that are particularly difficult to control. This poses a threat to the environment, local communities, and international trade.

In recent years, a series of technical incidents have affected the major ports in the region, for example, in Laem Chabang (Thailand) in 2019 and Chittagong (Bangladesh) in 2022. This has made the local authorities aware of the vulnerability of their infrastructure, as well as the need to introduce enhanced security measures and have highly qualified personnel, able to understand and manage the specific characteristics of an increasingly complex maritime environment.

The European Union has long-standing trade partnerships with countries in the region due to their strategic geographical location. To ensure the prosperity of its economy, the European Union has developed a cooperation strategy in the Indo-Pacific, which aims to ensure stability in the region and the safety of trade. Port infrastructure security is one of the main components of this European Union strategy.

The European maritime industry is one of the most advanced in the world, in particular in terms of decarbonising the sector. Its standards governing the transport of sensitive goods are more stringent than international standards, and some European countries have teams highly specialised in crisis management. This expertise in this field could benefit countries in the Indo-Pacific facing similar challenges. This would ensure the resilience of port infrastructure in the region and of global maritime routes.

In this context, France proposed the creation of the Global Port Safety project, a regional cooperation project implemented by Expertise France. It has two main objectives:

• Optimise the management of sensitive goods, while promoting the safe use of decarbonised fuels
• Strengthen the capabilities of port personnel to more effectively manage incidents involving hazardous materials and address large-scale disasters

It covers 8 countries in the region (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam), and 12 ports have been identified as critical infrastructure for the development of these countries and for international trade. These ports have limited resources to prevent and address crisis situations.

Studies will be conducted on each port to identify their specific vulnerabilities and consider how they can be improved. Local training centres and online learning platforms will be set up, and scholarships will be offered for studies in European maritime universities. These initiatives aim to develop skilled manpower in these ports, while promoting the highest possible safety standards.