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OFFSHORE PORTS tional. This terminal will use automated h4lFhitYvYVYIg&index=15) of the system will create 1,925 jobs by The project is part of a larger effort to straddle carriers working with remotely The Mama ships will feature three 2025. Venice also already has a large and revitalize the Northern Adriatic. Look operated STS and barge cranes to load Schottel azimuthing thrusters for ma- underused rail infrastructure that is capa- at a map and draw a straight line from and unload containers onto barges capa- neuverability, and the ballasting opera- ble of accommodating expanded cargo the Suez Canal the heart of Europe and ble of holding 384 TEUs. These class-v tion to allow the docking of barges will volumes. The project will also convert you’ll notice that Venice, and the North- barges will then be loaded onto semi- take only 15 minutes to complete. The disused areas of Porto Marghera, which ern Adriatic, are the ? rst thing you hit on submersible vessels, dubbed “Mama barges are then capable of inland naviga- will be the ? rst land terminal to receive the European mainland. vessels,” designed by BMT Triton. tion once they arrive on shore. containers in the VOOPS system, to port The European Union has recently in-

Watching an animation of the Mama industrial and logistical uses. Port Mar- vested three million euro into studying vessels in action makes it clear how they ghera is located in the Montesyndial the Northern Adriatic as part of its Trans-

Economic Impact got their name: two barges move inside area, a section of disused industrial areas European Transport Network (Ten-T)

The VOOPS project, which will have a the Mama vessels and the Mamas, preg- that were once operated by Monte? bre program. The opportunities are there, 2.1 billion euro basis cost for an interna- and Syndial. This area was purchased by but the infrastructure, as of now, is not. nant with the barges ? oating inside of tional tender, will be fully operational by them, then travel at a rate of 12 knots, 2023. But the economic bene? ts to the the Port Authority in 2010 and has since The overall throughput of all NAPA been part of an ongoing reclamation (Northern Adriatic Ports Association) generating a wave of less than .5 meters, region will start long before that. Price- which will help to ensure safer Lagoon waterhouse Cooper estimates that the project. Currently 32 hectares out of 90 ports was 1.8 million TEU last year, or navigation. (For a look at the video, construction phase alone will create 943 are available for port and industrial use. about 110 million tons, which is only visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch? The bene? ts of Venice’s offshore port a quarter of Rotterdam’s throughput. jobs and impact the local economy to the v=QNeGfeq9D3M&list=UUY29bF0T- tune of 703 million euros. The operation project will extend far beyond Venice. NAPA has set a goal of increasing its

The container terminal at Porto Marghera.

(Image credit: Venice Port Authority) 34 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • SEPTEMBER 2015

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