Venice Offshore Port presented at IMO

The Venice Offshore Onshore Port System (VOOPS) has been presented today by Paolo Costa, President of the Venice Port Authority, Dimitris Pachakis, Royal Askoning, and Jim Knott, BMT Triton in London, at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) , the specialized UN Agency that gathers 171 Country delegations and operators, with responsibility for the safety and security of

shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping.

Originally, the project was born to target the local problem of maintaining the port operations whilst safeguarding Venice and its lagoon. VOOPS was originally meant at banning oil traffics from the Venice lagoon, serving the mega oil tankers at the offshore terminal (8 nautical miles off the coast). Thereafter it has been upgraded to accommodate Ultra Large Container Vesselsensuring a -20 mts natural seabed.

Back in 2014, the project was shortlisted with a special mention from the OECD International Transport Forum Innovation in Transport Award. Today the Venetian project is among the most advanced in the world, (other offshore ports’ planning and design are currently ongoing in Abu Dhabi, USA, Latin America, West Africa, to name a few).

The idea of developing future port planning with offshore onshore ports’ systems has increasingly gained consensus for safety, security, environmental and economic reasons. Security needs have pushed the concept of offshore ports beyond commercial uses, to distance counter-terrorism and smuggling check hubs - theoretically reaching the 100% of cargo control level – in safe areas, far away from inhabited coasts and busy cities, where ports are generally embedded. Offshore ports can be used as place of refuge in case of emergency or deep-sea vessels incidents.

Offshore platforms located near the traditional onshore terminals allow to spread cargo flows among several destinations, managing operational peaks in a more efficient and sustainable way, reducing environmental impacts.