Dr. Panayotis Zacharioudakis was invited to speak in the Motorways Conference & Forum on Infrastructure that took place in Liverpool this May. The event was hosted by Motorways of the Sea (MoS) Coordinator Brian Simpson, CEO. MoS are the maritime dimension of the EU’s ambitious transport strategy. Through this and other MoS conferences, Mr Simpson is gathering input from stakeholders for the development of his MoS “strategic implementation plan”, which will be delivered in 2016.

The Maritime Stakeholders came from 19 different EU Member States and joined North England prominent Politicians and Captains of Industry such as Lord Prescott, Joe Anderson – Mayor of Liverpool, Sir Michael Bibby – Bibby Line group, Bernard Molloy – Superport Liverpool, Mike Houghton – Siemens plc, IFB’s 2016 – Max Steinberg CBE, Warren Marshal – Peel Ports, Frank Rogers – Mersey Travel and Liverpool John Moore’s University.

Stakeholders from both the private and public sector took the floor during the conference to share their views on optimization of maritime transport in the logistics chain. The debate focused on identifying new needs, as well as the latest developments in infrastructure for optimizing shipping and hinterland connections. Eighteen (18) relevant MoS projects were presented in order to inform the audience about concrete results but also on their ambitions, lessons-learned and future support expected from the Motorways of the Sea. Dr. Zacharioudakis, as a representative of the Poseidon Med consortium, gave a presentation on the progress and findings of the programme in the East Mediterranean region. The title of his speech was: “Optimizing and integrating maritime, port and hinterland logistics infrastructure in order to maximize supply chain efficiency and international trade: Funding and Opportunities.”