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Registration is still available for the May Talking Freight seminar.

Topic: Understanding the Impacts of Megaships

Date/Time: May 17, 2017 1:00 – 2:30 ET

Registration: http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Freight/fpd/talking_freight/index.htm

Description: In recent years, many ocean container shipping carriers have introduced larger and larger ships into their fleets.  There have been many factors that have driven the push for these larger ships; they include increasing global trade, a desire by ocean carriers for greater economies of scale, efforts to reduce overall fleet emissions, and port improvements in certain parts of the world, particularly southeast Asia and Europe.  Megaships provide various benefits, including the potential for lower product costs and lower fleet emissions, but they also create various challenges, particularly related to increased port and landside infrastructure needs.  Many U.S. ports are deepening their channels, raising their bridge heights, and/or augmenting their landside facilities to better accommodate the larger ships, but the ships’ massive sizes makes infrastructure improvements challenging, especially at land-constrained ports.  Megaships can also create various community impacts, largely due to the increased infrastructure needs and larger shipment sizes, and municipalities near ports need to be aware of what kind of impacts, positive and negative, the new ultra-large ships can have on their communities.

This webinar will feature a subset of presentations from a 2017 TRB Annual Meeting session titled “Megaships: Megasolutions or Megaproblems”.  That session included 12 presentations examining different aspects of the topic; this webinar will feature four of the presentations from that session.

What Are Megaships – An Overview

This presentation will provide an overview that defines what megaships are and the general impacts megaships create for the freight transportation infrastructure.

SPEAKER:

· Dan Smith, Tioga Group

Megaships – Environmental Benefits

This presentation will examine the environmental benefits provided by the megaships and in particular their economies of scale.

SPEAKER:

· Lee Kindberg, Maersk Line

Megaships – Infrastructure and Financing Challenges

This presentation will focus on the challenges created by megaships, in particular the water and landside infrastructure impacts and the financing challenges associated with implementing the desired improvements.

SPEAKER:

· Tom Ward, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff

Why Should I Care – Community Impacts of Megaships

This presentation will discuss how the growing trend towards megaships can impact communities both positively and negatively.

SPEAKER:

· Anne Strauss-Wieder, North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority

If you have not yet participated in Talking Freight, I encourage you to do so. These monthly seminars, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, are held via web conference, which means that you view the PowerPoint presentations over the Internet while listening to the presenters over your computer or the telephone. There is no cost involved and you do not have to leave your desk to participate. More information about Talking Freight is available at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/fpd/talking_freight/index.htm  Links to past presentations and recordings are available on http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/freightplanning/talking.htm.

Talking Freight seminars are eligible for 1.5 AICP Certification Maintenance Credits (for AICP members). In order to receive credit, you must attend the full seminar and login to the seminar with your full name or type your full name into the chat area during the seminar if you are in a room with a group of people. Visit the AICP web site for more information about AICP Certification Maintenance Credits.

If you have any questions about the webinar content, please contact Chip Millard, FHWA Freight Office, at 202-366-4415 or [log in to unmask].  If you have any questions about the technology aspects of the webinar, please contact Nicole Coene, Leidos, at 703-318-4267 or [log in to unmask].

Sincerely,

Nicole

Nicole Coene  | Leidos
Task Manager | Transportation Solutions and Technology Applications Division
phone: 703.318.4267
[log in to unmask] | leidos.com