Standards Development

Scope

Standardization in the field of ports and terminals, covering planning, implementation, operation, upgrading, demolition and repurposing stages. It will include scheduling, design, controlling, monitoring and inspection, optimization of resource allocating, integrated state-of-the-art technology solutions, regardless of scales, types, or transitioning of goods or passengers, whether located on the coastline or inland rivers, aiming to improve efficiency, effectiveness, coordination, working conditions and professions, towards achieving sustainable development of ports and terminals.

Purpose

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, ports refer to the places where ships can dock, load and unload. A port can include one or more terminals for various purposes, such as container terminals, dry bulk terminals, liquid bulk terminals, passenger terminals, etc.

Based on the statistics from UN, it is estimated that there are about over 3600 registered trade ports. Over 80% of the global trade is made through ports and terminals. The proportion of port service fees to the total global logistics cost is 10%. By 2022, the global port revenue is 1.75 million. The number of direct employees in global ports is 1.6 million, while employees engaged in the ports and terminals related industries are 200 million. Port transport affects more than 2.4 billion people. Obviously, this is a large-scale and influential industry. As pointed out by the World Bank in The Container Port Performance Index 2023, “Efficient, high quality port infrastructure can facilitate investment in production and distribution systems, engender expansion of manufacturing and logistics, create employment opportunities, and raise income levels. ”

Some ports and terminals perform better than others, when facing the increasingly raising freight volume demands, environmental challenges, and unnecessary running cost. These ports and terminals are featured as following:

 Enhanced Efficiency and Coordination: Improved processes that are more efficient, better coordinated, and transparent such as timing arrangements, zoning and allocation, environmental impact assessments, and carbon emission accounting;

 Integrated Technology Applications: Implementation of Unmanned, AI and eco-friendly technologies;

 Diverse Facilities (hardware): a variety of facilities designed for goods or passengers including stacking yards and passenger boarding bridge.

This proposal will focus on the standardization in the field of ports and terminals, regarding planning, implementation, operation, upgrading, demolition and repurposing stages, aiming to:

 contribute to ISO’s mission “to support global trade, drive inclusive and equitable economic growth, advance innovation and promote health and safety to achieve a sustainable future”, by providing standards of pragmatic and supportive methods for international trade across borders.

 contribute to UN’s SDG9 “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”, and comply with the fundamental goal of the WTO in expanding global trade in goods and services, by improving the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of operations in ports and terminals and reducing the queuing period of ships at ports, which increases the cargo throughput per unit time of the ports.

 achieve net-zero GHG emissions target promoted by ISO/IWA 42, and contribute to UN SDG13 “Climate Action”, by better decreasing energy consumption per unit of cargo handling, which benefits the positive response to the global climate change.

 contribute to UN SDG3 “Good Health and Well-being”, SDG5 “Gender Equality”, SDG8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”, SDG10 “Reduced Inequalities” and SDG16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, by promoting sounding work environment in ports and terminals, and providing more employment opportunities to women and the disabled, which promotes gender equality and social inclusion.

Comparing with the existing TCs or SCs, the new TC proposal will not involve transport and storage facilities for cryogenic liquefied gases at ports within the scope of ISO/TC67/SC9, specific equipment such as cranes within the scope of ISO/TC96 and Industrial trucks within the scope of ISO/TC110, Tourism and related services at yacht ports within the scope of ISO/TC228, the adjacent communities within the scope of ISO/TC 268, and logistics related topics within the scope of ISO/TC 344.

In addition, the new TC proposal focuses on on-shore areas within ports and terminals, both for goods and passengers, and addresses various possible interconnection and transiting matters beyond ISO/TC 8.