“Factors influencing container ship port times” - Final event of the PRIN2022-PNRR research project
March 4, 2026 - "Rosario Pietropaolo" Hall, Engineering Building, Feo di Vito, via Zehender, Reggio Calabria
The workshop "Factors influencing container ship port times" will be held on March 4, 2026, at the Department of Information, Infrastructure, and Sustainable Energy Engineering (DIIES) of the Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria. This will be the final event to present the research results, organized as part of the "PRIN2022-PNRR PORTI" research project, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The research, coordinated by the DIIES Department and the University of Messina, focused on analyzing and evaluating ship time in commercial ports in relation to the port's characteristics: geographic location and role in supply chains; administrative system efficiency; and the availability of both tangible (docks, draft, land connections) and intangible (port community system) infrastructure. The topics covered were analyzed in relation to energy issues and the sustainability goals set by the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
The potential economic and social impacts of large commercial and passenger ports in Calabria and Sicily require further scientific and practical investigation. It is well known that the ports of Gioia Tauro, Augusta, and Messina are among the most important Mediterranean ports for container handling, liquid bulk cargo, and passenger traffic, respectively. The Presidents of the relevant Port Authorities will be present at the meeting: Paolo Piacenza, Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas; Francesco Di Sarcina, Port System Authority of the Eastern Sicilian Sea; and Francesco Rizzo, Port System Authority of the Strait of Messina.
The day will feature greetings from Giuseppe Zimbalatti, Rector of the Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria; the Directors of the Engineering Department, Claudio De Capua of the DIIES and Giuseppe Barbaro of the DICEAM; the Coordinators of the Doctoral Programs, Tommaso Isernia and Matilde Pietrafesa; the President of the Italian Society of Transport Teachers, Stefano Carrese; and the Director of CIREM-University of Cagliari, Gianfranco Fancello.
The day will continue in the scientific section with the participation of some of the leading figures in international port and maritime transport research: Thierry Vaneslander, professor at the University of Antwerp; Mark Assaf, Head of Human Resources at UNCTAD's TrainForTrade Trade Logistics Branch; and Jan Hoffmann, member of the World Bank's Global Transport Department.
Finally, in addition to the three Presidents of the Port Authorities mentioned above, the roundtable will include Alessandro Panaro of SRM - Studies, Research for Southern Italy; Francesco Foti, President of the Order of Engineers of the Province of Reggio Calabria; Domenico Vecchio, President of Confindustria Reggio Calabria; and Francesco Russo of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria. The roundtable will be an opportunity for reflection and discussion, with key industry figures present, on the future of Italian ports in the global context, also in light of the government's recent reform.