200 managers and professionals from the port community meet on 'Consignee Agent Day'

In its ninth edition

The Associació d'Agents Consignataris de Vaixells de Barcelona celebrated 'Consignee Agent Day' on June 13, an event that served to vindicate the role of this group in international trade.

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This Tuesday, June 13, the Association of Ship Consignment Agents of Barcelona, celebrated the ninth edition of the 'Consignee Agent Day', which brought together more than 200 managers and professionals from companies and institutions linked to the maritime and port sector of Catalunya.

The celebration was attended by the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Marc Sanglas and the president of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó, as well as other authorities and institutional representatives of the port-logistics community.

The president of the Association of Consignees of Barcelona began the parliaments, Jordi Trius, to highlight that “the core business of ship consignment agents remains the same as always, the defense of the interests of shipowners and the professional group itself, sometimes not sufficiently known or recognized.” He added that “we are very involved and advancing in the milestone of being able to have a specific qualification to act as a consignee in Spain, with the help of the Spanish Association of Ship Consignees (ASECOB) and the authorities involved.”

On the other hand, he also wanted to point out that in the sector and in the profession “we need new talent to incorporate innovation and to renew those of us who are getting older.” In this sense, for Jordi Trius "the digital transformation and automation plans demanded by customers and the entire transport chain force us to be more proactive and dynamic."

Another of the challenges that the president of the Association of Consignees of Barcelona highlighted was that of environmental Protection, commenting that “we must be involved with the objective of sustainability, given that it directly affects the future of maritime transport and the shipowners we represent” and highlighting that “years of changes, investments and important regulations await us to be able to achieve decarbonization of both our industry and others.”

Referring to the profession and the consignee group in Barcelona, ​​Jordi Trius emphasized that “with our centuries-old history we have demonstrated a great capacity for adaptation and, in addition to being resilient, we are useful survivors and we are committed to continuing to provide quality services.”

He concluded by saying that all these challenges, together with the work and effort carried out by this group “are reason enough to celebrate the Consignee Agent Day and share it with the entire logistics-port community. It is our hope that the remainder of 2023 marks the path towards the consolidation and recovery of the strategic traffic of our port and that we can advance in the challenges of connectivity and orderly growth posed.”

He then intervened Lluís Salvadó, president of the Port of Barcelona, to highlight that the consignees, with 103 years of history, “are a group that has been able to adapt over time” and added that “the Association continues to have the trust of all the people in the sector and the port community of Barcelona and we support the entire group in their process of innovation and adaptation to changes.”

 

Jordi Trius highlighted that “the core business of ship consignment agents remains the same as always, the defense of the interests of the shipowners and the professional group itself, sometimes not sufficiently known or recognized.”

 

The president of the Port of Barcelona also highlighted that “we are all part of a great and complex mechanism that is the port and that every day it performs a true miracle to bring goods to consumers and companies from very distant places.” In this sense, “this is a success for all groups, public and private, that participate in the supply chain because they are the ones that provide the service.”

Lluís Salvadó also referred to the role that consignees play in the port, which in 2022 registered some 9.000 ship calls and “you are the consignees who respond to the many needs that these vessels have”, which is why “without your service , the Port of Barcelona would not have the capacity it has to grow and attract these ships to make the port uone of the most relevant infrastructures in southern Europe".

To conclude, the president of the Barcelona enclave referred to “the important challenges that lie ahead, such as decarbonization, innovation or being a more competitive port,” which is why “we have to work collectively on the port community to face and overcome these challenges.”

The last intervention of the evening was given by the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Marc Sanglas, who reiterated “the vitality and capacity to adapt” of the consignees and their fundamental role “in the evolution of the port and society.”

For the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure "we are experiencing a transformative change and this implies that we have a future, although we are faced with a series of challenges, such as technology or the climate emergency, which together we must manage to overcome, also imprinting changes on the way of transporting.” And, to achieve this, “the port and the Catalan administration are providing the tools to achieve this global transformation.” He added that since Generalitat de Catalunya “We extend our hand to you and we will be at your side to accompany you in this process of adaptation and transformation” to “strengthen the transport sector.”

Marc Sanglas He highlighted that another of the elements that "from the Generalitat we are promoting is the transformation of the railway through an improvement of the railway connections of the port of Barcelona to ensure that goods leave for Europe in this mode of transport." It is necessary that investments “that do not solely depend on the Generalitat be made quickly.”

Referring to the Association of Consignees of Barcelona, the Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure wanted to highlight his involvement in the social field and his participation in the Strategic Mobility Forum. “You are an entity committed to what happens in your environment.”

Institutional recognitions

At the end of the evening, recognitions were made to those people who, with their work, dedication and good work, have ensured that the Barcelona Consignee Association has endured over time and that the figure of the consignee agent achieves the recognition and professionalism that it has. today. The distinctions went to:

Barcelona Pilots Corporation, in recognition of their service work and for their contribution to the development of maritime activity in the port. He collected the award Joan Roig, president of the entity.
andreu gomez, in memoriam, in thanks and gratitude for his contribution to the development of the activity of consignee agent and for his years of dedication as a member of the Board of Directors of the Association. He received the award from his daughter, Claudia Gómez.

The Consignee Agent Day has been sponsored by: APM Terminals, Banc Sabadell, Barcelona Towage, Bergé Marítima, Cosco Shipping Lines Spain, Hapag-Lloyd, Intercruises, Loomis, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Noatum Maritime, Port de Barcelona , SIL Barcelona, ​​TMA and Transcoma Shipping; and with the collaboration of: Agunsa Europa, Amarres de Barcelona, ​​Barcelona Depot Container Service, BEST Terminal, Butransa, Coma y Ribas, Cont Port Go, Diario del Puerto, El Canal Marítimo y Logístico, El Mercantil, Intramediterráneo, ITIC, Lantimar Group , Mestre Abogados, Osgon Transport of Containers, Prácticos de Barcelona, ​​Romeu Shipping Division, Rudder Marine Services & Ship Repairs, Servicios Flotantes Otto Schwandt, Sintraport, Solport, Suardiaz Group, Tradebe, Transporte XXI, Veintepies.com and Wec Lines España.