The main objective of the project BALTPORTS-IT is the dissemination of reference knowledge gained during the execution of the EC projects AMCAI, DAMAC-HP, SPHERE and regional projects in the area of IT-solutions and simulation for harbour managing and control. In this project a Baltic sub-regional Competence Centre will be established in Riga (Latvia). It will be formed to provide a communication platform for connecting scientists offering innovate IT solutions with engineers of companies working on maritime applications. The Competence Centre will support Port authorities, agencies, forwarders, trucking companies, stevedoring, insurance companies, railway and warehousing companies working with a distributed system of Free Port areas. Recommendations for the application of innovate solutions leading to new market opportunities are to be developed in technical Workshops. New ways for the training of specialists in maritime information systems design and port logistics by using Web-based technologies will become possible.

The strategic impact of the proposed accompanying measure. Improvement of port processes would have a significant positive impact on the competitiveness of Baltic sub-regional enterprises dealing with harbour processes (BTC, Klaipeda Sea Port, Ventamonjaks, IDC IT, Gdansk Port, Tallinn Port) and their customers, with notable derivate benefits at a pan-European level, such as:

• Increasing the efficiency of the Trans-European Network.
• Integration of the Baltic sub-regional ports from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia into the Trans-European Network.
• Diversion of traffic from mega-ports to secondary ports and, therefore a reduction of the traffic congestion in areas of the mega-ports. It will also increase industrial development, growth and possible employment opportunities in the secondary (Baltic Sea) ports.
• Enhanced European competitiveness, since the Baltic sub-regional ports represent an important section of European harbours and the quality of their operation has a direct impact on their users' competitiveness.
• Creation of market opprtunities. Combining different IT-solutions, simulation and information systems in the maritime area on the basis of Web- and HLA-based technologies provides regular data exchange between ports and port related enterprises in the Baltic Sea sub-region (Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) as well as simulation of harbour processes of the whole sub-region. Although these ports are competitors, such an integration of the Baltic sub-regional ports will lead to an improvement fo services and, therefore, to the creation of new market opportunities and form an attraction to new ports users from the New Independent States (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakstan etc.). Therefore, it would also lead to an increasing turnover of cargo in European mega-ports.

• Customisation of the SPHERE Simulation System for all industrial partner ports (in Gdansk, Klaipeda and Riga), aiming to simulate the port environment and to evaluate general characteristics of port operation. This activity relates to dissemination of results whisch have been achieved within the SPHERE project. Exploitation of customised models will be based on an agreenent with the SPHERE consortium.
• Customisation of the Klaipeda Oil Terminal Simulation System, including:
• preparing and inputing data that are specific to a new user of the system, aiming to simulate the following values: average level of oil in reservoirs, occupation coefficients of platforms, average lengths of tank-cars queues with light and heavy oil products, average time oil products stored at the terminal, annual terminal turnover,
• evaluation of performing logistics tasks are performed,
• forecasting terminal operation,
• generalising the explored simulation methodology,
• combaining the Klaipëda Oil Terminal Simulation System with the terminal information system.