Within the North Sea Region, freight moves by sea, road, rail and barge. Of these transport modes, sea and barge are the most sustainable. The aim of the LO-PINOD project is to facilitate more freight to move by water.

The three objectives of the project are:

To initiate investment for multi-modal connections to ports: With a focus on port hinterland connections and freight distribution, activities will concentrate on improving accessibility to ports by road, rail, ferry and barge that are sustainable and can be replicated across the North Sea Region. Additionally, the development of new shortsea and coastal services to link regional ports to main transport hubs will result in a more efficient and robust transport network and safeguard employment in regional ports.

Upgrade skills and knowledge: The neutral environment of the Interreg project encourages sharing of knowledge amongst partners. This allows ports to improve their efficiency and competitiveness by exchanging best practice and learning in areas such as port security, safety, operational procedures and general management.

National and EU policy support: Regional, national and EU policies will be tested through pilot projects and, based on findings, proposals made to strengthen, enhance and join-up policies at all levels to encourage greater use of regional ports, shortsea shipping and multi-modal transport chains.

LO-PINOD is funded by the North Sea Region programme, part of the EU Inter-regional (Interreg) initiative. Interreg is 50% financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the remaining 50% is provided by the project partners. The total project value is €8 million.