The Port Authority takes an active part in several associations among which we must emphasize:

• Med Ports Community
• Medcruise
• Ferrmed
• Cartagena, Puerto de Culturas

Med Ports Community

The Port Authority of Cartagena is founding member and participates as full member of the association MED PORTS COMMUNITY.

Med Ports Community is a platform made up of the ports of Tarragona , Baleares, Cartagena , Salerno , Bastia , Sète, Livorno and Toulon . This lobby of ports tries to promote the cooperation between Spain , France and Italy and promote the cooperation between the public and the private sectors. Another of its main aims is the development of cabotage (short sea shipping) between countries in the European Union.

This is expected to be achieved by the following actions::

• I. Promote the cooperation between the public and private sectors in order to devise and propose joint solutions that will imply improvements, both in regulations and of any other kind, in matters related to shipping.
• II. Provide a description of the current shipping situation in the Mediterranean area, to recognize the perspectives and on this basis identify pragmatic alternatives of development.
• III. Promote the exchange of intra-Mediterranean opinions about the shipping situation in the Mediterranean area, to recognize the perspectives and on this basis identify development alternatives.
• IV. Promote the exchange of intra-Mediterranean opinions about the shipping situation in general and Mediterranean Short Sea Shipping.
• V. Foster understanding between Spain-France-Italy and other Mediterranean countries and cooperate on a national and European level.
• VI. Analyze the Mediterranean shipping situation as against the rest of the European Union.
• VII. Hold conferences, technical symposiums or other meetings on specific topics, in order to analyze them or their subsequent publication, if appropriate.
• VIII. Incorporate the transport nodes in an effective way analyzing the respective and link bottlenecks between them, to manage to include the combined or multimodal transport in the distribution process of the good.
• IX. Make improvement proposals with regard to shipping, both of a multimodal perspective or of a purely port perspective.
• X. Protect the own interests of the sector as against the competent bodies with regard to shipping.
• XI. Prepare studies and publications on topics of the sector.
• XII. Participate in projects within a European project framework, and if appropriate, in national or bilateral projects.
• XIII. Organization of events, acts, special symposiums, visits, as well as any others related to their social project.
• XIV. Promote and foster private cooperation in national and European programmes. Attain a close collaboration with all the agents that participate in the transport chain, with the purpose of obtaining the most complete view of the intermodal chain.
• XV. Provide the information, publicity and promotion of shipping, in its fullest concept, as well as its form of short sea in the Mediterranean area.

All of this understood, in its fullest concept, as goods and passenger transport, between ports located in the Mediterranean area.

More information in www.mpc-ports.eu

Medcruise

The Port of Cartagena is member of the Association of Mediterranean Ports MEDCRUISE.

Created in June 1996, Medcruise is the association of cruise Ports in the Mediterranean. Its purpose is to promote all the cruise ports in the Mediterranean area, mainly its associate members. Amongst its aims, the following stand out:

• Increase the efficiency of the member ports by promoting the collaboration and by exchanging information.
• Promote the development and the establishment of security plans in the ports and the improvement of security levels.
• Introduce common policies in forums, both regional and international.
• Develop good relations and the collaboration between the member ports of the association. Attain a balanced Association with ports of different size, from different regions, countries and cultures, belonging or not to the European Union.

At this moment, the association is made up of 42 members that represent 59 ports from 16 countries of the Mediterranean region.

If you wish any further information, visit www.medcruise.com or write to info@medcruise.com

Ferrmed

The Port Authority of Cartagena is member of the association of FERRMED.

FERRMED is an association of multi-sectorial nature, created by the private sector, to promote the freight railway axis Scandinavia-Rhine-Rhone-Western Mediterranean. The main trunk of the Axis begins in Stockholm, crosses the Öresund and Fehmarn straits, connects, in a fanned way, all the ports of the North Sea and the western ones in the Baltic Sea as well as the United Kingdom, it links the major river ports, runs through a great part of the Rhine and Rhone valleys, goes along the Western Mediterranean coast from Marseille to Algeciras, and interconnects the most important East-West Axis of the European Union.

All of the companies, entities and institutions interested in the improvement of the infrastructures of this Axis, in the establishment of "FERRMED standards", in the launch of new operation systems and in the effective establishment of the free competition in the freight railway network of the European Union, may join FERRMED.

AIMS:

• I. Promote the development of railway infrastructures for freight transport on the main trunk of FERRMED Axis, as well as on the other important interconnecting axis in its influence area.
• II. Stimulate the improvement of the operation systems and the free competition in the freight railway network in the European Union.
• III. Promote new "utilisation" procedures in order to optimise the railway transport and the combined/intermodal freight transport using the railway.
• IV. Encourage the establishment of "FERRMED standards" in the freight railway network in the European Union.

More information in www.ferrmed.com or in ferrmed@ferrmed.com

Cartagena, Puerto de Culturas

The Consortium Cartagena Port of Cultures is made up of the Regional Government, the Cartagena Town Council, the Port Authority of Cartagena, the Business Confederation of Cartagena, the Cartagena Chamber of Commerce and the Technical University. This project is also open to the private sector.

The aim of this consortium is to offer a thematic area that reveals the valuable cultural assets of the city of Cartagena . It intends to present the city's history and culture, taking advantage of the historical potential of Cartagena and its Port as interpretative resources.

Cartagena , Port of Cultures aims to position Cartagena as a main tourist destination by taking advantage of its wide cultural and heritage-based assets.

The project is working on increasing the tourist potential of the city, taking advantage of all the tourist assets that it has for the visitor arriving here. It is the opportunity for Cartagena to become an exceptional tourist destination, a thematic area prepared to reveal to its visitors the valuable cultural assets of Cartagena.

Main carried out actions:

• I. Interpretation Centre of the History of Cartagena.
• II. Interpretation Centre of the Punic Wall.
• III. Decumano-Plaza de los Tres Reyes ("Square of the Three Kings").
• IV. Augusteum: Tourist Bus.
• V. Tourist Sign-posting.
• VI. Tourist Boat.
• VII. Casa de la Fortuna ("House of Fortune").
• VIII. Autopsy Pavilion.
• IX. Panoramic Lift.
• X. Spanish Civil War Shelters.

In summary, Cartagena Port of Cultures presents an exceptional historical heritage that bases its attractiveness on the presence of important Punic, Roman, Byzantine and Paleochristian remains. Cartagena Port of Cultures is the path to the future supported by a valuable past. Cartagena Port of Cultures invites you to travel through time taking you from the Punic time to the present day.

More information in www.puertoculturas.com