The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) is pleased to see that a preliminary agreement has been reached between co-legislators on the proposal for FuelEU Maritime.

The agreement provides the shipping sector with a framework to accelerate their green transition through reduced emissions during navigation and at berth.

The ambitious requirements for ships to reduce emissions starting in 2025 will help drive the uptake of alternative fuels in shipping, as well as help ensure the use of shore side electricity (SSE).

ESPO welcomes that the agreement on FuelEU Maritime introduces a requirement for ships to use shore side electricity at berth in TEN-T ports as well as in other ports which installed this infrastructure starting in 2030. For ports, it is important that this obligation to use is implemented and strictly enforced.

The obligation to use comes however with quite some exceptions that risks further delaying and limiting the use of the shore side electricity installations in ports. For ports, in line with the upcoming new Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), 2030 will be the deadline for having shore side electricity infrastructure in place.

It is to be expected that many ports will already have these installations operational years before that, without any guarantee of use. Ports therefore strongly hope for the engagement of shipping lines to use shore side electricity when available before 2030.

“We are pleased that for the first time there is an agreement on the greening ambitions for shipping, both during navigation and at berth. We would like to congratulate the rapporteur and all negotiators on this agreement. The requirements for ships when to use of electricity at berth, will hopefully break the chicken and egg discussion. We hope however that the flexibility given to shipping lines to decide their own greening path, will also be mirrored in the upcoming agreement on AFIR. There is no time and no money to lose, for shipping lines nor for ports. Reducing emissions, fast and efficient, should be the main ambition. We hope the AFIR is also giving some flexibility to ports to prioritise investments in onshore power in ports where it makes the most sense”, says ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost.

Europe’s ports furthermore favour the provisions in the agreement on compatibility between the shore side electricity on board ships with the installations in the port.

ESPO believes that coordination will be essential to boost the use of shore side electricity and to deliver real emission reductions. ESPO has consistently and successfully called for the introduction of a consultation mechanism for port stakeholders in FuelEU Maritime. Accordingly, Europe’s ports welcome that the preliminary agreement includes a provision requiring ships to inform the competent Member State of the port of call about their intention to use shore side electricity, and their power needs at berth.

ESPO also sees a recognition of the risk of carbon and business leakage in the agreement, but remains critical about the effectiveness of the clause. ESPO finally asks that the penalty revenues resulting from failure to connect to shore side electricity must be used to finance the necessary investments in shore-side electricity.

ESPO will continue to work closely with EU policymakers and shipping lines in the implementation of FuelEU Maritime, helping to make the greening of shipping a reality.

#FerryNews - Swedish based operator, Stena Line which operates services across northern Europe continues to deliver on its ambitious sustainability strategy.

This involves 15% lower sulphur emissions, reduced plastic on board and a decreased number of accidents among the seagoing staff are just some of the results highlighted in its yearly overview... A Sustainable Journey.

The ferry company is on an innovative journey to become a leader in sustainable shipping. Its yearly overview A Sustainable Journey analyses how Stena Line delivers on the ambitious sustainability targets it presented in 2016. A Sustainable Journey also highlights sustainability activities from across its network in 2017. Stena Line’s sustainability strategy is based on the UN sustainable development goals which have four main focus areas. Clean Energy, Responsible Consumption, Life below Water and Health & Wellbeing.

“As one of the world´s leading ferry shipping companies, with over 28 000 sailings per year across ferry routes, we have a large responsibility to do our best to perform all of our operations in a sustainable manner. We are constantly taking small and big steps towards becoming a leader in sustainable shipping and we are happy to present this year’s overview which clearly shows that Stena Line is continuing to deliver on its ambitious targets,” says Erik Lewenhaupt, Head of Sustainability at Stena Line.

Main achievements within sustainability during 2017:

Clean Energy:

o 15 % lower sulphur emissions per nautical mile.

o 2.1 %lower CO2 emissions per nautical mile.

o New installation of shore side electricity on two vessels in the Port of Trelleborg.

Responsible Consumption:

o Reduced plastic disposables by decreasing the number of plastic bags sold onboard by 15 % and as well as change-over to a fully recyclable bio-plastic bag made from sugar cane

o Reduced the total amount of waste by 8% as well as an increase in the amount of waste going to energy recovery and recycling instead of landfill

o Development of a new Stena Line supplier standard

Life Below Water:

o Doubled the use of gentle Ecolabel detergents onboard 38 vessels

o Tested new anti-fouling techniques including ultra sound to reduce friction

o Upgraded our ISO14001 certification to 2015 standard with a new wider scope

Health & Wellbeing:

o Continued the positive trend on lowering the number of accidents in the workplace for seagoing staff and reduced LTIF (Lost Time Injury Frequency) from 1.6 in 2016 to 0.6 in 2017.

o Passenger safety campaign to further improve the focus on passenger safety

o New policies for Anti-Harassment and Equal Opportunities implemented.

For further reading on the operator's Sustainability Journey click the link here for a download.