Page 110 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - SEPT 2025

International waters

Blue

Economy

Greece to establish two new To help address this, the EU has introduced
Marine National Parks a mandate requiring ports to provide
Announcing the two new marine national onshore power supply (OPS) by 2030.
parks on Monday, 21 July, the Greek Prime This measure will allow ships to plug into
Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that the local electricity grid while docked,
he was delivering on a promise to estab- thereby replacing the use of fossil-fuel
lish “two new Marine National Parks - one auxiliary engines and reducing harmful
in the Ionian Sea, and the other in the emissions.
Southern Cyclades, in the iconic Aegean”. A new study by DNV on behalf of the NGO
The Greek Prime Minister pointed out T&E shows that only one in five required
that this places Greece at the forefront onshore power supply (OPS) connections
among Mediterranean countries in terms are currently installed or contracted,
of the size of its marine protected areas, with slow uptake across most ports.
with the two parks extending over an area Of the 31 ports studied, only four have
of 27,500 square kilometres, or 25% larger installed or contracted more than half
than initially announced. An excerpt of the connections required by 2030.
of his statement is given below: Because they spend significantly more
“The sea has always been Greece’s silent time at berth, cruise ships produce more
force. It is part of who we are - shaping than six times more port-side emissions
our civilisation and our history, feeding than container ships. In 2023, Carnival’s under the next Multiannual Financial
our people, and nurturing our spirit. The 3,500-passenger cruise ship, the “Azura”, Framework (MFF), including contin-
two National Parks will be among the emitted a whopping 22,800 tonnes of ued support through the Alternative
largest marine protected areas in the CO2 in European ports. Plugging in at port Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF).
entire Mediterranean. They will allow us would eliminate almost all of it and cut • Expanding shore power require-
to meet the target of protecting 30% the ship’s total yearly emissions by a fifth. ments to a broader range of ships
of our territorial waters by 2030, way Current EU laws fail to regulate the at berth, including currently excluded
ahead of schedule, and will be vast full scope of at-berth emissions. Key ship types and smaller vessels,
sanctuaries for life beneath the waves. sources of pollution from smaller ves- as part of future revisions to
They will also help to preserve ecosys- sels and unregulated ship types remain Alternative Fuels Infrastructure
tems, restore balance, and set a bold new unaddressed. Based on these findings, and FuelEU Maritime regulations.
standard for marine conservation. And T&E recommends:
perhaps, most importantly, within these • Advancing EU shore power require- Pakistan launches 120-acre
marine zones, the hugely damaging prac- ments for cruise terminals and aquaculture park to drive blue
tice of bottom trawling will be banned”. cruise ships to 2028, reflecting economy growth
the segment’s high proportion The Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs
The state of shore power of at-berth emissions and relatively of Pakistan, Muhammad Junaid Anwar
infrastructure in European ports advanced OPS readiness. Chaudhry, announced the establishment
Shipping activity is most heavily con- • Integrating shoreside electricity of a state-of-the-art Aquaculture Park at
centrated in ports, and so are its pollu- into the Renewable Energy Direc- Korangi Fish Harbour (KoFHAH), Karachi,
tion and emissions. Over 6% of Europe’s tive (RED III) electricity crediting at an estimated cost of 3 billion rupees.
maritime GHG emissions occur during mechanism as part of national The Minister made the announcement
port operations, alongside high levels transposition, to enhance invest- while chairing a high-level meeting on the
of air pollutants such as sulphur oxides ment viability and accelerate port development of the blue economy,
and fine particles. Reducing these emis- decarbonisation. attended by Chairman Gwadar Port
sions is crucial to enhancing urban air • Earmarking dedicated EU funding Authority (GPA) Noorul Haq Baloch, rep-
quality and safeguarding public health. for OPS and port grid expansion resentatives from Korangi Fish Harbour

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