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one of which recommends allocat-
Credit: EPA/ALLISON DINNER
ing some of the revenues from the EU
Emissions Trading System (ETS) to
incentivise renewable fuel adoption.
It was encouraging that, at the European
Shipping Summit, the European
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport
stressed that some of the ETS
revenues can be used to bridge
the price gap with clean fuels and
support investments in clean tech.
The truth is that EU regulations, such
as the ETS and the FuelEU Maritime,
do not incentivise the production of
clean fuels. Meanwhile, we have 200
dual-fuel newbuildings on the water
and 700 more in the orderbook. Having
said that, we believe that the demand
for cleaner fuels will be high in the years
to come.
The key, though, lies in offsetting
the cost three or four times to accel-
erate the transition to net-zero carbon
emissions. As our Vice President com-
mented after MEPC83, “the produc-
tion of clean fuels and energy sources
will create economic opportunities across
the globe and have environmental benefits
that will last for generations. However, con-
siderable work remains to ensure we have
In recent years, EU legislators have the necessary rules and guidance to use
introduced initiatives to support the fuels that will power the world’s
maritime transport. What is your fleet in future years”. Ultimately,
view on these measures? the EU’s proposals are welcome,
We have a dedicated office in Brus- but the discussion needs to shift
sels to ensure that we engage with the from ambition to action.
EU, and we are hopeful that this will
keep the dialogue open. Shipping is Representatives of tramp shipping
important for the EU for several rea- companies argue that liner com-
sons. Every year, $2.5 trillion worth of panies are better positioned
goods are imported into the EU by sea, for green investments because
and 90% of the EU’s goods are trans- of the specific routes they oper-
ported with containerships inbound ate on. How do you respond
and outbound. Moreover, the EU is one to this claim?
of the largest exporters worldwide This specific claim is understandable
and one of the biggest bunkering hubs. to some extent. Our view is that
So, there are ports like Rotterdam and, we cannot have solutions based on
to a lesser extent, ports in Spain that are the type of cargo a ship carries or
major bunkering stops. We see tremen- the routes it operates on; we need
dous opportunities for EU ports to remain solutions that can be applied in all
strategic hubs for bunkering and fuel pro- shipping markets and models. That’s
duction as we pursue the transition toward the best way to accelerate this transition.
net-zero emissions. This is definitely one Even though the liner companies
of the ways for the EU economy to remain have invested a significant amount of
competitive, as shown in the Draghi report. money in newbuildings, it is essential
We have recently published a few pro- that every segment of the industry
posals for EU maritime decarbonisation, moves forward together.
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