Several European ports have announced that cleaner vessels will receive discounts on port dues next year, as a reward for being green.
From 1 January, the Dutch ports of Amsterdam, Moerdijk, Dordrecht and Rotterdam will reduce rates for vessels that score well on the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) - a new international standard for vessel emissions.
It is understood Rotterdam will offer a rebate of 5%, while Amsterdam will offer a rebate of 300euro (US$426) on port dues of 8,000euro.
The ports of Antwerp, Hamburg and Bremen have also announced their intention to use the ESI.
Hans Smits, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, and Dertje Meijer, Director of the Port of Amsterdam, said: "It is very important that seaports develop in a sustainable way. Making port tariffs greener and rewarding clean vessels is in keeping with this."
"The more ports and ships that use the ESI, the more this will start to influence behaviour in the shipping industry."
The ESI, which was designed by the ports of Le Havre, Bremen, Hamburg, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, is a certificate that will be awarded by the World Port Climate Initiative after a request by a shipowner.
The index shows the environmental performance of ships in terms of the emission of air pollutants - NOx and SOx - and CO2.
Ships will be given a score of between one and 100, with zero indicating that the vessel complies with minimum environmental standards, but does not qualify for a rebate.
Each port will set its own qualifying benchmark, but it is understood Amsterdam will issue rebates for scores of 20 or above.
The index has already been tested on around 50 vessels and scores have ranged from 10 to 40. |
