Esi News

Port of Rotterdam said Thursday it would offer "a substantial port fee reduction" for ships that bunker sustainable fuels in Rotterdam, "supporting the recently announced Zero Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) and recognizing front runners in the road to maritime decarbonization."Boudewijn Siemons, COO and CEO a.i. of the Port of Rotterdam: “It is vital that the shipping industry makes the switch to zero-emission fuels. The ZEMBA consortium has launched a fantastic initiative with a willingness to pay carriers a premium for the use of zero-emission fuels…

Singapore’s leading containership operator Pacific International Lines (PIL) has successfully attained Environmental Ship Index(ESI) certification for its fleet comprising of half a million TEUs.According to the shipping company, this is a major milestone for the Singaporean shipowner ahead of the transition towards the Global Sulfur Cap 2020 from 1 January next year.ESI certification is an on-going initiative by the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) and it is a voluntary program for ship owners to enroll their vessels – attesting that their vessels exceed the basic standard set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).To qualify for certification…

Among a string of new eco-friendly initiatives, the Marseille Fos port authority is to spend $22 million over the next six years to extend shoreside electrical connections for berthed vessels to every ferry, cruiseship and repair quay within the Marseille eastern harbor.Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the shiprepair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025. The zero…

Upcoming Project NEPTUNES is set to offer a best practices guide for ports on measuring, labelling and mitigating noise emissions of vessels at ports.Up until today, there is a noticeable absence of any universal measurement protocol for the quantification of noise performance of ships in port. Nor is there any recorded information or standardised data regarding noise or nuisance in and around ports.The information that is available varies enormously and is rarely translated into concrete measures to mitigate that noise.Frank Wolkenfelt, one of Project NEPTUNES' key program participants takes up the story: "The aim is to really place vessel noise on the table as another emission.

Estonian port authority Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) announced that starting from next year the ships that have joined the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) can apply for discount on tonnage fees of up to 8%.The Baltic Sea port said in a press release that the new port pricing system involving differentiated port fees is aimed at encouraging shipping companies to adopt environmentally friendlier technologies and thus also contribute to the health of Baltic Sea ecosystem.The head of the port company's department for quality and environmental management Ellen Kaasik was quoted in the press release as saying. "As a port, with this discount on tonnage fees…

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. was named “Provider of the Year” on 18th July, 2018 by Target Corporation, the second-largest department store retailer and importer of containerized freight in the United States.Yang Ming was also accredited with the “Environmental Ship Index Award 2017” by Marseille Fos Port Authority, said a company statement.The “Provider of the Year” award distinguishes the provider who has demonstrated exceptional operational performance in cooperation with Target Corporation.Yang Ming achieved a score of 99.9% against stated performance goals. In the past year, Yang Ming provided all market services, dutifully fulfilling commitments…

Port of Amsterdam said the maximum Environmental Ship Index (ESI) discount is doubled for ships with ESI certificates and liquefied natural gas (LNG).For some years Port of Amsterdam has been giving discounts on port dues to vessels listed in the ESI that have attained an ESI score of 20 points or higher."As of 1 August, we will be increasing this incentive by adding another discount: Port of Amsterdam will be doubling the maximum ESI discount for vessels that are in the possession of an ESI certificate and use LNG for their main engine or auxiliary engine," said a press release.LNG emits significantly smaller quantities of particulate matter than other fuels, as well as producing less carbon dioxide.

The Port of Gothenburg has extended and renewed the port tariff discounts for vessels running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2015, the Port of Gothenburg introduced an environmental discount on the port tariff in an effort to increase the number of calls by ships running on LNG. Several major LNG investments have been made since then, including initiatives by a number of Swedish shipping companies. This has had a positive impact on the environment, including reduced emissions of sulphur dioxide, particles and nitric oxide into the air in western Sweden. "The Gothenburg Port Authority is now set to extend the discount period and is already outlining a renewed environmental discount," says a press release from the company.

As part of the Gothenburg Port Authority environmental discount scheme, vessels that report good environmental performance receive a 10 per cent discount on the port tariff, assuming they achieve a certain level according to the globally recognised environmental indexes ESI and CSI. Vessels that run on LNG receive an extra discount of 20 per cent each time they call. The LNG discount is subject to a time limit and is due to run to the end of this year, although the Port Authority is considering extending the discount period. LNG is currently the cleanest marine fuel available for large-scale shipping. Use of the fuel began to gather momentum at the Port of Gothenburg in the second half of 2016.

Starting in 2018, all ships that use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as their primary fuel can apply for a discount of four percent on tonnage fees when calling at harbours of the Port of Tallinn. The goal of the discount is to contribute to the adoption of environmentally friendlier technologies in the Baltic Sea shipping sector. “Similarly to other ports in the European Union and Norway, the Port of Tallinn has set a course toward environmentally differentiated port fees, with the aim of reducing the amount of air pollution and marine pollution from ships’ waste handling and gaseous emissions,” said the head of quality and environmental management department at the Port of Tallinn, Ellen Kaasik.

Costa Group – part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company – announced that its new generation ships, the first LNG powered at sea, will call Marseille in 2019. The Costa Group, the leading tourism group, the No. 1 cruiser in Europe has renovated its commitment to Port of Marseille through different initiatives that began in 1996 when the new cruise called “La Dolce Vita” started its weekly operations from Marseille to offer the French guests every Saturday a brand new and unique experience in the best places of the Mediterranean onboard its ship Costa Romantica. This new offer launched by Costa contributed to the French people being more and more interested in experiencing a cruise vacation.

Classification society DNV GL has developed a new brochure to offer a set of best practices for the design of ships subject to NOx Tier III requirements. It also offers guidance on the considerations that should be taken into account at the newbuilding stage. To ensure the success of any newbuilding plan, shipowners should carefully consider the future operation of their vessels in the newbuilding planning stage, including the implications of the different technological solutions for reducing NOx emissions and how to fulfil the NOx Tier III requirements.

As of 1 July 2017, the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) started evaluating performance in the field of CO2, says a press release from Antwerp Port Authority. To date, only the environmental performance of ships on emissions of air pollution (NOx and SOx) were assessed. This makes the index the first sustainable quality mark in international shipping that includes the performance and, more particularly, the reduction in CO2 in its assessment. The index does this based on historical data already included in the index. The ESI compares the fuel consumption and the nautical miles travelled in the past three years (e.g. 2013, 2014, 2015) to that of the following year (2016). If relatively less fuel has been consumed – in other words, if sailing was more efficient – then less CO2 has been emitted.

Last year, one in three ships at the Port of Gothenburg received an environmental discount on the port charges. This represents an increase of 83 per cent on the previous year. Heading the discount list are Donsö-based shipping companies Tärntank Ship Management AB and Furetank AB, whose vessels are powered by liquefied natural gas. The Port of Gothenburg rewards vessels that are environmental high performers. One in three vessels that called at the largest port in Scandinavia last year were classified as green according to the industry environmental indexes. In total, 75 vessels received a discount of 10 per cent on the port charges compared to 41 in 2015.

DNV GL’s fleet performance management solution ECO Insight has become an incentive provider for the Environmental Ship Index (ESI), a voluntary system designed to improve the environmental performance of sea going vessels. DNV GL offers a 50 per cent discount on the subscription to its ECO Insight Environmental module. “We are very pleased that the ideas underlying ESI are getting greater recognition from the industry and attracting a broader range of incentive providers,” says Fer van de Laar, Director of the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI). “Since it joined the ESI in February 2016, DNV GL ECO Insight has moved up to number 43 in the global ranking of incentive providers,”Fer van added.

It is predicted that biofuels will make up 5-10% of the global marine fuel mix by 2030 – meaning that biofuels will represent a crucial role in creating a low-emission future for shipping. In the wake of COP 21 and in advance of any subsequent IMO ruling on the environment, it may seem to many that the shipping industry is in limbo when it comes to improving its emissions footprint. On the contrary, ship owners and operators are increasingly looking for ways to ensure that both existing fleets and new builds maximize their business potential…

As of 1 June 2015 the port of Antwerp will grant a discount to seagoing ships that use alternative technology to reduce emissions of particulates. The new discount comes on top of the existing ESI discount, which means that in some cases ships can benefit from a 30% reduction in the port dues that have to be paid whenever they call at Antwerp. With this additional environmental discount Antwerp Port Authority seeks to encourage investments in green technologies for more sustainable shipping, by supporting and rewarding these technology pioneers. The discount is being introduced for a period of three years and will be gradually reduced. Despite all efforts so far, shipping still makes a significant contribution towards local pollution, mainly in the form of SOx, NOx and particulates.

The global company ESI Group, a virtual prototyping and testing software developer, has joined efforts with SENER, a company in marine engineering and the development of CAD/CAM system for the shipbuilding industry, with the aim of marketing and integrating their respective solutions, IC.IDO and FORAN. Nowadays shipbuilding is dominated by vessels with highly complex and sophisticated designs. There is also a growing trend of distributing the engineering tasks between multiple remote agents, and a need to produce integrated designs for effective ships with no margin of error.

The Panama Canal has launched the Green Connection Award, a new initiative to recognize customers who demonstrate excellent environmental stewardship, and to encourage others to implement technologies and standards to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Panama Canal customers that meet and exceed environmental standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and/or other globally recognized standards will be considered. The Panama Canal will evaluate eligible candidates based on specific environmental factors, such as the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), Environmental Ship Index (ESI), amount of nitrous oxides they emit due to engine performance…

The Port of London is set to become the first UK port to recognise ship owners committed to progressively improving their environmental performance, as part of a wider approach to reduce the port’s environmental impact. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is set to introduce a discount on port charges for vessels with lower emissions that meet an Environmental Shipping Index (ESI) score of 30, or above. The ESI, developed by the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI), ranks ships’ environmental performance based on factors including emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide, and carbon dioxide. It gives a ready reckoner rating for ships that perform better in reducing emissions than the current International Maritime Organisation emission standards.

The tariffs which visiting sea-going vessels pay in Rotterdam will increase by 0.5% next year. That is half of the past year’s inflation rate. This is in accordance with the three-year agreement made last year between Deltalinqs, VRC, VNPI and the Port Authority on changes to the port tariffs. At the time, the parties agreed to allow an increase in tariffs equal to half of the inflation rate, with a maximum of 1% per annum, for a period of three years. In addition, the Port Authority applies a number of targeted measures to encourage specific sectors, such as container transhipment. In the container sector, the Port Authority is aiming to increase the number of transhipment containers.

Today, the Panama Canal launched the Environmental Premium Ranking, a new initiative that rewards customers who meet high environmental efficiency standards. The new incentive allows qualified customers the opportunity to improve their position within the Panama Canal’s Customer Ranking System, which is taken into consideration when booking for transit through the Panama Canal. This latest initiative is part of the Canal’s Green Connection Environmental Recognition Program, which recognizes customers who demonstrate excellent environmental stewardship and to encourage others to implement technologies and standards to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The number of environment-friendly seagoing ships calling at the port of Antwerp is increasing year by year, according to the results of the Environment Ship Index (ESI) introduced in Antwerp in 2011. This index enables ports to grant a discount on port dues for ships that make a significant contribution to reducing emissions of pollutants such as NOx and SOx. In 2012 there were 462 calls in Antwerp by ships that qualified for the discount. Two years later the number had risen to 501, and during the first nine months of 2015 the port had already granted discounts for 671 calls. Antwerp was one of the group of ports that first introduced the ESI in 2010, along with Le Havre, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Hamburg.