Shortsea shipping: How it will be strengthened and “greened”

Greece’s abbreviated oversea shipping assemblage is facing large challenges, owed to the simplification and aging of the fleet and the caller EU biology requirements.

These conditions bring to the fore the request to renew the fleet. The Hellenic Short Sea Shipowners Association and its president Charalambos Simantonis, successful collaboration with the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), presented the study “Shortsea Shipping: Trends, Challenges and Impact connected the Greek Economy”, astatine the Eugenides Foundation

According to the study, a large contented is the simplification of the nationalist transport fleet (in terms of numbers and capacity) and its mean age.

In the play 2004-2025, the fig of cargo ships under 5,000 GRT decreased by 31.3% and those betwixt 5,000 and 20,000 GRT by 64.1%, while tankers under 5,000 GRT decreased by 42% and those betwixt 5,000 and 20,000 GRT by 27.8%.

At the aforesaid time, the fleet continues to age, arsenic implicit 70% of it is implicit 30 years aged (cargo ships and tankers), which requires contiguous replacement with newer ships oregon modernization of existing ones.

Meanwhile, 40% of tankers are betwixt 15-24 years old, while astir each wide cargo ships are implicit 30 years old.

The precocious mean property does not let for important technological upgrades of the fleet and limits compliance with caller biology requirements, so a fleet renewal strategy is present considered necessary, particularly for wide cargo ships.

At the aforesaid time, the IOBE study highlighted the economical implications of the adoption of the caller “green” regulations connected the way of shortsea shipping towards the greenish transition.

Shortsea shipping will not beryllium capable to strengthen its publication to the Greek system without the adoption of targeted strategies for the adaptation of its fleet and the applicable larboard infrastructure.

However, it should beryllium noted astatine the aforesaid clip that shortsea shipping will look aggravated pressures connected the way towards the greenish transition.

Specifically, these pressures are reflected economically arsenic follows:

The total outgo of compliance with the caller measures for the home shortsea shipping assemblage is estimated astatine 225 cardinal euros by 2030. The accrued outgo translates into an further load connected freight rates of up to 38.6%.

The nonaccomplishment of gross for shortsea shipping companies from little traffic is estimated astatine 140 cardinal euros (-17.0% of total revenue) successful 2030, aft deducting the amounts corresponding to the caller burdens.

The losses from the imposed measures successful GDP terms are approaching 200 cardinal euros successful 2030, taking into relationship the indirect and induced effects, while the gross for the State is estimated to beryllium reduced by 35 cardinal euros successful 2030.

The losses successful jobs successful the full nationalist system are approaching 1.2 thousand successful 2030.

Key proposals of the strategic transition plan

Specific proposals, which will signifier the ground of the strategic transition plan, according to the IOBE report, are:

– Creation of fiscal mechanisms to concern the required investments successful ships and infrastructure imposed by the greenish transition.

– The outgo of compliance with the caller biology requirements tin besides beryllium reduced with further initiatives, including measures to minimize the terms quality betwixt caller technologies and accepted fuels, such arsenic the anticipation of “carbon contracts for differences”, done which a minimum terms for caller fuels is achieved for producers, frankincense reducing the hazard they look successful processing innovative technologies and promoting the improvement of the applicable accumulation capacity.

– Extension of the favourable tax treatment of marine fuels (zero ETD tax) and proviso of a discount connected larboard dues with the purpose of supporting the competitiveness of Greek shortsea shipping.\

– The FuelEU pooling mechanics tin besides lend to reducing compliance costs, providing shipowners with some flexibility successful achieving the targets.- It is projected to analyse the anticipation of simplifying the MRV, ETS and FuelEU procedures for ships beneath a GRT threshold.

– Training of quality resources successful skills required for the smooth implementation of caller technologies successful the regular cognition of shortsea shipping businesses.