The BSR InnoShip project, in which Polish Register of Shipping was involved for over three years, culminated in a final seminar organized in Brussels on 9-10 September 2013 inthe Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the European Union.
The Solutions for Low-Emission Shipping in the Baltic Sea Region seminar gathered together a group of approximately 90 regional and EU level decision makers, stakeholders from the fields of transport and the environment, as well as participants of relevant business sectors and a group of project partners.
The two-day event presented the best practices and solutions for low-emission shipping found under the project during the project lifetime (2010-2013). Various BSR InnoShip outputs were presented, including e.g. feasibility studies and economic analyses of different clean shipping solutions, emission maps ready for integration into HELCOM services to facilitate future decision-making as well as the Pan-Baltic Manual of Best Practices for Clean Shipping and Port Operations. The Manual includes environmental and economic support tools and practices in response to the new shipping regulations especially in the Baltic Sea area. The Seminar, witnessed the launching of the first-ever Baltic Sea Clean Maritime (BSCM) Award with the winners announced to the public. The acknowledgment is conferred in three different categories: "Technology, propulsion and engines", "Infrastructure development" and "Operational Management". The official awarding ceremony for the winners will be held later in connection with the 4th Annual Forum on the EUSBSR in Vilnius on 11-12 November 2013.
Presentations by project partners during the seminar included an intervention by PRS Team members Ms Beata Madejska, from PRS External Cooperation Department and Mr Krzysztof Kolwzan, Manager of Machinery and Equipment Departmant on Legal aspects of low-emission shipping and the impact of classification societies on low emission shipping have been presented.
In addition to the presentations by project partners, the seminar also included an interesting and highly relevant panel discussion on the future of clean shipping. The panel comprised six members: Ms Janeta Toma (DG Mobility and Transport for the European Commission), Mr Markku Mylly (European Maritime Safety Agency), Ms Elina Bardram (DG Climate Action for the European Commission), Ms Marianne Huusko-Lamponen (Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the European Union), Mr Kasper Moos (DFDS) and Ms Tiina Haapasalo (Confederation of Finnish Industries EK).
The panel members agreed that LNG would be the medium-term solution to many challenges faced by shipping. It is a viable option for newbuildings but not for retrofitting of existing vessels in most cases, which in turn would benefit more from, for example, scrubbers. However, a real kick-start foruse of LNG, require harmonisation and enforcement of LNG related regulations across member states and third countries in order to create a real LNG bunkering market and an LNG-powered fleet. The European Commission has established a proposal for the Monitoring and Verification of CO2 emissions from ships to promote a global solution at IMO level. The need for global solutions was strongly emphasised by the panel.
To conclude, the BSR InnoShip project results and final seminar discussions emphasize the importance of LNG infrastructure development as the most crucial prerequisite for low-emission shipping in the Baltic Sea Region. Financing arrangements for investments – loans, guarantees, state aid – are needed. So far, very little operational experience with any of the clean shipping solutions is available, and virtually no LNG infrastructure is in place, or in the pipeline. Continued guidance and advice, including technology selection and slow-steaming operations, are needed. According to studies made under BSR InnoShip, the economic impact of MARPOL Annex VI (sulphur in ship fuels) leads to direct additional costs of 3.8 billion euros in 2015.
All presentations from the BSR InnoShip Project conference in Brussels are accessible under the link:
http://www.baltic.org/projects/bsr_innoship/final_seminar/presentations
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