Port of Antwerp gives port fee discount to environment-friendly ships

The Antwerp Port Authority announced that it will reward "clean ships" calling at the port. Beginning July 1st the most environment-friendly ships will be granted a discount of 10% on the tonnage dues. Tonnage dues are the fee that a shipping company has to pay the Port Authority for each ship that enters the port, calculated on the basis of the gross tonnage.

The discount stems from an initiative by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, in which the port authorities of Le Havre, Bremen, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Antwerp introduced the Environmental Ship Index (ESI).

Shipping companies can register their ships for this index at www.environmentalshipindex.org. On the basis of the data entered, such as fuel consumption and emissions, each ship is given a score on a scale from 0 to 100 (from highly polluting to emission-free). So far more than 250 ships have been given a score. The ports themselves decide what advantages to offer participating ships.

In the case of Antwerp, seagoing ships with a score of 31 or more will be granted a discount of 10% on the tonnage dues. The Port Authority will guarantee this discount for a period of at least three years, so offering continuity for shipping companies that invest in improving the ESI score of their ships.

The introduction of the ESI forms part of the Port Authority's policy of sustainable development of the port. This new international standard is a useful tool for port authorities to promote investments in more environment-friendly ships. Antwerp Port Authority uses low-sulphur fuel for its own fleet. In addition, ships and barges are able to use onshore power supplies at various locations in the port, so they do not have to run their engines while at berth.