Consortia BER, “bis repetita”?
Following the call for evidence of the European Commission, in the framework the review of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation launched on August 9th, 2022, FEPORT, like other sister organizations and interested parties has provided its comments on whether the decision taken in 2020 has had positive or problematic effects on the functioning of the maritime logistics chain.
As stated in the joint call co-signed by FEPORT and other trade associations last July 2022[1], European businesses and other parties in the supply chain have suffered huge disruption to the movement of goods by container shipping since the Regulation was last renewed in April 2020, with many sailings being cancelled or diverted to other ports, and ports being bypassed (‘skipped’) at short notice. And all these disruptions are not solely COVID 19 related as the recent figures collected by institutions and consultancies[2] prove it.
During the last CBER review in 2018, FEPORT was already of the opinion that a thorough assessment was needed. It is now becoming not only urgent but also crucial to conduct a proper evaluation of the effects of the CBER and tackle several other important aspects that were neglected during the last review and which led to the renewal of the CBER in 2020.
The renewal of the CBER without any modifications has led to problematic developments given the level of consolidation in the market, the lack of monitoring of the market shares of the alliances and their use of consortia.
The joint CLECAT, FEPORT, ESC and ETA legal analysis[3] (procedural and substantive) that exposed the fundamental flaws in the methodology and in relation to the five criteria[4] used by the EU Commission to justify its decision to renew the CBER in 2020 are still valid from our point of view.
During the last review, the EU Commission did not obtain the relevant price and market share data. As the Commission Staff Working Document published by the EU Commission in November 2019 demonstrated, it was unclear which consortia are still covered by it since it is difficult to monitor whether or not the 30% market share threshold condition is met.
The landscape of the liner shipping industry has changed and carriers do not limit their services to port-to-port services; they also exchange data on services which relate to the port and land side which is made easier with developments in the area of big data and business intelligence and analytics – all of this not available to the liner shipping industry at the time of 1990s previous reviews of the BER. The impact of the ongoing vertical and horizontal integration is that the relevant market is no longer a port-to-port maritime transport service but can also relate to a door-to-door service.
The situation prevailing in the market i.e., alliances, consolidation, cross-linkages between consortia etc which has been totally ignored in 2019 should be considered in the framework of the ongoing review.
While collaboration between liner shipping firms can be considered as a necessity, the lack of clarity on the content of the consortia agreements i.e technical collaborations and the exchange of commercially sensible informations has led to a counterproductive effect both for regulators and other stakholders of the maritime logistics chain. The existence of a BER that does not take into account the evolutions in the market, has prevented regulatory authorities from having access to the details since their collaboration remains very limited.
We hope that the EU Commission will use all relevant means and methods that may allow to conduct a proper review of the CBER. There is a need to restore trust and a real level playing field within the maritime logistics chain.
FEPORT calls for a real dialogue with stakeholders and experts to choose the appropriate methodology that will allow the EU Commission to overcome the shortcomings and flaws of the 2019 Staff Working Document[5] and really objectively assess the CBER’s effects.
Sufficient time allocated to the data collection will certainly also be a key success factor for a meaningful assessment. There is no urgency to publish a Staff Working Document in Q4 2022 as we still have 2023 to proceed to a holistic review. Unless, we are heading to a “bis repetita outcome”…??
[1] Container shipping customers and service suppliers call for immediate start to review of competition rules (feport.eu)
[2] Pages 29 and 30 ITF and MDS Transmodal Performance of Maritime Logistics (itf-oecd.org)
[3] CBER joint submission_1.pdf (clecat.org)
[4] Its effectiveness in facilitating consortia agreements in the marketplace
− Its efficiency in reducing compliance costs to carriers
− Its relevance in the current market conditions
− Its coherence with other aspects of EU competition law and wider policies
− Its added value to the role of the EU as competition regulator
[5] The EU Commission did not:
(1) obtain the relevant price and market share data and information readily available from the carriers to enable it to review the operation of the CBER in the light of the major developments in the industry since the last review in 2014;
(2) recognise that a BER is the application of competition law by legislation of general application to a category of defined agreements but is not a self-standing law in the same way as standard EU legislation subject to the EU Better Regulation policy and the related Evaluation process;
(3) assess the five Evaluation criteria accurately, in any event, because of the failure to obtain the available relevant data and by ignoring important changes in the liner shipping market since 2014.
(4) explicitly prohibit consortia members from discussing shoreside port and hinterland logistics
Seventh Annual Stakeholders’ Conference
FEPORT is pleased to announce that on December 1st, 2022, will be held its Seventh Annual Stakeholders’ Conference. The topic of the event will be: “How to preserve the EU transport sector’s competitiveness in a world of “perma-crises?”
The Conference will gather institutional and non-institutional stakeholders as well as representatives from organizations of the transport sectors who will discuss and reflect upon all challenges the EU transport sector is facing.
“Perma crises” means that we do not only need to become more agile and develop a greater capacity of adaptation, but that collective intelligence and joining forces with all parties that engage to find solutions to overcome the big challenges we are facing will be key.
This is why FEPORT has decided to build the program of this conference together with the Waterborne Technology Platform which gathers pioneers and early movers in the field of the transition to zero-emission, digital, zero-accidents and competitive transport.
Terminal Industry Committee 4.0 is the other partner for our stakeholders’ conference. The organization has already shown the relevance of its work aiming at defining and adopting standards that will enable the cargo handling industry to be more efficient.
“Nobody will solve it alone”, so joining forces is a must.
Therefore, throughout the three sessions of the conference, we will listen to representatives from EU institutions, companies, think tanks and foundations who share their views, express their expectations, and clarify how their efforts are contributing to the overall objective of the energy transition, climate resilience and competitiveness.
During the opening session of the conference, we shall have the opportunity to listen to Transport Commissioner Adina Valean who will share her vision on the current challenges in the transport sector.
The first session will be dedicated to “Climate urgency and energy crisis: which impact for transport in the EU?” It will be moderated by Jaap Gebraad, Secretary General of the Waterborne Technology Platform and will feature speakers from Seas at Risk, WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development), EBU, Global Maritime Forum, Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and Port of Hamburg and DG Climate. MEP Vera Tax will also give her views on the theme of the session and her role in the framework of the Fit for 55 proposals.
The second session will concern the impact of the war in Ukraine on the EU transport chain and will be moderated by Conor Feighan, Secretary General of ERFA.
Besides representatives from Deloitte, CER, DG MOVE, Gdynia Container Terminal, Metrans, COCERAL, European Transport Federation. MEP Caroline Nagtegaal and MEP Andrey Novakov will also provide their views about the revision of the TEN-T Regulation.
The third session will be about the hope to overcome the difficulties…We will debate about the competitiveness and resilience of the EU transport sector in the era of perma crises.
Lamia Kerdjoudj, Secretary General of FEPORT will moderate the session that will gather speakers from Yilport, DG RTD, PortEconomics, DG MOVE, Kalmar Cargotec, CMA CGM, TIC 4.0. Finally, MEP Marco Campomenosi will discuss the competitiveness and resilience of the EU transport sector.
The program is now available: Seventh Annual Stakeholders' Conference 2022 (feport.eu)
Looking forward to welcoming you.
Kind regards,
FEPORT
10.10.2022 – TRAN Committee exchanges view with DG MOVE on EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes
On the 10th of October, DG MOVE Deputy Director-General Ms. Maja Bakran was invited by the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee of the Euopean Parliament to discuss the situation on the solidarity lanes in Ukraine.
Ms. Bakran in particular pointed to the Danube Corridors and the Port of Constanta, Romania, which accounts for more than 50% of Ukrainian grain exports via the solidarity lanes. In addition, the Northern Polish route allows for both the transport of agricultural goods as well as humanitarian aid. The Commission is also developing other corridors to the Baltic -. Adriatic and North Seas, even though the related logistical costs are higher for these corridors.
According to Ms. Bakran, the solidarity lanes initiative is bearing fruit, as since May 2022, over 12.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products had been exported via the solidarity lanes.
The EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes and the Black Sea Grain Initiative of the UN, which has allowed for the restart of grain exports via Ukrainian Black Sea Ports as of the beginning of August, have together allowed for the exports of of 18.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain. At the same time, Ms. Bakran stressed, the Black Sea Grain initiative only includes the exports of agricultural products, meaning that the solidarity lanes are the only option for transporting other goods to/from Ukraine, such as energy products, iron, or steel.
At the same time, some challenges still exist, such as the high waiting times on the borders between Ukraine and the EU, which according to some stakeholders the Commission is in contact with account for around 40% of total logistics costs. In this regard, Ms. Bakran added that the Commission is mobilising the EU budget such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), regional and cohesion funds to address these bottlenecks.
Ms. Bakran in particular pointed to the Danube Corridors and the Port of Constanta, Romania, which accounts for more than 50% of Ukrainian grain exports via the solidarity lanes. In addition, the Northern Polish route allows for both the transport of agricultural goods as well as humanitarian aid. The Commission is also developing other corridors to the Baltic -. Adriatic and North Seas, even though the related logistical costs are higher for these corridors.
According to Ms. Bakran, the solidarity lanes initiative is bearing fruit, as since May 2022, over 12.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products had been exported via the solidarity lanes.
The EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes and the Black Sea Grain Initiative of the UN, which has allowed for the restart of grain exports via Ukrainian Black Sea Ports as of the beginning of August, have together allowed for the exports of of 18.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain. At the same time, Ms. Bakran stressed, the Black Sea Grain initiative only includes the exports of agricultural products, meaning that the solidarity lanes are the only option for transporting other goods to/from Ukraine, such as energy products, iron, or steel.
At the same time, some challenges still exist, such as the high waiting times on the borders between Ukraine and the EU, which according to some stakeholders the Commission is in contact with account for around 40% of total logistics costs. In this regard, Ms. Bakran added that the Commission is mobilising the EU budget such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), regional and cohesion funds to address these bottlenecks.
12.10.2022 – FEPORT replies to public consultation on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
On the 12th of October, FEPORT responded to a survey that should contribute to a DG MOVE commissioned study aimed at assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other topical developments (eg the war against Ukraine) on connectivity and competition in the single market for transport.
In its reply, FEPORT stated that throughout the pandemic the transport sector (including ports and the companies operating them) have been confronted with peaks and dips when it comes to demand and hence cargo received at the port. The reason being that different regions of the world went in lock down/opened at different moments, thereby contributing to mismatches between port capacity and cargo shipped, as well as shortages of empty containers.
However, current disruptions in the supply chain are not only caused by COVID but are also due to other factors of which some are due to political developments and existing legal frameworks, others due to climate change and again others due to unexpected external factors.
For example, block exemption for liner shipping has allowed carriers to withdraw maritime capacities, jointly adapt their schedules and cancel many calls in ports. Moreover, inland waterway transport is being impacted by the increasing prevalence of drought and rail freight/combined transport is facing difficulties to cope with the current high electricity prices. At the same time, some EU hub ports could lose part of their transhipment traffic as a consequence of the UK freeport policy which contains elements of subsidies as well as the EU’s climate policies (FuelEU and EU ETS) which could make calls in EU ports more costly. Finally, the war in Ukraine has had an obvious impact that again increased cargo throughput/storage needs in some ports and freight transport on some routes, while leading to reduced activities in other ports/trade lanes.
In view of all these factors currently impacting the transport/port sector, of which the ones described above are just examples, FEPORT thinks it is important to assess the current state of the transport sector based on a holistic analysis, which does not only look at impacts related to COVID 19.
Source: FEPORT
13-14.10.2022 – FEPORT participates to ITF Roundtable on the potential of Short Sea and Coastal Shipping – Paris
FEPORT Secretary General, Ms Lamia Kerdjoudj has been invited as a participant to the ITF Roundtable on Coastal Shipping and Combined Transport organized on 13-14 October 2022 in Paris.
The Roundtable aimed to identify best practices and policies for the development of coastal shipping operations, as well as key impediments and risks. It included examination of efficient combined transport and research into possible ways to reduce the cost of multimodal freight transport, including reducing terminal/port costs and those of first and last mile transport. This is expected to reduce the carbon footprint of freight transport by encouraging modal shift from road freight toward rail and maritime freight.
The Roundtable discussions are going to be synthesized by the ITF secretariat following the event.
14.10.22 – FEPORT’s and ESPO’s positions on ETS presented during the last hearing on EU Emission Trading System (ETS)
On the 14th of October, FEPORT, together with ESPO, participated to the online public consultation on the reform of the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) convened by MEP Peter Liese, rapporteur on the ETS revision.
After the first round of trilogue negotiations on EU ETS (10-11 October 2022), MEP Liese stated that the Commission, the Parliament and the Council “agreed that companies having a high electricity bill and are under the threat of carbon leakage, will continue to receive indirect cost compensation. The compensation was never 100 % so that efficiency and decarbonisation will always pay off. But it is important for those sectors suffering from the high electricity prices to get predictability that they will continue to be compensated.”
During the public consultation, ESPO and FEPORT reaffirmed their support for an effective and robust maritime EU ETS that enables the green transition of the sector, pointing out two key issues that need to be addressed in the final text to ensure that this is achieved:
- Prevent evasion by ships from the EU ETS that would create carbon and business leakage;
- Earmark the revenues generated by a maritime EU ETS for investments in maritime and ports.
Concerning the first point, ESPO and FEPORT strongly supported the measures adopted by European Parliament making it less attractive for ships to change their routes, divert calls, or engage in other evasive behaviours. In this regard, the definition of “non-EU transshipment port” is welcome as well as the inclusion of non-EU neighbouring ports within a radius of 300 nautical miles in the ETS.
However, since non-EU cargo diversion and evasive port calls via feeder traffic remains a risk, ESPO and FEPORT recommended the set-up of a strong monitoring mechanism, by which the Commission constantly monitors and reports on any cargo diversion or evasive port calls from day one (contrary to Parliament’s position on EU ETS, which asks for biennial reporting) and is required to propose measures to address this, if any cargo diversion is indeed found.
On the second point of earmarking revenues for reinvestment in maritime, ESPO and FEPORT supported Parliament’s proposal to create an Ocean Fund which shall allow for investments in refuelling and recharging infrastructure in ports, as well as connections to electrical grid in ports.
Finally, ESPO and FEPORT called for a sufficient share/amount of allowances to be allocated to Ocean Fund and/or Innovation Fund to deliver greening of maritime.
FEPORT also supports investments in superstructure in ports (port equipment) in order to compensate terminal operators for a possible loss of competitiveness as a consequence of the extra-EU application of EU ETS.
The next ‘trilogue’ negotiation round is scheduled for 10th of November, with another expected to be scheduled later that month.
14.10.2022 – FEPORT participates to ENISA conference on Cybersecurity – Lisbon
On the 14th of October, FEPORT participated to the ENISA Maritime Cybersecurity Conference held at EMSA's Headquarters in Lisbon. The Conference included presentations and discussions around the topic of cybersecurity in the maritime sector. The event was an opportunity to bring again the maritime cybersecurity community together to share about good practices.
Particular focus was given to the following topics:
- The policy and regulatory context for cybersecurity in the maritime sector
- The dynamics of the cyber threat landscape in maritime, particularly looking into what future challenges the digital evolution of the sector may bring
- Good practices for cybersecurity for the maritime sector with a focus on the development of cybersecurity programmes, information sharing and securing the supply chain
The conference also focussed on the implementation of national cybersecurity policies, and in particular the implementation of the NIS Directive (EU) 2016/1148 which is about the security of network and information systems across the Union. Some Member States reported about the challenges, for example regarding capacity and human resources, associated with the implementation and enforcement of the Directive.
The NIS 2 Directive, the upcoming successor of NIS, was also discussed. Questions related to the boundaries of the Directive and how many companies and entities are to be covered by NIS 2.
18.10.2022 – The European Commission publishes the work programme for 2023
On the 18th of October 2022, the European Commission published the work programme for 2023, which includes new legislative initiatives as well as a revision of existing regulations. The list of initiatives can be found in the annexes to the work programme.
The work program includes six headlines among which one regarding the European Green Deal.
In light of the recent dramatic increase in energy prices, the Commission has set out emergency energy market intervention measures, in order to reduce energy bills for Europeans and European businesses.
In order to improve the Union’s preparedness to better withstand future price volatility, the Commission will ensure affordable electricity bills and anticipate the deep industrial transformation required for a decarbonised and largely electrified continent by 2050. The Commission will therefore propose a comprehensive reform of the EU electricity market in early 2023, including decoupling the effect of gas prices on electricity prices.
Moreover, accelerating the green transition is essential, to tackle the climate crisis but also to reduce our dependencies, strengthen our security and boost our competitiveness. Key to this work will also be the stepping up the resilience and response capacities of critical infrastructure, which will be at the heart of a five-step plan announced by President von der Leyen.
For 2023, swift agreement on the Fit for 55 package is key. In the coming months the Commission will adopt ambitious packages of further climate and environment measures including with regards to transport emissions and carbon removal certification, proposals to improve ambient air and water quality, and key initiatives in circular economy.
The Commission will also work on further greening freight transport to reduce emissions and pollution from transport as we move to smarter and more sustainable mobility.
Source: European Commission
19.10.2022 – European Parliament adopts amendments on AFIR
On October 19th, the European Parliament adopted in plenary session its position on the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure regulation (AFIR) proposal. MEPs agreed to set more ambitious deployment targets for recharging/refuelling road infrastructure and onshore power supply in maritime ports.
The Parliament retained all the amendments that have been adopted by the TRAN committee on 3 October. MEPs agreed to set minimum mandatory national targets for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and to ask EU countries to present their plan by 2024 on how to achieve it.
With regards to alternative fuels in ports, MEPs retained the targets proposed by the commission on the deployment of onshore power supply (OPS): main TEN-T ports would be fitted with OPS by 2030 to match the demand. The Parliament introduced provisions ensuring that by 2025, ports would have an appropriate number of refuelling points for ammonia and hydrogen, in addition to LNG, to meet market demand.
Finally, MEPs proposed to introduce infrastructure targets for railway lines: Member States should ensure the provision of sufficient infrastructure to meet the electrification objectives of the TEN-T Regulation. The Parliament also proposed deployment targets for charging stations for battery-powered trains and hydrogen refuelling stations on railways for which electrification is not possible or when costs outweigh the benefits.
The Parliament will now enter into negotiations with the Council, which adopted its position in June 2022.
Source: European Parliament
19.10.2022 – FEPORT replies to CountEmissionsEU consultation
On the 19th of October, FEPORT responded to the public consultation entitled Count your transport emissions – ‘CountEmissions EU’.
With the CountEmissions EU initiative, the Commission aims to set out a common framework to calculate and report on transport-related greenhouse gases. A legislative proposal is expected in Q4 2022.
In its answer to the Public Consultation, FEPORT argued that the legislator should set standards that GHG accounting methods should meet in order to safeguard their quality and accuracy, and prevent that companies mislead the consumer.
However, due to the high diversity in the transport sector and the many modes, economic activities and subsectors it consists of, the aim of CountEmissions EU should not be to prescribe a one size fits all solution.
It should also be taken into account that in the port sector, emissions between different ports/terminals sometimes vary due to factors such as their geographic location and the cargo types they handle, and this does not mean that one terminal/port takes the topic of environmental sustainability more seriously than the other.
In its reply, FEPORT also pointed to the GLEC approved GHG footprinting methodology that dates from 2017 and is already used by many container terminal operators among FEPORT membership.
In order to update this methodology, FEPORT has recently set up a taskforce.
19.10.22 – FEPORT participates to Greenport Congress in Bruges
On the 19th of October, Mr Maarten Boot, Policy Advisor in charge of sustainability, safety and security files within FEPORT gave a keynote speech in the framework of the GreenPort Congress & Cruise 2022, held in Bruges. The conference gathered decision makers from the port community – port authorities, terminal operators, shipping lines, logistics operators – to discuss the latest issues in sustainable development and environmental practice to enable them to effectively implement the changes needed to reduce their carbon footprint and to be more sensitive to environmental considerations.
During his intervention, Mr Maarten Boot highlighted the initiatives taken by FEPORT Members to green their operations make ports greener. Indeed, sustainability and decarbonization are since many years key priorities of port terminals, which have been very proactive long time before the adoption of the EU Green Deal. Throughout the years, port terminals have developed ambitious emission reduction targets, invested in renewable energies and greening of operations and equipment.
Large logistics operators are also proactive in their efforts to reduce emissions. For instance, in the Port of Hamburg, Unifeeder vessels will carry out container transfers between HHLA terminals CTA, CTT and CTB, and Eurogate instead of trucks. Beyond the environmental benefits of cutting carbon emissions, the switch to using feeders for transhipment will insulate port operations from a worsening shortage of truck drivers.
Furthermore, FEPORT members have created a common methodology for calculation carbon emissions, which is currently used by most major port operators.
Another key issue addressed by Mr Maarten Boot during the conference was the unintended consequences consistency of EU regulations, related in particular to the prevention of evasive port calls evasion by ships with the intention of avoiding the from EU Emission Trading System (ETS), that would create carbon and business leakage.
In this regard, Mr Boot stressed that non-EU cargo diversion and evasive port calls via feeder traffic remains a risk, calling for the set-up of a strong monitoring mechanism.
Finally, FEPORT asked for the Commission to continuously monitor and report on any cargo diversion or evasive port calls from day one and, in case any evasive behaviour is established, propose measures to address this.
19.10.22 – The European Parliament votes on FuelEU Maritime.
On Wednesday, October 19th, the European Parliament voted to curtail maritime emissions by setting higher greenhouse gas intensity limits for maritime fuels compared to those originally proposed by the Commission (a 13% cut by 2035 and 75% by 2050), opting for 2% as of 2025, 20% as of 2035, and 80% as of 2050.
The main purpose of the FuelEU Maritime legislation is to ensure that the maritime sector ceases to be dependent on highly polluting heavy oil by promoting the use of low-carbon fuels, without mandating the type of fuels that must be used, but only establishing the level of acceptable Greenhouse Gas Intensity emissions that should reduce over time and curtails them over time.
The Parliament’s position on the FuelEU Maritime law was adopted during the plenary session in Strasbourg with 451 votes in favour, 137 against, and 54 abstentions.
Rapporteur Jörgen Warborn (EPP), defined the file as “the world’s most ambitious pathway to maritime decarbonisation”, ensuring that “climate targets will be met rapidly and effectively, safeguarding the maritime sector’s competitiveness and ensuring there won’t be carbon leakage or jobs leaving Europe”.
On the contrary, shadow rapporteur Jutta Paulus (Greens) criticised the transport committee’s draft for not opting for full climate neutrality by 2050, therefore lacking higher targets.
The Parliament will now negotiate the final legislation with the EU member states. Discussions are expected to start before the end of October.
Source: European Parliament
20.10.22 – ERFA, UIP and UIRR Joint Statement call for short-term Measures to Protect European Supply Chains from unsustainable energy price increases
On the 20th of October, the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA), the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP) and the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR), published a joint statement concerning the supply chains’ risk of collapse due to unbearable energy and transportation prices.
In the joint statement, the three associations call for the need to classify electric rail freight as a final consumer group to be supported under Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1854 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices. The Regulation allows Member States to use surplus revenues deriving from the application of the cap on market revenues to finance measures supporting final electricity consumers that act in the greater interests of society and the economy.
The three associations claim that since rail transport is one of the biggest consumers of electricity in Europe, and therefore particularly vulnerable to the rise in electricity costs, the current energy crisis is threatening the existence of the railway sector and their consumers.
In the joint statement it is argued that “without further action by the European Institutions and Member States, it is expected that prices for rail freight will experience a significant double digit price increase over the coming weeks. This will undermine Europe’s modal shift objectives and damage the functioning of critical rail freight supply chains which are dependent on a stable price and supply of electricity”.
Therefore, the three associations ask for the European Commission to explore options in order to ensure that a reduction of infrastructure charges will be introduced with appropriate compensation by Member States towards infrastructure managers.
Source: ERFA
21.10.22 – ESPO, FEPORT and ETA Joint Press Release: ETS maritime should be workable and consistent avoiding carbon and business leakage
The undersigned associations representing European ports, private port companies and terminal operators and tugowners support an effective and robust maritime EU ETS that enables the green transition of the maritime sector. The three associations recognise and reiterate the need for the shipping sector to reduce emissions. It is for this reason that we support requirements for ships to reduce emissions, alongside requirements for the use and deployment of OPS where it makes sense in ports.
In relation to the EU ETS, we have the following three recommendations that should be taken into consideration in order to deliver an ambitious, robust, and effective emission trading system:
- Prevent evasion by ships from the EU ETS that would create carbon and business leakage.
The undersigned associations welcome the measures proposed by Parliament and the Council to prevent ships from avoiding EU ETS costs by adding an additional non-EU port to their schedule.
The undersigned associations strongly support the measures adopted by European Parliament making it less attractive for ships to change their routes, divert calls, or engage in other evasive behaviours.
The definition of “non-EU transshipment port” is welcome. However, to avoid negatively affecting EU trading routes and short-sea shipping, this should only apply to neighbouring container transhipment ports.
Non-EU cargo diversion and evasive port calls via feeder traffic remains a risk. We therefore recommend that a strong monitoring mechanism is set up whereby the Commission shall continuously monitor and report on any cargo diversion or evasive port calls from day one. If any evasive behaviour is found, the Commission shall propose measures to address this.
- Earmark the revenues generated by a maritime EU ETS for investments in maritime and ports, especially in port infrastructure.
We support the proposal to create an Ocean Fund which shall allow for investments in refuelling and recharging infrastructure in ports (EP AM 441), as well as connections to electrical grid in ports. When bridging the price gap between conventional and alternative fuels (AM 501), the costs associated with the installation of new infrastructure in ports should also be considered. We also support allocating funding for investments in green superstructure in ports.
- Maintain the size threshold for vessels covered by the EU ETS as proposed by the European Commission (5000GT) to achieve ambitious and workable legislation.
We support the size threshold of 5000GT for ships covered by the EU ETS and the FuelEU Maritime proposals. We find that a lowered size threshold of 400GT would be counterproductive as it would jeopardise the safety of port operations in case tugs would be concerned[1] and require significant additional investments that would nonetheless fail to deliver the desired emission reductions.
The 5000GT threshold, as proposed by the Commission, is appropriate for a number of reasons:
It captures the vast majority of emissions from ships calling on ports in the EU whilst avoiding undue administrative burden for smaller vessels, the 5000GT threshold covers 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the maritime sector.
It relies on existing monitoring and data from the EU MRV Regulation, whereby the threshold is 5000GT.
For these reasons we support maintaining the 5000GT threshold for ETS and throughout the Fit for 55-package (including the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation and FuelEU Maritime).
We are committed to facilitating the greening of shipping and will continue to support the discussions on the maritime aspects of the Fit for 55-package in order to deliver an ambitious, coherent and workable legislative framework.
More details on the above recommendations can be found here.
[1] FEPORT hopes that the clarification provided by DG Climate on MRV scope and the concerned ships is reflected in the final version of the ETS for maritime text and tugs are not in the scope of ETS.
Members' News Corner
06.10.22 – HHLA announces the phasing out of diesel tractor units
In order to reduce CO₂ emissions, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) ordered seven new battery powered tractor units to be deployed on the journeys between block storage and their container rail terminal. During its lifecycle, the new electrified equipment is expected to save about 3000 tonnes of CO₂ compared to diesel machines.
Finja Below from CTA Terminal Development said: “we have been testing a battery-powered tractor unit in operation at CTA since 2021. The vehicle has proven to be successful in tests conducted in regular operations”.
The tractor units supplement the container gantry cranes as well as the rail mounted gantry cranes in the block storage area and in the rail terminal which are already powered by green electricity.
Source: HHLA website
10.10.22 – CMA CGM Group as a new key industrial investor in €2 billion hydrogen impact fund
Hy24, a joint-venture between FiveT Hydrogen, a clean hydrogen-enabling investment partner, and Ardian, a private investment house, have created the world’s first and largest infrastructure fund to invest in clean hydrogen chain.
The joint venture has announced the closing of €2 billion of allocation in the Clean H2 Infra Fund, with CMA CGM as one of the new key industrial investors. The just mentioned fund is focused on scaling proven hydrogen technologies for mature infrastructure assets with the purpose of decarbonising the global economy.
Over the next six years, Hy24 aims to mobilise up to €20 billion of investment capacity using funding and knowledge drawn from its major strategic investors and an experienced team.
The portfolio will be diversified across Europe, Americas and Asia and value chains (upstream and downstream), to scale up the clean hydrogen economy.
Source: Port Technology
19.10.22 – DP World about to finalise a new multimodal terminal in Romania
The construction of the new terminal in Aiud, Romania, was announced by DP World last May. The 82.000 square metre intermodal terminal will connect Romania directly with rail connections across Europe and all the way to major hubs in Central Asia and China.
This terminal will have a storage capacity of 3000 TEU and will also help lower transportation costs and CO2 emissions through its on-site connection to the electrified rail infrastructure.
“The development of this vast new facility in Aiud is a strong example of DP World’s ability to provide new trading opportunities that connect cargo owners with their customers, whatever their products and wherever they are in the world”, said Rashid Abdulla, CEO of DP World Europe.
Source: Port Technology
21.10.2022 – First ammonia test shipment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Germany successfully completed
The first low-carbon ammonia test shipment from the UAE to Germany has been successfully delivered at multi-metal manufacturer Aurubis.
The container of ammonia arrived in September at the Port of Hamburg and was handled climate neutrally at Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) Container Terminal Altenwerder. The ammonia will then be used by the Hamburg-based company Aurubis for test runs for the climate-neutral conversion of gas-intensive copper wire production, thereby replacing fossil fuel in the long term.
Torben Seebold, Member of the Executive Board of HHLA, after the first test delivery stated: “We at HHLA are very proud to be part of the joint, successful development of a secure supply chain for hydrogen carriers from the United Arab Emirates to Germany. In order to use hydrogen and its derivatives as an energy carrier on a large scale in the future, we need a reliable, climate-neutral and efficient transport chain from the producing countries such as the United Arab Emirates to the German and European customers. As we can make use of our existing European logistics network, HHLA is optimally positioned for the distribution and transport of hydrogen and its carriers.”
In the following months, more test deliveries of low-carbon ammonia will be shipped to other customers in Germany.
Source: HHLA
FEPORT meetings
10.11.2022 Board of Directors – Remote
24.11.2022 Port Policy Committee – Brussels
29.11.2022 Customs and Logistics Committee - Brussels
30.11.2022 FEPORT General Assembly Meeting
01.12.2022 FEPORT Seventh Stakeholders Conference
Institutional meetings
07-11.11.2022 EMPL Committee Meeting - Brussels
28-29.11.2022 TRAN Committee Meeting - Brussels
28-29.11.2022 ITRE Committee Meeting - Brussels
FEPORT Newsletter - October 2022