Environmental incentive for shipping lines introduced in NSW

NSW Ports is set to reward higher standards of environmental performance at Port Botany and Port Kembla, making it the first Australian port organisation to introduce such an incentive.

As explained by NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas, NSW Ports wanted to take a lead in Australia to encourage shipping lines to improve their emissions. As a result, he said, “NSW Ports has introduced the incentive to reward companies that use vessels with better air emissions performance.

“The environmental incentive will be applied to vessels that perform better in reducing their emissions than the levels required by current emission standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO),” he said.

Calfas explained that the incentive takes the form of a discount on vessel-related charges levied by NSW Ports on vessels that call at its ports of Port Botany and Port Kembla. It applies to vessels registered with the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) — a scoring system that gives a numerical representation of the environmental performance of seagoing ships regarding air pollutants. The ESI only includes ships that perform over and above current IMO international legislation on emission standards.

Similar incentives currently exist at 53 ports globally, including the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands; the Port of Los Angeles, USA; and the Port of New York and New Jersey, USA. NSW Ports will develop the details of the program in consultation with relevant shipping lines and is targeting implementation on 1 January 2019.

Image caption: Car carrier (RORO) enters Port Kembla. Image credit: Col Douch.