The EU’s current regulatory and fiscal framework is conducive to the European maritime sector’s competitiveness, but there is still room for improvement, according to a Deloitte study commissioned by the World Shipping Council (WSC) and published on Tuesday 18 March.
The European maritime fleet is one of the largest in the world, representing around 35% of the global fleet in terms of overall tonnage. European shipping controls 30% of bulk carriers, 44% of container ships, 35% of oil tankers and 33% of LNG carriers, making it a major player in global trade. At a time of increasing geopolitical uncertainty, the WSC believes that European shipping should be seen as “a geopolitical asset in the region”.
Areas for improvement include reducing the investment gap for adopting clean technologies and fuels, reducing the administrative burden and aligning with international regulations.
In another study published the following day, the WSC makes recommendations for the EU to speed up decarbonisation of the maritime sector: align regional policies with global regulations; take into account emissions linked to the complete fuel production cycle to ensure that renewable fuels are rewarded (‘well-to-wake’ principle); develop mechanisms to compensate for cost differences in order to catalyse renewable marine fuel uptake; implement fuel certification systems that guarantee the global supply of truly renewable marine fuels (see EUROPE 13573/14).
Read the two reports: https://aeur.eu/f/g2c; https://aeur.eu/f/g2d (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)