Australian Port Authority Readies Clean Shipping Incentive

NSW Ports has become Australia's first port organization to plan to introduce an environmental incentive to shipping. The move, expected to be effective from January 1 next year, will see vessel-related charges reduced at Port Botany and Port Kembla. 

NSW Ports will develop the details of the program in consultation with relevant shipping lines, and expects it to be consistent with approaches taken internationally. Similar incentives exist at 53 ports globally, including the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of New York and New Jersey.

NSW Ports CEO Marika Calfas said 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 IMO. It will apply to vessels registered with the Environmental Ship Index - a scoring system that gives a numerical representation of the environmental performance of seagoing ships regarding air pollutants. The Index is a project within the World Ports Sustainability Program that evaluates the amount of nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide that is emitted by a ship and includes a reporting scheme on the greenhouse gas emissions of the ship.

Port Botany is Australia’s premier container port and has two bulk liquid berths. Port Kembla is Australia largest vehicle importer and a major exporter of coal and grain.