Port of Halifax offers incentives to reduce vessel emissions

In order to reduce vessel emissions, Canada’s Halifax Port Authority (HPA) has joined the World Port Climate Initiative (WPCI) as an incentive provider with the International Association of Ports and Harbours’ (IAPH) Environmental Ship Index (ESI).

The HPA joined the club of international ports committed to decarbonisation and emission reduction projects on 1 April 2022 and is now offering incentives to container and RoRo vessels that voluntarily register and meet ESI’s requirements in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The ESI formula evaluates the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur oxide (SOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by a vessel. ESI scores, which range from 0 to 100, where a score of 100 indicates close to zero exhaust emissions, indicate a ship’s compliance with emission standards.

The index assists in identifying ships that proactively go beyond the emission standards required by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

As explained, the HPA will administer, and rebate annually, an ESI Harbour Dues Incentive of CAD$500 (around $390) for vessels with an ESI-assigned Index score between 20 and 49.99, and CAD$1,000 (around $780) for vessels with an ESI-assigned Index score of 50 or higher per port call.

At the beginning of April, members of Canada’s Chamber of Marine Commerce (CMC) also revealed that they are looking to explore the potential for a multi-stakeholder initiative to establish a new Canadian green shipping corridor in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence waterway.

The dedicated green corridor, on a port-to-port basis, would involve all parts of the marine supply chain. This would showcase, expand and test new technologies, infrastructure and policies, while establishing benchmarks and measuring carbon-reduction progress. 

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