Ports of Tyne and IJmuiden kick off Green North Sea Shipping Corridor project

UK’s Port of Tyne and its partners have officially launched a green shipping corridor project to connect the Port of Tyne in North East England and the Port of IJmuiden in Amsterdam and decarbonize shipping routes with low-carbon-fueled ships.

The Green North Sea Shipping Corridor project is a joint effort by the two ports, ferry operator DFDS, maritime data and communication provider KSVA, and engineering consultancy Ricardo.

The project is part of a £9 million investment package announced by the Maritime Minister, Mike Kane MP, in October 2024, to decarbonize shipping and create green jobs and one of the winners of the International Green Corridors Funds.

As explained, the central part of the Green North Sea Shipping Corridor initiative will be DFDS plans to transition to methanol-fueled RoRo/RoPax vessels, targeting a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.

Declan Walsh, DFDS, commented: “DFDS is committed to becoming a carbon neutral Transport & Logistics company by 2050 and the decarbonisation of our Passenger business is a key part of this journey. Transforming our current Amsterdam-Newcastle route to a RoPAX Green Corridor is a massive undertaking and we are fortunate to have such great partners to help us make this happen.”

Ricardo will be the lead environmental consultancy in the next phase of the development of this project, providing insight into sustainable shipping and low-carbon fuel choices to help determine a viable path for decarbonization between the two ports.

Matt Beeton, CEO at the Port of Tyne, said: “This initiative represents another step forward for the port in our sustainability journey.  By establishing this green corridor between the Port of Tyne and the Port of IJmuiden, we aim to significantly reduce carbon emissions between the Northeast of England and northern Europe, with the aim of saving up to 850,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The success of this project will bring more green jobs to the region and drive the development of port infrastructure for electrification and the refuelling of state-of-the-art clean powered vessels.”

Peter van de Meerakker, Managing Director of Zeehaven IJmuiden N.V. – Port of IJmuiden, added: “This project is very important for us, as we need to accelerate the reduction of our shipping emissions. With the ‘zero emission’ new tonnage of DFDS, we are taking an important step forward, since a lot needs still to be done on both sides of the North Sea and this project helps enormously speed up and achieve our goals.”