Antwerp says it is seeing an increasing number of “environment-friendly” ships calling at the Belgian port.
It has seen a 45% increase in the number of such vessels, according to the results of the Environment Ship Index (ESI) introduced in Antwerp in 2011.
The index enables ports to grant a discount on port dues for ships that make a significant contribution to reducing emissions of pollutants such as NOx and SOx.
In 2012 there were 462 calls in Antwerp by ships that qualified for the discount. Two years later the number had risen to 501, and during the first nine months of 2015 the port had already granted discounts for 671 calls.
Antwerp was one of the group of ports that first introduced the ESI in 2010, along with Le Havre, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Hamburg.
The index, developed as part of the World Port Climate Initiative (WPCI), gives a score for ships that emit fewer pollutants than the legal minimum imposed by the IMO and EU.
The benefits granted for a particular ESI score are up to each individual port.
The decision to grant discounts in Antwerp was one of the measures in the port’s action plan for particulates and NOx.
In Antwerp a discount of 10% is accorded for all calls by ships with a score of 31 or more.
