One in three ships arriving at the Port of Gothenburg received an environmental discount on port charges, new figures show.

Scandinavia’s largest port said 75 vessels received a discount of 10% on the port charges compared to 41 in 2015, an increase of 83%.

Heading the discount list are Donso-based shipping companies Terntank and Furetank, whose vessels are powered by LNG.

“The growing number of vessels classified as green is highly encouraging. They are also vessels that call at the port on a regular basis,” said Edvard Molitor, Environmental Manager at Gothenburg Port Authority.

The discount is based on two separate environmental indexes: the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) and the Clean Shipping Index (CSI).

Vessels that have a score of at least 30 according to ESI, or which are classified as green according to CSI, receive a 10% discount on the port charges.

An additional discount is available for vessels that run on LNG. In total, these vessels receive a 30% discount each time they call.

In 2016, two vessels received the maximum discount. These were Ternsund and Fure West, owned by Donso-based shipping companies Tarntank Ship Management and Furetank.

“Swedish shipping companies are very much at the forefront when it comes to LNG, methanol, hybrid electric ships and other eco-smart solutions,” said Molitor.

Gothenburg plans to make the system, which previously required companies to register their vessels with port control at the Port of Gothenburg, even easier.

With effect from 1 January 2017, registration now takes place automatically when vessels call at the port. However, vessels running on LNG will still need to report to the port authority to secure the discount.                            

Shipping companies that receive an environmental discount include: Atlantic Container Line, APL, Amyntas, Baltic Front Shipping, Brostrom, Carl Buttner, DFDS, Dong A Tanker, Euro Marine Carrier, Furetank, Glovis, Hapag Lloyd, Handytankers, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Maersk Line, Maersk Tanker, MOL, MSC, Norient Product Pool, Stena Line, SCF Management Services, Sirius Shipping, TUI Cruises, Terntank, TMS Tankers, Thun Tanker, Wallenius Lines, Wallenius Wilhemsen Logistics, Wilson Euro Carriers and Alvtank.