European maritime industry players unite to accelerate environmental transition

On 15 October, Green Marine Europe's Reveal event brought together leaders of the maritime industry from across Europe to discuss major issues, including the ecological transition and its financing. The highlight of this half-day of round tables was the unveiling of the shipowners and shipyards certified in 2024 on their 2023 results.

Here's a look back at the highlights of this half-day of debates.

Shipyards: key players in the environmental transition, but still little known

Jorinus Kalis, coordinator of CirclesOfLife, presented the main objectives of this ambitious project, which aims to improve the environmental performance of shipyards. Funded by the Horizon Europe programme, CirclesOfLife brings together the expertise of 15 major players in the European shipbuilding industry (shipyards, NGOs, universities, etc.) to create two tools for measuring and reducing the sector's impact. The first tool consists of a SEPI (Shipyard Environmental Performance Index), the second of a circularity passport - the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Passport.)

Echoing this presentation, Benedetta Mantoan (Shipbreaking Platform NGO, also a member of CirclesOfLife) spoke about the current state of ship recycling, highlighting the challenges of this practice on a global scale.

Benedetta also highlighted the economic and environmental opportunities presented by ship recycling in Europe. For example, the Portuguese shipyard Lisnave - certified Green Marine Europe - has decided to redirect three of its dry docks for ship dismantling, in response to a growing demand for high-quality scrap metal to produce low-carbon steel. Similarly, in Germany, the Bremen region is exploring recycling opportunities through a consortium funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, with the aim of revitalising currently unused dry dock infrastructure, while creating green jobs and contributing to a low-carbon steel sector.

Finally, Jonathan Pacelle (Chantier Naval de Marseille) stressed the importance of aligning shipyard practices with ISO standards. Jonathan also highlighted the importance of Green Marine Europe in establishing a strong link between shipowners and shipyards. Priority themes include air emissions management, spill prevention, rainwater management, waste management and community impact.

Maritime decarbonisation and financing

Christophe Lefebvre (Atlante Gestion) and Laëtitia Gombaud-Saintonge (SWEN) discussed financing opportunities for maritime decarbonisation projects. Banks are ready to support these initiatives, as long as companies have a sufficient capital base. Laëtitia Gombaud-Saintonge presented SWEN Blue Ocean's approach, which targets innovative companies with a positive environmental impact. She cited examples of cutting-edge technologies, such as new-generation anti-fouling solutions and Oceanwings, a wind propulsion system for ships.

The subject of retrofitting - i.e. modernising equipment to extend the life of ships - was also highlighted. Olivier Pedel (Bourbon Offshore Surf) emphasised the importance of classification in securing these transformation processes. Investors, for their part, are paying particular attention to environmental performance indicators, especially those relating to waste management and recycling, in line with the indicator grid of the Green Marine Europe programme.

Ports, essential levers for sustainability

At the heart of this transition, ports play a strategic role in supporting environmental initiatives. Patrick Verhoeven (International Association of Ports and Harbours, IAPH) presented the World Port Sustainability Program. This programme brings together more than 400 ports that share best practices in sustainability and infrastructure safety. One of the programme's key tools, the Environmental Shipping Index (ESI), encourages ports to offer reduced berthing fees for ships with a low environmental impact. Optimising port calls is also a promising way of reducing emissions.

Jean-Frédéric Laurent (Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux) described the Bordeaux port's efforts to strengthen its commitment to sustainability. This includes a strategy to reduce the use of fossil fuels and a focus on high value-added activities, taking into account their social and environmental impact.

The United Nations Conference on the Oceans: a step towards stronger sectoral commitments

In preparation for the United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC), scheduled for next June, Anne-Sophie Cochelin (CMA CGM), Cyrielle Lâm (Ocean & Climate Platform) and Marianne Carpentier (ORRAA) detailed the issues at stake in this global initiative, which will bring together players from a variety of backgrounds. It aims to strengthen commitments to protecting the ocean, in line with the objectives of Green Marine Europe, and efforts to bring about a sustainable transformation of the maritime sector.

The collective, essential for a sustainable transition

These meetings illustrated the need for close collaboration between industrial, financial and port players if the ecological transition of the maritime sector is to succeed. By promoting transparency and performance standards, the Green Marine Europe programme is helping maritime industries to commit to sustainable practices, in line with current and future regulatory developments (Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Green Claims Directives).