ESI Encourages Vessels to Operate "More Efficiently Than Required"

The Environmental Ship Index programme is said to have seen the registration of 3600 vessels.

The Environmental Ship Index (ESI) programme, which so far has seen the registration of some 3,600 vessels, encourages the scheme's participants to "operate more efficiently on emissions that legally required," says the Port of Amsterdam, who announced that the International Association for Ports and Harbors (IAPH) on Friday at COP21 in Paris presented the results of five years of the ESI programme's implementation.

"We're very proud of these achievements by ports across the globe over five years," said Fer van de Laar, managing director of the IAPH, who developed the ESI, which enables ports to grant a discount on port dues for "green" ships.

"The ESI appears to be a simple but powerful tool for ports, in supporting ship-owners at the vanguard who perform better than legally required. This way, they contribute to a better environment and assist the port in obtaining their licence to operate."

The ESI, which was developed by the ports of Le Havre, Bremen, Hamburg, Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, is said to be used by 40 "rewarders" worldwide, including Tokyo, the Port of Long Beach, Port Nelson in New Zealand, and Flam in Norway.

"The number of rewarders has stagnated, but we are working hard to increase this again, because more ports taking part means more vessels will be registered," explained van de Laar.

Speaking on the future of the programme and further standards development for participant vessels, van de Laar commented "if we have three years of data we can compare this and see whether they sailed more efficiently in subsequent years. A new award can be attached to this."

The Port of Antwerp, which has implemented the programme since 2011, says it has seen the number of "green" ships calling the port increasing every year, noting that 2012 saw 462 calls that utilised the ESI discount, a number that had risen to 501 two years later.

During the first nine months of 2015, the Port of Antwerp says the port has already provided discounts for 671 calls under the ESI programme.

In November, Ship & Bunker reported that the Port of Rotterdam had decided to renew its ESI programme.