EMEA News
Interferry Urges Closer Co-operation in Regulatory Process
Ferry industry body Interferry Thursday urged in an emailed statement that European Union (EU) closer co-operation in the process of creating future regulations for the shipping industry, while praising a cooperative atmosphere at last week's inaugural European Shipping Week (ESW) in Brussels.
Interferry "is now urging the industry and regulators to build on the initiative's success by continuing to develop closer cooperation", it said.
The industry body said it had welcomed the chance to give EU decision makers some first hand insight into the impact of recent changes implemented under the Sulfur Directive.
Officials "may never have had a previous opportunity to appreciate the vast scale of a modern ro-ro ferry and to thoroughly understand the huge amount of engineering that goes into retrofitting [scrubber] equipment into a ship," said Interferry's Regulatory Affairs Director, Johan Roos.
Interferry said the ESW event was marked by high attendance and constructive discussions.
"What struck me most is how all of the shipping representatives and European Union decision makers seemed to be on the same page when we were able to get together like this for the first time," added Roos.
Interferry also praised the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA)'s "drive and ingenuity," adding it looks forwards to a repeat in, or after 2017, to give shipping industry bodies a chance to "establish new, pro-active working formats with the EU institutions."
Last week, DFDS said Emissions Control Area (ECA)-based ferry operators were at a competitive disadvantage to land transport following new rules, despite an almost 50 percent drop in the price of compliant bunkers such as marine gasoil (MGO).
