As risks of cargo diversion to the detriment of EU ports are becoming more and more real with the upcoming entry into force beginning of 2024 of EU ETS for shipping, FEPORT members who gathered in Antwerp for the General Assembly meeting of their organization, reiterated their concern regarding the measures proposed by the EU Commission i.e., the monitoring and the possibility of a review of the Regulation.

“We need a real study regarding the impact of ETS for shipping on EU ports to be conducted now and not in two years’ time when cargo will have left some EU ports for good” says FEPORT president Mr Gunther Bonz.

“Ports have not been in the radar of the EU Commission when EU ETS for shipping was discussed, and the real risks of cargo diversion have not been really assessed. So, we are now in a situation where our terminals can become less competitive and attractive for shipping lines which do not intend to pass on the additional ETS costs to their customers and call-in non-EU ports” adds Mr
Bonz.

“This was not EU policy makers’ aim but it is the result. The clock is ticking for EU ports. This is why we are calling the EU Commission to start immediately a study and to also perform a continuous assessment in real-time of the impact of EU ETS for Shipping now. The terms of reference of the study should consider all solutions that are currently proposed by different port stakeholders to avoid cargo diversion. It is important that we all do our utmost efforts to avoid a detrimental effect on employment in EU ports” concludes FEPORT President.

FEPORT is looking forward to having a constructive dialogue with the EU Commission regarding possible solutions to avoid cargo diversion.

During the General Assembly meeting FEPORT members welcomed Port of Lübeck as a new FEPORT member.

“We are glad that Port of Lübeck has decided to join FEPORT as the more terminals we are in raising awareness about the role of terminal operators in terms of investment and modernization of EU ports, the better it is particularly in the current context of fierce international competition and major economic and environmentally related challenges” said FEPORT President, Mr Gunther Bonz
“Joining FEPORT will give a strong boost to our networking at European level. Together with our Nordic and Baltic partners, we can use this channel to promote our Baltic Sea network even better” concluded Mr Sebastian Jürgens and Mr Ortwin Harms, Managing Directors of LHG

Source: FEPORT