On 24 January the European Commission published its Clean Fuel Strategy. The aim of this strategy is to address the remaining barriers preventing the real breakthrough of alternative fuels. As part of this strategy, the Commission obliges all TEN-T core inland ports to have a publicly accessible LNG refuelling point for inland waterway transport by 2025 at the latest.
The Commission proposal is also obliging all ports to install shore side electricity supply for waterborne vessels provided that it is cost-effective and has environmental benefits.
The European Federation of Inland Ports welcomes a European Policy that is stimulating the use of LNG as alternative fuel for inland shipping and the use of shore side electricity in inland ports. EFIP stresses in that respect that inland waterway transport has every reason to endorse such a strategy since it can help the IWT sector in maintaining and further developing its green image. European inland ports also acknowledge that the lack of adequate bunker facilities for LNG can indeed be considered as one of the obstacles to an effective breakthrough of this alternative fuel.
But EFIP is also formulating some critical comments to the binding provisions in the Commission proposal.
EFIP’s Director Isabelle Ryckbost explains: “We fully endorse a European policy that is giving its support to the deployment of LNG as alternative fuel in inland navigation. We also hope that the LNG financial support schemes that are launched under the latest TEN-T calls will be repeated in the framework of the forthcoming TEN-T policy. But we believe we should not anticipate the results of studies that are in the pipeline and which precisely aim at defining what the needs are in terms of refuelling points and what the feasibility is of the different options.
“Moreover it is clear that a strict scheme of refuelling points can not be imposed on inland ports as long as, based on the current legislation, LNG can neither be used as alternative fuel nor be transported as cargo in inland waterway transport. Lifting this ban is probably the most urgent policy measure to take. As concerns the places for refuelling points, we would therefore favour, at this stage, a more pragmatic approach”.
The European Federation of Inland Ports makes the following observations in its position paper:
The European Federation of Inland Ports is therefore pleading for:
Finally EFIP fully supports the Commission’s intention to develop technical specifications for the LNG refuelling points and shore side electricity supply. The interoperability of refuelling points is a very important point. Moreover EFIP believes that one should also aim at developing LNG refuelling points that can serve at the same time road transport and barges. As concerns the technical specifications for shore side supply, EFIP believes there are already quite some best practices available (ex. in the Netherlands). EFIP hopes these best practices will be taken into account when developing these specifications.
[mappress] Source: EFIP, February 15, 2013