Johan Roos
Five members of trade association Interferry are to receive European Union (EU) grants totalling €48 million towards the cost of installing exhaust scrubber systems to meet the stringent 0.1% sulphur emissions limit in force since January.
The awards are among the latest under the multi-annual Motorways of the Seas programme – part of the EU’s Connect Europe Facility (CEF) – and include €18 million for the Grimaldi Group’s Finnlines division, €9m to DFDS, €8m to Stena Line, €7m to Brittany Ferries and €6m to Scandlines.
The European Commission invited bids for the current phase of CEF financial support last September. From an unprecedented 700 applications, 276 projects were recommended to the CEF Committee in June and confirmed earlier this month – marking a record €13.1 billion round of investment in transport infrastructure.
During the inaugural European Shipping Week held in Brussels in March, Interferry arranged for EU and industry delegates to inspect a scrubber unit on the DFDS ro-ro vessel Primula in Ghent. Regulatory affairs director Johan Roos comments: “We were very glad to show officials the enormous economic and technical challenges involved in retrofitting this equipment. It is extremely gratifying that our members’ efforts have now been recognised in the shape of financial assistance.”
