Demonstrating leadership and commitment to environmental sustainability, Barbados Port Inc. has committed to work in partnership with RightShip to develop an incentive program encouraging more efficient vessels to their port.
During the 1st Hemispheric Seminar on Port Legislation held in Montevideo on the 24-25 November David Jean Marie, CEO of Barbados Port and Anuj Chopra, RightShip’s Vice-President – Americas, signed a letter of intent to develop a port incentive program using the RightShip and Carbon War Room Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Rating.
The port incentive program rewards vessels with better energy efficient ratings. Measuring their carbon dioxide emissions, vessels are rated from A (most energy efficient) to G, with rewards – often in the form of reduced port fees – to the more efficient vessels. RightShip will begin the process by benchmarking vessel arrivals over time to set a baseline for displaying trends in carbon dioxide emissions. “In this way we tailor the incentive program to ensure maximum benefit for the port community” explains Chopra. “Understanding current CO2 emissions of vessels, both in-port and for their entire journey, is a key factor in our program management.”
Lauded as a champion of environmental sustainability in the region, David Jean Marie was quick to acknowledge the contribution of the Organization of American States in setting up this agreement. “OAS have played a key role in facilitating our partnership with RightShip. Barbados Port is an early adopter to this program, however we are one part of a coordinated effort across the industry to promote efficient shipping. By ‘acting local’ and protecting our port environment we are part of a larger global movement intent on reducing the carbon footprint of the shipping industry.”
Barbados Port is joining a growing community of worldwide ports who are utilizing the RightShip and Carbon War Room GHG Emissions Rating to reward sustainable ships. Canadian ports Vancouver and Prince Rupert use the same Emissions Rating to offer discounts to the most efficient ships visiting their ports, and the world’s third largest port, the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has also committed to investigating a similar incentive. “We are delighted to be working with the Port of Barbados to develop a program, ” says Chopra. “Sustainability and efficiency are on the agenda for many organizations, however it takes leadership such as this to put these plans into action.”
Carbon War Room, a global nonprofit organization, has been working with RightShip to provide transparent access to the GHG Emissions Rating via Shippingefficiency.org, promoting use of the rating amongst ports, charterers, and other shipping stakeholders.
Chairman of Carbon War Room, Jose Maria Figueres, commented “Ports are an economic lifeline in island nations. By rewarding the cleanest ships that deliver goods, people and resources to their island, the Port of Barbados is taking a leadership role in promoting a reduction in carbon emissions and signaling a market shift towards cleaner vessels. This is an ambitious step forward and something we want to support and replicate in our work in the maritime industry and on islands.”
About RightShip
RightShip is the world’s leading third party ship vetting agency, supporting over seven thousand users in 243 organisations worldwide with expert vetting support and advice, vessel inspections and secure hosting of client systems.
RightShip’s comprehensive online vetting system (SVIS™) is accessed 24/7 through www.rightship.com and analyses over fifty risk factors, using up-to-the-minute data from over 76, 000 ships and thousands of maritime companies. SVIS™ delivers instant, reliable assessments of nominated vessels using customised criteria, and tracks vessel or fleet performance.
At the forefront of industry innovation, 2015 will see the launch of RightShip Qi, harnessing big data to provide predictive analytics and real-time risk assessments that will better target substandard and inefficient performers.
Leading the way in environmental sustainability, RightShip’s Existing Vessel Design Index (EVDI™) and GHG Emissions Rating enables charterers to select the most energy efficient vessel. By making this data freely available through www.shippingefficiency.org, RightShip provides a commercially viable way for the shipping industry to address global emissions. As of October 2014, 22 charterers – or 23% of global non-containerized trade – factor energy efficiency into their decision making. This accounts for 1.8 billion tonnes of cargo, or 21, 500 annual vessel movements. An increasing number of international port authorities are also incorporating RightShip’s GHG Emissions Rating into their sustainability incentive programs.
For more information visit www.rightship.com
About Carbon War Room
The Carbon War Room is a global nonprofit, founded by Sir Richard Branson and a team of like-minded entrepreneurs, that accelerates the adoption of business solutions that reduce carbon emissions at gigaton scale and advance the low-carbon economy. The organization focuses on solutions that can be realized using proven technologies under current policy landscapes.
The Carbon War Room identifies and works in sectors where emissions can be reduced profitably, and where there are barriers preventing greater adoption of low-carbon solutions. Within these sectors, we launch Operations and collaborate with the sectors’ stakeholders. The War Room’s current Operations include Maritime Shipping Efficiency, Building Efficiency, Renewable Jet Fuels, Smart Island Economies, and Trucking Efficiency.
For more information visit www.carbonwarroom.com
