Ελληνικα
Zero Vision Tool (ZVT) and Europa Ship Plan (ESP) are brought together for the first time under a unique north-and-south collaboration for developing financial instrument for maritime investments. Today ESP holds a press conference in Piraeus, and you will be able to follow it via ZVT Twitter 12:00 – 13:15.
The opening statements at this press conference are held by Mr. Charalampos Simantonis, President of Hellenic Shortsea Shipping Association (HSSA) and Mr. Michalis Sakellis, President of Association of Passenger Shipping Companies (SEEN). Dr. Panagiotis Zacharioudakis, CEO of Europa Venture, will present the Europa Ship Plan and Mr. Carl Carlsson, CEO of Zero Vision Tool, will present ZVT. The closing statement is held by Mr. Jose Anselmo, Motorways of the Sea’s Special Advisor & former Principal Administrator of the European Commission. Moderator is Mr. Giorgos Vozikis, Executive Director of HSSA.
The Europa Ship Plan aims at introducing a sustainable financing strategy for the renewal of the European Short Sea Shipping fleet of South Europe by adding innovative and green characteristics to it. The Europa Ship Plan is an extension the Poseidon Med Global project, which focuses on tracking technical and economic solutions for developing the use of LNG in the maritime sector, by considering LNG as the most appropriate solution for the shipping system of Greece, Cyprus and Italy.
The aim of the ESP is:
- To unlock financing for the Short Sea Shipping Sector
- To achieve economies of scale in shipbuilding, engine and equipment
- To decrease shipbuilding related services costs such as feasibility assessment and class approvals and
- To facilitate a due diligence process for each shipowner separately
- Comply with the forthcoming environmental requirements and regulations
- Improve competiveness for employment
It focusses on the entire Short Sea fleet including, freight and passengers short haul vessels. The objective of the plan is to introduce, through a coordinated approach, a technically and economically advanced proposal for constructing a series of LNG dual fuelled vessels, which through standardisation (by using common parts, equipment and services), will achieve economies of scale.
The Zero Vision Tool method has been in use since the fall of 2011 to step-by-step attain safer, more environmental, climate and energy efficient maritime transport in the Nordic Emission Control Area. New solutions has been, and are, piloted and the aim is to make the climate transition novelties into what we call “the new normal”. It is an industry-driven method for enabling this transition while at the same time boosting economic growth.
The ZVT has become a unique solution that now provides a platform for the maritime industry, academies, public authorities and agencies to exchange experiences and provides a tool to jointly achieve sustainable solutions. Today the ZVT users, from over 130 organisations, can be found in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Great Britain, Belgium, France and Greece. The users of the method engage in Joint Industry Projects (JIPs), University Projects (JUPs) and Authority Projects (JAPs) which each comprises different types of stakeholders, working together to find solutions to issues falling under the following categories; Vessel, Infrastructure, Finance, R&D and Regulation. These categorisations ensure that these relevant aspects are taken into consideration in each project, in order to address the problems and needs of the sector.
By common dissemination, shared lessons learned and quarterly reports to a working reference group ZVTREF (with Authorities & Agencies), projects are able to;
- generate support for decision-making and raise issues of common interest,
- enable pilot, and follower, projects for the maritime industry, authorities and government agencies, and make it possible to create common workable solutions,
- achieve these steps towards the vision for no negative impact on air and water while increasing the volume and efficiency of sea transport,
- support the deployment and commercialisation of new technologies and solution
To continue to mitigate any undesired negative effects from shipping, there is an urgent need to speed up the deployment of green solutions, which the users of ZVT both can and are willing to do. Though, at present, the early movers have high costs (an average of 30% higher than if investing in standard products) when introducing these new solutions with no increased financial benefit for the transport provider, despite the environmental, climate and safety improvements. This affects the competitiveness of both the transporter and the transport buying industries in the region when maritime transport costs increase. It might also lead to an undesired modal back-shift. Calculations of the benefit in investing in greener shipping for the society and the Baltic Sea have begun regarding emissions and are currently continued within other areas such as discharge, safety and European job opportunities. So far the calculations show an average of 1 million Euro per ship and year as benefits to the society and sea. This is one of the cornerstones when looking into a suggested ZVT Financial Instrument.
The ESP forms an essential new element to the ZVT, namely to seek partnerships within the South of Europe for improving/adapting financing models for European shipowners and to use collaborative processes and share best practices on environmental technologies.
http://www.zerovisiontool.com/