Port of Itaqui reduces tariff for ships demonstrating good environmental performances

The ships that dock at the Port of Itaqui and demonstrate good environmental performance, especially in terms of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, will be granted a discount on port tariffs. The measure is part of the sustainability plan enacted by EMAP, the company that manages ports in the state of Maranhão. Such action is included in the company’s new tariff plan that takes effect on the 29th of this month.

All ships that either present the voluntary certification of environmental performance or enroll in the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) program, are eligible for the discount. The act of offering discounts in exchange for using more sustainable ships or transporting greener cargoes is one of the measures recently adopted by Antaq, the national waterway transportation agency.

The ESI globally identifies and classifies vessels that have demonstrated better performances in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases than the standards currently required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This initiative is supported by the Kyoto Protocol guidelines, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using cleaner technologies in the maritime sector. Porto do Itaqui is the only public port in Brazil with ties to the ESI program.

“We are going beyond mere talk by taking concrete actions such as joining the ESI, creating a study and research group on climate change, and preparing our Inventory of Greenhouse Gases, which will serve as a basis for defining the gradual decarbonization goals of our activities”, says the president of Itaqui, Ted Lago.

According to the new tariff plan for the Port of Itaqui, vessels with more than 40 points on the ESI table are entitled to a 5% discount on fees for waterway access. The ESI program grades vessels from 0 to 100, based on factors like the technologies employed and if fuels contribute to the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOX) and sulfur oxide (SOX) emissions beyond the required regulatory limits.

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