About: maritime transport

France’s Brittany Ferries in dire straits due to double Brexit/COVID whammy

After Brexit and the global pandemic, a new variant of the coronavirus ravaging the UK has dealt a fresh blow to the emblematic French shipping company Brittany Ferries, which now hopes for help from the French government. EURACTIV France reports.

Ireland seeks its own ‘landbridge’ to continental EU

Ireland has ramped up direct shipping routes to mainland Europe since the end of the Brexit transition period, seeking new passages to the EU bypassing freight jams feared at UK borders.

New clean shipping fuel rules, but who polices the polluters?

Sweeping new fuel rules aiming to cut pollution belching from ships and save lives are now just a couple of weeks away but with no central policing agency and several countries still not signed up to them, compliance is a...

Time to steer shipping into the EU carbon market

The UN shipping body’s failure to agree on immediate climate measures means the incoming European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, must make good of her promise to include the maritime sector under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), aruges Sam Van den plas.

P&O to change flag of UK ships to Cyprus ahead of Brexit

British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O will shift the registration of its UK vessels to Cyprus ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union, in part to keep its tax arrangements in the bloc, the company said on Tuesday...

US threatens to capsize marine emissions cap

The United States is pushing for a late change to the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) landmark cap on sulphur emissions, throwing into doubt the 2020 implementation date.

UN draft calls on international shipping to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

A working group of the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) released an interim strategy on 6 April, which calls on international shipping to reduce total annual greenhouse gas emissions from 2008 levels by at least 50% by 2050.

Study: Shipping air pollution causes 24,000 deaths a year in east Asia

A boom in shipping is aggravating air pollution in China and other nations in east Asia, causing thousands of deaths a year in a region with eight of the world’s ten biggest container ports, scientists have said.

Commission adopts new rules in wake of Costa Concordia disaster

The European Commission has adopted a series of legal proposals aimed at simplifying and modifying the security framework for passenger boats in EU waters. EURACTIV Spain reports.

MEPs back cheaper services in EU ports

MEPs on Tuesday (8 March) backed a proposal to increase efficiency and lower the cost of services provided in European Union ports.

Refugee crisis puts truckers’ lives at risk, says road transport lobby

An international road transport organisation has warned that it is 'only a matter of time' until refugees in Calais seriously injure or kill truck drivers.

Commission gives member states report card on transport performance

The European Commission is putting pressure on member states to step up their performance on transport--the Netherlands came in at the top of the list and Romania ranked last.

Award-winning entrepreneur: Small start-ups need monthly VAT refunds

Being a small start-up with limited funds, a monthly VAT refund could make a big difference to cash flow, said award-winning young entrepreneur.

French MEP: Shipping is transport for the future

Europe is a global leader in maritime transport, a sector which emits 15 times less CO2 than road haulage. Yet, the European Union has so far failed to develop so-called "motorways of the sea", Dominique Riquet told EURACTIV France. 

Sulphur Directive pushes shipping into stormy waters

The European Union's Sulphur Directive limits sulphur emissions from commercial shipping to 0.1%, in a zone that extends from the English Channel to the Baltic Sea. Enforcing the regulation is proving problematic for member states. EURACTIV France reports. 

EU efforts to promote sea transport bring little progress

Almost 40% of goods traded within the European Union are transported by sea, a cleaner alternative to road transport. Despite efforts from Brussels to promote maritime transport, the sector's market share within the EU has not grown in the last 15 years. EURACTIV France reports. 

Paris: Don’t leave out planes and ships

There are ?a number of possible solutions to reduce emissions in the aviation and shipping sector. But the relevant UN bodies should identify an emission reduction pathway, and ensure that any measures adopted are done so in a fair and equitable way, writes Bill Hemmings.

Kallas: Europe must reduce subsidies to transport

EU governments pour too much public money into obsolete enterprises and thereby keep low-quality transport services going when they should not be allowed to do so, said Siim Kallas in an interview reflecting on his legacy as Commission Vice-President in the Barroso II team.

EU’s new transport strategy to put price on pollution

The European Commission wants to make transport users pay for emissions, noise and other harm they cause as part of proposals laid down in a draft White Paper on Transport, seen by EURACTIV.

Aviation and shipping emissions after Copenhagen

"The outcome of the Copenhagen summit proved extremely disappointing as regards international aviation and shipping emissions," laments Transport & Environment in a January paper.

UN shipping body agrees to CO2-cutting proposals

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the United Nations shipping agency, on Friday (17 July) agreed to voluntary proposals aimed at cutting carbon emissions, but environmental groups said it fell short of what was needed.

EU votes to criminalise pollution at sea

The European Parliament yesterday (5 May) adopted a new directive that forces EU countries to introduce criminal penalties for maritime pollution, whether caused deliberately or by negligence.

Commission promotes clean, efficient shipping

The European Commission this week announced a series of measures aimed at greening the maritime transport sector to boost its global competitiveness.

Parliament deplores national resistance to sea-safety rules

A package of legislative measures aimed at protecting Europe from maritime accidents and pollution looks likely to face a special 'last chance' conciliation procedure as the European Parliament yesterday (24 September) refused to give in to national governments' attempts to water down the new rules.