The »Ternvag«, an oil/product tanker owned by the Danish company Terntank, was the most sustainable vessel to dock in[ds_preview] Rotterdam in 2014, according to the Environmental Ship Index (ESI). Last year 1,413 ships with a high entry in the Environmental Ship Index arrived in Rotterdam. In total, the Port Authority paid out 1.2 mill. € on these sustainable vessels. »Ternvag« was built in 2003. At the request of de charterer – the Swedish oil company Preem – the vessel has been fitted with so-called SCR (selective catalytic reduction) for the engines. That is a post-combustion technology used to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). »Terntank« has currently commissioned the development of four LNG-driven product tankers. Granting a bonus to vessels with a high entry in the ESI is in line with Port Authority’s policy to become the most sustainable port of its kind. This is also why the Port Authority is working on the transition from fuel oil to LNG as a fuel for shipping. The Port Authority supports the Terntank initiative to start using vessels which run on LNG. Such vessels have been receiving double the ESI bonus since 2015, because they have very low NOx emissions.
The ESI is a certificate that has been issued since 1 January 2011 by the World Port Climate Initiative, at the request of ship owners. The index is an indication of the environmental performance of vessels based on their emissions of air pollutants (NOx and SOx) and CO2.
Ports and other nautical service providers throughout the world can use the index to reward ships and, in this way, encourage sustainable behaviour in the shipping industry. Today 36 ports and other nautical service providers already give »ESI vessels« with a certain score a bonus.
