The Port of Algeciras hosted, last 4th and 5th May, the 11th edition of the biennial seminar of the European Harbour Masters’ Committee of the International Harbour Masters’ Committee of the International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA), which took place in the Millán Picazo Auditorium.
For two days, Algeciras has become the centre of the debate on questions such as alternative fuels to reduce the emissions of vessels or on how the ports must prepare themselves both to comply with the new environmental regulations and to offer the necessary means in this energy transition of the maritime industry.
The programme of the conference included presentations and debates on the international legislation and the requirements on vessels and ports, the incentive scheme for voluntary actions in favour of decarbonisation, the vision of the future to 2050 according to the energy transition, the market options available for new ships and engines, the availability of transition fuels, tools to measure the degree of preparation of the ports for the new energy scenario or the sustainability strategies of the ports of Rotterdam and Algeciras.
The institutional opening ceremony was attended by Gerardo Landaluce, President of the Port Authority of the Algeciras Bay (APBA). Landaluce himself stressed during his speech that “Algeciras is the right place and the right time” to discuss the energy transition. He also highlighted the efforts of the APBA in terms of sustainability, because in his own words “our objective is to achieve zero net emissions by 2050, for which the port has been working with the leading companies in the sector“.
Then, Víctor Jiménez from Algeciras, President of the Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), spoke and explained the necessary steps to achieve the involvement of the public and private sector when leading the action against decarbonisation in Spain. In this sense, he pointed out important initiatives such as the Cepsa Green Hydrogen Corridor between the ports of Algeciras and Rotterdam, which has the support of the APBA and private companies, with which to develop the necessary infrastructure to convert the Campo de Gibraltar into one of the most important hydrogen distribution points in Europe; or the firm commitment, by the shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, for the generation of green methanol in Spain to supply sustainable fuel to its vessel fleet.
The conference also counted, among the speakers, with the participation of Jesús Medina, Head of the Technological Development Area of the APBA. During his speech, Medina explained how the Port of Algeciras is applying the Port Collaborative Decision Making (PortCDM) concept to achieve Just-in-Time arrivals, a concept that had previously been highlighted by Astrid Dispert, Project Technical Manager of the IMO, as one of the keys to reducing emissions in the industry.
Medina pointed out that thanks to the technological tools that implement this concept in the Port of Algeciras, it has been possible to reduce, during the year 2021-2022, by 12% the number of waiting vessels and by 10% the GHG emissions from these. However, as he pointed out, there is still a wide room for improvement, given that “this type of solution has the potential to reduce waiting times by 50% and, therefore, 50% of emissions”. To achieve these results, Medina stressed, “a change of mentality, of processes, is necessary, of processes, so that all parties work together under a common objective“.
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