European legislation on sustainability complicates “the competitiveness and viability” of maritime operators

Companies in this sector point to the Fit for 55 package and emissions trading as the main responsible for creating “a complex operating environment, with a significant financial burden and often disproportionate to the expected benefits”.
Short sea shipping faces “challenges that directly affect both its competitiveness and its long-term viability” related to the ecological transition and compliance with multiple international and European environmental regulations – “which often overlap or conflict”. This was expressed by the president of the ESN (European Network of Short Sea Maritime Operators), Charalampos Simantonis, in a meeting with European politicians at the office of the Permanent Representation of Greece to the European Union in Brussels.

In particular, Simantonis pointed to the Fit for 55 package (which aims to reduce emissions by 55% compared to 1990) and the ETS emissions trading system: “They are creating a complex operating environment for short sea shipping, with a significant financial burden for operators, often disproportionate to the expected benefits.”

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