As part of its environmental actions, in particular those aimed at improving air quality, Grand Port Maritime De La Réunion decided to join the “Environmental Ship Index” initiative (ESI) in 2018. This approach rewards the ‘greenest’ shipping companies that are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This is a completely voluntary initiative by ports, and is a practical project run by the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI) of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). It aims to encourage shipowners to reduce atmospheric emissions from vessels and to voluntarily go beyond regulatory requirements.
Today, 50 ports worldwide have set up ESI-based incentive mechanisms, including France’s largest ports: Le Havre and Marseille; Tokyo in Japan; Ulsan in South Korea; the Panama Canal; Vancouver in Canada; Los Angeles and New York in the United States; Melbourne in Australia; Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremen, Antwerp, Amsterdam, and London in Europe, etc.
Each participating vessel receives an ESI score out of 100 based on several parameters such as clean engine properties (atmospheric emissions (SO₂, NOx, PM, CO2), equipment on board, and of course the quality of fuels used. The higher the score, the ‘cleaner’ the vessel is considered to be.
Based on selection criteria defined by each port, vessels receive eco-inducements that reduce their port call costs.
For the first year of operation at PORT REUNION, each port call reward will be calculated on the basis of the budget allocated, divided by the total number of calls scoring 31 or more, with a maximum of 10% of the harbour dues for each call.
By opting for this incentive system, Port Reunion has become the first port in the Indian Ocean to encourage shipping companies who sail the region to limit their environmental impact for the benefit of local communities.
For more info on ESI see: environmentalshipindex.org
For any questions contact esi@reunion.port.fr
See the Charter of Participation