by Lloyd's List

20 March 2025 (Lloyd's List) - EARLIER this week, European shipowners released in tandem two reports that highlighted the EU’s shipping competitiveness on the global stage and economic value to the bloc.

The first, a study by Deloitte, emphasised how European shipping represents a geopolitical asset for Europe facilitating the export and import of goods, food and energy, while the environmental consultancy CE Delft study noted how the EU boasts a fleet that represents more than a third of global tonnage.

The Deloitte study concluded it is the current EU regulatory and taxation framework that facilitates a competitive EU shipping sector. Crucially, however, it highlighted significant areas for improvement such as closing the investment gap for the uptake of clean tech and fuels, reducing administrative burden and aligning with international regulations.

The conclusions of both have set the scene and tone at this week’s European Shipping Summit in Brussels, where industry stakeholders have been lobbying the bloc’s legislatures for a long-term maritime strategy that balances sustainability and global competitiveness.

Get it right and the consensus in Belgium is that Europe can be at the forefront of the green transition. But a failure to act could see Europe quickly fall behind its regional competitors, most notably in Asia and the US.

The blunt message is that Europe’s shipping industry is ready and willing, but is missing the political support, clarity and guidance that could see it miss a unique window of opportunity.

The industry sees opportunity in the European Industrial Maritime Strategy, a plan that promises to set out the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector. Similarly, there is an opportunity to promote maritime under the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, which is aimed at stimulating investment in sustainable low-carbon transport fuels.

“Both initiatives should ensure the international competitiveness of European shipping which is a prerequisite for a strong and competitive European maritime industrial cluster,” said European Shipowners general-secretary Sotiris Raptis.

“The message is clear”, he said upon opening the second day of the conference, “it’s all hands on deck”, he added with a choice shipping metaphor.

“Addressing the widening innovation gap in Europe is the only way to enhance the European industrial base. Financial support from the national and EU ETS revenues must enhance the uptake of clean tech and fuels,” said Raptis.

His comments echoed that of ECSA president Karin Orsel, who stressed that shipping’s contribution to the EU ETS must be better utilised to ensure that the industry is the core benefactor, in what was a common thread throughout the summit.

“EU member states must use the €9bn ($1.09bn) of shipping’s new ETS revenues to support the production of clean fuels… build industrial capacity in Europe and to bridge the immense price gap between conventional and clean fuels, which can be up to five times more expensive than the current prices paid,” she said.

Sea Europe secretary-general Christophe Tytgat was also adamant that shipping’s considerable contribution to the ETS must be fed back into the industry.

“Only a fraction is going into the innovation fund, the rest is disappearing somewhere in the [EU] member states,” said Tytgat.

“Why not consider, together with the member states, that the money that comes from commercial shipping into the ETS goes entirely back to the decarbonisation and the digitalisation of the entire maritime ecosystem. That is where our competitiveness and prosperity will be and should be.”

Tytgat added that public funding will not be sufficient and shipping will require investment from the private sector. Europe’s commercial bank’s have become increasingly reluctant to invest in maritime projects because they are “considered risky”.

Concrete legislation that will help clarify the bloc’s position on alternative fuels is therefore crucial, he explained.

“Only then we will be able to move forward,” he said.

Key to that private investment will be the fuel suppliers, who need equal certainty and clarity over shipping’s energy requirements.

Liana Gouta, director general of FuelsEurope, which represents the European fuel manufacturing industry — whose members are responsible for 97% of the energy needs of the bloc’s transport segments, said the good news is that the investment capacity. However, the question is how the sector can mobilise these private investments to fulfil the requirements of renewable fuels in the absence of a robust business case.

“We need regulatory clarity, stability and predictability. Of course, we have the FuelEU Maritime targets up to 2050, giving a security of the demand, but we also need to have clarity in other crucial legislative files, such as ETS, beyond 2030 because our investments have a cycle of many years,” she said.

“All financial incentives and funding tools can make a big change and can support the final investment decision, and that can be a game changer.”

Further, she stressed the need that alternative fuel production in Europe must be prioritised.

This opportunity is recognised by European shipowners, according to ECSA’s Orsel, who said its members are calling for a mandate on the EU’s fuel suppliers to produce at least 40% of the fuels needed to decarbonise shipping. This, she said, is a must if the EU’s climate targets are translated into industrial capacity.

Not to be left out, the World Shipping Council, which represents the liner and vehicle carrier segments, also released a new study timed appropriately with the launch of the summit, which stressed that both renewable-capable vessels and renewable fuels could be available to meet EU 2030 targets. However, it too highlighted the price gap between fossil and renewable fuels as the major barrier.

The WSC called on the EU, among other recommendations, to align regional policies with global regulation, create a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism that funds a cost-for-difference model to incentivise renewable fuel adoption — again possibly funded by ETS revenues, and implement fuel certification systems to accelerate global supply of alternative fuels.

“The liner shipping industry has invested billions of dollars in new dual-fuel ships, so we've put our money where our mouth is,” WSC president and chief executive Joe Kramek told Lloyd’s List.

“Those ships are coming online. There’s some 160 to 200 in service, and 700 more in the orderbook. That’s a massive investment.

“But you need three things to happen to create a market. And we have two of those three things. We have we have demand because we put it out there on the water and we have production capability (supply), but we don't have the economic signal from a regulatory framework, and that's what's badly needed,” he said.