Contribution by Lorenzo Matacena *
* CEO of Caronte & Tourist Group
Shipping is a rapidly developing sector. Bulks, tankers and containers continue to grow despite everything.
The turbulence in the Red Sea, the critical issues in the Panama Canal, the generational turnover of the fleets to contain emissions, the decommissioning of a large part of the oil tankers in service are all elements that worry analysts but evidently not the sector, which contradicts every continuous analysis to be active and proactive.
Italy is a country surrounded by the sea. Which means an enormous opportunity for the transport of passengers and even more so for goods but also some critical issues.
Ships, as well as wheeled vehicles, produce pollution.
To reduce harmful emissions, various solutions have been experimented for years, starting with the use of alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Ten years ago we commissioned in Turkey what would become the first ferry in the Mediterranean with dual propulsion, diesel and LNG.
Our helium it entered service between the two shores of the Strait of Messina in 2018. But even today we are forced to fuel this ship of ours with diesel fuel.
There is a lack of LNG storage depots in Sicily and bureaucracy has so far prevented us from building one with our own funds. We were therefore forced to look beyond LNG, since we at Caronte & Tourist certainly do not intend to deviate from our commitment to environmental sustainability. In three months, our ships will therefore start burning biomethane, which pollutes even less than LNG.
And state aid? In theory, a big hand to maritime transport could have come from marebonusan incentive designed 25 years ago to convince i player of maritime transport to move goods transfers from asphalt highways to those of the sea. But in the years of Covid unfortunately the political decision makers thought about cutting marebonus And ferrobonus and to finance those infamous people bonuses for the efficiency of the building stock, which have devastated the public finances by contributing in a completely irrelevant way to the reduction of emissions.
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