Energy transition, Messina: “The fuel to focus on is LNG”

The president of Assarmatori invites the Government to follow the category’s line and to implement a simplification sprint to defend the competitiveness of the Italian flag

ROMA – “Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the fuel to focus on to accompany shipping in the energy transition and with its large-scale use we can already contribute to achieving the objectives set by the European Union. The Government must follow us on this path”.
To chart the course on the controversial topic of decarbonisation of maritime transport it was today Stefano Messina, President of Assarmatorithe Association adhering to Conftrasporto-Confcommercio which brings together Italian, European and third-country shipowners who regularly operate in Italy, opening the 2024 Annual Meeting, which was held in Rome in the presence, among others, of the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and Vice President of the Council, Matteo Salvini, and the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci.

THE SHIPOWNERS’ REQUEST

“The concept of technological neutrality, i.e. a catalogue of alternative fuels available at each port– Messina underlined – it is not reasonably applicable to Italian ports; ports nestled within an urban fabric that makes the presence of a whole range of depots for refueling ships unthinkable. The identification of which fuel is chosen must take place at sea, because only shipowners have all the parameters, including technological capacity and investment awareness, essential for making choices. We therefore ask the Government to set up a review table to define the needs of shipping companies. and on the basis of these open a concrete discussion with the European Commission: this is a topic of extraordinary importance especially for proximity traffic, that is, traffic tied to the presence of distribution plants in the main ports in Italy and the Mediterranean. The future of local public maritime transport, of the Motorways of the Sea, of cruise traffic and connections with the islands, all markets in which Italy occupies a leading position, depends on the choices that will be made regarding the availability of alternative fuels that will be used by these units”.

THE CENTRALITY OF THE GAS MARKET

The topic of gas supplies is also of great importance for the Italian industry, especially in light of the strong geopolitical tensions affecting Eastern Europe and the Middle East; during the Assarmatori Annual Meeting, President Messina reiterated the strategic centrality of the gas market: “In 2023 – he said – Italian gas imports via pipeline decreased by 22.51% compared to 2022; in the same period of time, imports of gas in the liquid state, via ship, increased by over 16%. A clear trend, which in the first six months of 2024 has further consolidated. I am sure that at the end of the year, when we will have the final numbers, we will register a further growth in supplies which will take place thanks to maritime transport.demonstrating unequivocally the importance of this asset for our country”.

THE FLAGGING OUT OF ITALIAN SHIP OWNERS

Messina spoke again about flagging out, the phenomenon that sees an increasing number of ships owned by Italian owners changing flag, abandoning the national one: “It is worth repeating once again: shipowners do not choose to change flag by replacing it on their ships with a flag of convenience; this is not the case: what they are looking for, and what they often find even in the registers of Member States of the European Union, it is less bureaucracy, which translates into efficiency, speed, lower running costs with the same safety and certifications. However, I want to give credit to the Government, to the members of Parliament, to the heads of the various Administrations, because a lot has been done in recent months: we ask not to give up and to bring home the result to defend the competitiveness of the Italian flag. Our hope is that next year we will be able to talk about the rules that remain to be refined with new measures. There is a lot to do, but a compact cluster with indisputable professional skills will be crucial”.

TOWARDS THE NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT OF THE SECTOR

In his report, Messina also announced that the renewal of the National Collective Labor Agreement for the sector, which expired on December 31, is now concluded: “We appreciated, even with moments of natural opposition, the realistic and collaborative spirit with which the Trade Unions have decided to approach the negotiation from the beginning – explained the president of Assarmatori – In our sector, we do not talk about unemployment, minimum wage, irregular work, we talk more and more about professionalization and new skills, training and, last but not least, increases in wages, corporate welfare, health care, supplementary pensions for bargaining, even at the second level”.

THE ASSARMATORI AWARD TO THE NAVY

The Assarmatori Award 2024traditional recognition awarded by the Shipowners’ Association, It went to the women and men of the Italian Navy, for their commitment to protecting the freedom of navigation and Italy’s interests in the seas of the world. and in particular for their work within the Aspides mission, in the Red Sea, in the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb and in the Gulf of Aden, where the ships are targeted by Houthi attacks.

The Association’s Annual Meeting was also animated by a round table attended by Chris Bonett, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works of Malta, Edoardo Rixi, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Giuseppe Ricci, Chief Operating Officer Energy Evolution ENI, Ugo Salerno, Executive President of RINA and Soren Toft, CEO of MSC. An international panel, moderated by the Secretary General of Assarmatori, Alberto Rossi, during which a Mediterranean identity for Europe was invoked, a key theme of the Assembly: the ports overlooking the ‘mare nostrum’ have different characteristics and needs compared to those of the Northern Range, an aspect that cannot be ignored in the legislative processes of the European Union.