• 2020 September 12 10:47

    Ports reveal huge scale of industry environmental efforts

    From Aberdeen to Ardrossan; Belfast to Blyth, Pembroke to Portsmouth; and Shetland to Southampton; the British Ports Association has today published a comprehensive package of case studies of environmental good practice from dozens of UK ports.

    The BPA will be adding new stories to the pack over time as well as regularly highlighting individual case studies. Included in the current collection are:

    • The use of two bubble curtains in the construction of Aberdeen’s new south harbour to protect marine mammals from any harmful effects of the building work
    • ABP’s £6.8 million roof mounted solar array at the Port of Hull
    • Belfast Harbour’s drive towards 100% renewable energy usage and smart electricity generation
    • The installation of the UK’s first intermediate voltage shore power system, in Orkney, as well as smaller shore power systems in Fraserburgh and Lerwick
    • The Port of London’s hybrid pilot cutter, which will cut diesel usage significantly
    • Milford Haven’s environmental surveillance group that has been running for 27 years making the waterway one of the best-studied estuaries in Europe
    • Beach cleaning days run by the ports of Plymouth, Dover, London, Fraserburgh, and ABP
    • PD Ports’ participation in Operation Clean Sweep, which aims to reduce the amount of plastic lost into our seas. The BPA is currently part of a steering group working on a fast-track industry standard with a similar aim, building on this work
    • A number of fishing ports’ participation in the ‘Fishing for Litter’ scheme by KIMO. Participating fishers are given hard wearing bags to collect any plastic waste caught whilst fishing, which is then collected and recycled.
    • Orkney Harbours’ work on monitoring and preventing invasive species
    • Portland Port’s non-native invasive species control plan
    • Salcome Harbour’s eco-mooring facility

    The list goes on. The collection of good news stories is drawn from ports across five broad categories:

    • Habitats and Biodviersity
    • Reducing Emissions
    • Renewables
    • Research, Collaboration, and Leadership
    • Plastics, Waste, and Recycling  

    Commenting on the project, Mark Simmonds, Head of Policy & External Affairs at the BPA said:
    "This collection of stories shows the tremendous amount of effort ports put into reducing emissions, protecting and enhancing habitats and biodiversity, and tackling waste and marine litter. Much of this work goes unappreciated and we hope that this work will start to highlight some of the everyday effort ports make in delivering positive outcomes for our environment."

    Some of these stories push the boundaries of innovation, others are more routine but they are all important. We hope that this project might inspire others to imitate some of the good work and also submit their own good news stories.

    The BPA has always taken a strong leadership role on environmental matters, championing a balance between sustainable development and economic activity. We were a co-founder of the EcoPorts scheme, led on port stakeholder communications, created the first environment group for port professionals in the world, produced a Sustainability Charter,   promoted coastal shipping and of late we have been looking extensively at air quality issues and shore power.

    This initiative shines the light on some excellent UK port projects and examples. We are hopeful that this initiative will enable other ports to learn from BPA members and join our programme.

    The BPA has also published an online form where ports and BPA associate members working in ports can submit new stories. These will be published on the BPA website and eventually printed in various formats.

    These stories were collected from BPA members at the beginning of 2020 but publication was postponed whilst the industry and government have been dealing with the immediate challenges presented by COVID-19. Physical boxes of postcards are available from the BPA, and the stories are also published as an e-book and as individual stories on the BPA website.

    The BPA, which represents ports that handle 86% of seaborne trade in the UK and operators that facilitate many other maritime activities, has always taken a strong leadership role on sustainability issues. Collectively the UK ports sector, which is the second largest in Europe, has been one of the world’s leaders in its efforts to minimise its environmental impacts.

    The British Ports Association represents the interests of over 100 port members, covering more than 400 ports, terminal operators and port facilities. The UK ports industry plays a key role in the country’s economy as 95% of the UK’s international trade – imports and exports – is carried through British ports. UK ports also handle more than 60 million international and domestic passenger journeys each year. The UK port industry is the second largest in Europe, handling around 500 million tonnes of freight each year. UK ports directly employ around 115,000 people.




2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal