The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has definitively awarded the aid for the first call of the maritime Eco-incentive of the Recovery Plan.
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Transport awards aid
In total, it has awarded 6.8 million euros to hauliers, shippers and logistics operators who have chosen maritime transport as an alternative to road to move goods in Europe between 20 September 2022 and 31 March 2023.
In other words, they have loaded their semi-trailers, trailers or rigid heavy goods vehicles on a ro-ro, con-ro or ro-pax vessel onto the ships, instead of exclusively using the road to move the goods to their final destination, complying with all the requirements of the call for proposals.
Thus, 100,619 shipments have been subsidised on one of the 16 eligible maritime services operated by the programme’s partner shipping companies. These routes have run along the Mediterranean and the Atlantic arc, connecting a Spanish port and another port in a European Union Member State, and have had an alternative route by road. Specifically, the routes have departed from the ports of Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Sagunto, Santander and Vigo to ports in other EU countries such as Italy, Ireland, Finland, Belgium and France.
The eligible maritime services were provided by the shipping companies Brittany Ferries, Flota Suardiaz, CLdN Roro, Grimaldi Euromed SpA and Finnlines Oyj, designated as collaborating entities through a first selection in 2022.
An eco-incentive calculated based on the savings in external costs (greenhouse gases, air pollution, congestion, accidents and noise) generated within Spain by using the maritime mode instead of the road to route heavy goods vehicle traffic has been accrued for each unit embarked and journey made. The environmental performance of ships has also been considered according to their capacity, average occupancy, fuel type, emission reduction system, speed, emissions in port and maritime distance.
Other calls for proposals
On Monday 1 April, the deadline for applications for the second call of the programme, which subsidises traffic from the second quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, and which meets all the requirements, opened. The deadline for applications is 30 June 2024.
The eligible services run through both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic arc, departing from the ports of Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Sagunto, Santander and Vigo to ports located in other EU countries such as Savona, Livorno and Salerno (Italy); Dublin and Rosslare (Ireland); Montoir (France); and Bruges and Antwerp (Belgium).
Similarly, on 25 March, a decision was taken on the selection of the collaborating entities that will participate in the management of the eco-incentives of the third call, which will cover traffic from the second quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025.
Sustainable and connected mobility
The objective of the subsidies, included in the programme of aid to companies for sustainable and digital transport of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), is to promote the international transport of goods by sea as an alternative to road, based on environmental and socio-economic merit.
In this way, the aid, aimed at carriers, shippers or operators, will serve to boost the share of maritime freight transport and decarbonise the economy, reducing emissions, road congestion and the social and economic impact of transport activity. At the same time, road safety is reinforced and the working conditions of workers in the sector and their family reconciliation are improved. In addition, the programme provides an indirect incentive to shipping companies operating eligible services to improve the environmental performance of these services.
The maritime eco-incentive is part of the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy 2030 and its purpose is twofold: to consolidate and increase the modal share of maritime freight transport, improving its environmental performance, and to promote the transfer from road to maritime transport with objective sustainability criteria.