UK Pursues Clean Shipping with EU Through Green Corridors

The United Kingdom is living up to its promise to establish green shipping corridors to decarbonize the maritime sector. In December last year, the country made a pledge in the Clydebank Declaration at COP26 to establish six green shipping corridors by the middle of this decade through a coalition of like-minded countries.

The UK government has now embarked on the implementation of the pledge with the unveiling of green shipping corridors for zero emission vessels, with the first routes between the UK and Europe.

The Port of Tyne is among the first beneficiaries of the $11.7 million UK International Green Corridor Fund, and the grant program will help decarbonize the route connecting Tyne with the Port of Ijmuiden in the Netherlands. Also benefiting is the Port of Holyhead, which will create a green shipping corridor with the Port of Dublin.

Funds will also be directed towards the development of green shipping routes from the UK to Norway and Demark, with the ports that will lead the initiative expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The UK government says that the funding will support the development of port infrastructure for electrification and the refueling of state-of-the-art clean-powered vessels. The critical green infrastructure will decarbonize the Tyne-Ijmuiden route, saving up to 850,000 tons of CO2 annually.?

Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports and is an economic driver in the northeast of the country. Government data shows that last year, the port contributed over $934 million in gross value added, up by four percent year-on-year. Apart from general cargo and roll-on/roll-off (Ro/Ro), the port facilitates ferry service to Ijmuiden and has been recording a steady growth in cruise ships, with the number doubling to 61 last year from 32 in 2022.

The Holyhead-Dublin trade route, which secured $187,000 in grant funding, is the busiest Ro/Ro route between the UK and Ireland. About two million people travel the route annually, with over 6,000 sailings accounting for more than 74 percent of all ferry passenger movements between the two countries. The corridor is led by ferry operators Irish Ferries and Stena Line.

The ports of Dublin and Holyhead also serve as key economic gateways, handling a significant volume of trade, with Dublin Port handling 83 percent of RoRo freight and 72 percent of ferry volumes into Ireland. The study aims to advance the decarbonization of the critical trade artery.

“Shipping is a big contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, so these new green corridors could be a real game changer for industry. This is exactly the direction we need to be going in to achieve our mission of becoming a clean energy superpower,” said Mike Kane, UK Maritime Minister. He added the new corridors could turbocharge the use of sustainable fuels, secure green jobs of the future and advance environmentally friendly travel to major European capitals.

Apart from green shipping corridors, the UK government is also making available up to $10.4 million for funding about 30 projects involved in accelerating plans to develop smart technologies such as autonomous systems, AI, robotics and sensors. The technologies will help position the UK as a world leader in maritime decarbonization and will support economic growth and coastal communities by delivering local jobs and boosting local businesses.?

This latest round of funding comes from the $268.4 million UK SHORE program, which is focused on decarbonizing the country’s maritime sector through tech innovation.