The two-day gathering, held on February 4-5 close to the European Parliament, brought together policymakers, researchers and industry experts to focus on latest thinking on the decarbonization and digitalization of seagoing and inland waterways vessels as well as cruise ships, and offshore vessels, and ports.
“Quite a maritime year”
In a timely opening speech, DG MOVE Director General Magda Kopczyńska described 2025 as “quite a maritime year”, citing first entry into force of the EU Maritime Safety Package on 5 January before turning her attention to pivotal regulations covering emissions from ships.
“Decarbonization is not off the agenda, just to reassure you,” Kopczyńska told delegates. “The targets we agreed, the pathway we agreed to go ahead with on FuelEU Maritime – what we need to do when it comes to market pricing for carbon – it is all still there. The Commission is really looking forward to working with all of you to make sure that first implementation of what is on the table works, and that if and when we revise it, we do it in the way that continues working.”
Kopczyńska said maritime interests in Europe could also expect developments in response to EC President Ursula von der Leyen’s September 2024 Mission Letter to Apostolos Tzitzkostas - Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. The communiqué included a call to “propose a new industrial maritime strategy to enhance the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector”.
“We'll be working together with colleagues in the industry, looking as widely as we can at the maritime industrial ecosystem to see what we need to do together at the European level – but also maybe a bit more at national level - to strengthen the competitive edge that I like to think you still have,” she said.
Carbon pricing
Also among the opening speakers was Polona Gregorin, Head of Unit Mobility, DG CLIMA, who focused on the EU’s Emissions Trading System and its implementation.
“Emissions reporting is already happening, but surrendering [carbon] allowances will be the price signal to incentivize energy efficiency improvement and, importantly, to bridge the price gap with traditional fuel,” she said. “Another core benefit of carbon pricing is the revenue it will raise, which will be key for decarbonization in the maritime sector – both for Member States and for the ETS Innovation Fund.”
Already, 19 maritime decarbonization projects are supported through the Fund, said Gregorin, while a new initiative was making €200 million available to develop hydrogen derivatives. Meanwhile, Rosalinde van der Vlies, Director, Clean Planet, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission, previewed the launch of five innovation Fund decarbonization maritime projects in 2025.
Kopczyńska also applauded Christos Stylianides, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of the Hellenic Republic for his acceptance of an invitation to provide the two-day event’s keynote speech.
Minister Stylianides is a former European Commissioner and, in emphasising how collaboration would be necessary to achieve the goals under discussion, he also observed that “platforms like Waterborne are key instruments for action”.
Mr Stylianides highlighted continuity for Greece as the world’s number one ship owning nation, even though it accounts for under 0.50 percent of the global population. Opening speeches had been preceded by a Union of Greek Shipowners video portraying how a suspension in sea shipping could bring the global economy to a grinding halt within 90 days.
Sustainable EU competitiveness
Shipping’s need to be carbon-free also presented “a challenge which is linked directly with the overall competitiveness of the European Union,” said Mr. Stylianides. “We need radicalism together with realism. We need practical solutions which can be applied on the ground, which are viable and efficient.
“For this to be done we need cross-sectoral collaboration to link the entire multinational chain with the EU energy sector. European fuel producers, commercial ship operators, European ports and shipyards should coordinate and engage in an open and transparent dialogue.” Solutions would best be found through synergies between the public and private sectors. Public-private partnerships are an effective financial instrument which deserves to be examined in depth”.
Funded by industry, the Waterborne Technology Platform behind Waterborne Days has quickly emerged as a key focus for the political will driving EU policy on maritime transport.
As Waterborne Technology Platform Chair, Eero Lehtovaara, Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs at ABB Marine & Ports celebrated strong event attendance and the broad scope for engagement between private industry and public organizations.
Highlighting the scale of the decarbonization challenge, Lehtovaara estimated 4,000-5,000 ships would need to be renewed each year to approach the 2050 target for net-zero emission shipping. Echoing Kopczyńska, he emphasized the key role Europe’s high-value shipbuilding sector plays as the proving ground for the advanced marine technology shipping will need to meet its goals.
Lehtovaara also encouraged stakeholders to broaden their thinking on maritime decarbonization to include the role utilities play in emissions ‘well-to-wake’. “I keep hearing from ship owners that that they would like to go for a specific solution. but that they don't have the support from the national utilities to give them the energy they are after,” he said.
Subsequent sessions, across two streams, allowed Waterborne Days participants to focus on their preferred ship type or topic, or to look at the maritime decarbonization issue from the perspective of policy, finance, competition, research, fueling, digitalization or technology.
A full day of moderator duties on Day 2 for Diane Gilpin, CEO of Smart Green Shipping, added connected thinking to decarbonization sessions individually focusing on inland waterways, short-sea, long-distance shipping, cruise, ferries and offshore.
Among the speakers in the short sea session was Roy Funck, Head of Technology, ABB Marine & Ports, who highlighted multiple technologies whose efficiency cut emissions, also noting that cost rather than technology was the barrier to zero-emission ship operations. Peter Strömberg, Head of Business Development, Ports at ABB Marine & Ports participated in a discussion on the development of the European Port Strategy, as well as in the ‘Long Distance’ panel, putting the case for shore power as a strong and cost-effective contributor to maritime decarbonization.
Other highlights included a session on Green Shipping Corridors and an illuminating Funding and Financing workshop, as well as a workshop on the industrial maritime and inland waterway transport strategy, moderated by Fotini Ioannidou, Director Waterborne, DG Move.
”The Waterborne Days highlighted the crucial role of research, development, innovation and the deployment of innovations to be able to meet policy objectives in a competitive manner”, said Jaap Gebraad, Secretary General, Waterborne Technology Platform. “It was concluded that only together the highly interdependent ecosystem of the waterborne sector can achieve a resilient, competitive and sustainable future. In this respect, the Waterborne Technology Platform is currently refining a joint and coordinated research, development and innovation strategy, as well the deployment of these innovations, with mid- and long-term timelines.”
