Environmental Ship Index to Evaluate CO2 Performance
As of 1 July 2017, the Environmental Ship Index (ESI) started evaluating performance in the field of CO2, says a press release from Antwerp Port Authority.
To date, only the environmental performance of ships on emissions of air pollution (NOx and SOx) were assessed.
This makes the index the first sustainable quality mark in international shipping that includes the performance and, more particularly, the reduction in CO2 in its assessment.
The index does this based on historical data already included in the index. The ESI compares the fuel consumption and the nautical miles travelled in the past three years (e.g. 2013, 2014, 2015) to that of the following year (2016).
If relatively less fuel has been consumed – in other words, if sailing was more efficient – then less CO2 has been emitted. ESI has chosen for this method because it is actually very difficult to measure CO2 emissions.
The ESI is a score that is issued at the request of ship owners as of 1 January 2011. Ships that score high on the Environmental Ship Index receive a premium from the participating ports and other organisations that reward sustainable shipping.
As of 1 April 2017, the index comprised 5497 ships and 50 bonus providers.
