The Strait Port System Authority, partner of the European project GREENROUTES (“Green Corridors for Carbon-Neutral Cruise and Ferry Shipping in the ADRION Region”), financed by the Interreg IPA ADRION 2021-2027 Programme, organized yesterday (8 September) in the main hall of the IIS Verona Trento the Info Day “From the pre-feasibility study to the Strategy for green maritime corridors in the ADRION region.
The initiative took place thanks to the fruitful collaboration ensured by the Order of Engineers of the Province of Messina. To continue the information and discussion process started with the first participatory moment in June, various stakeholders from the ports of the Strait took part in the event, such as the Port Authority, members of the Management Committee and the Partnership Body, shipping agents, University of Messina, shipping companies such as Caronte & Tourist, Blujet, Bluferries, RFI, Meridiano Lines.
The meeting – moderated by Maria Cristiana Laura, coordinator of the Institutional Area of the Strait ADSP – opened with institutional greetings from the President of the Strait Port System Authority Francesco Rizzo, and continued with the interventions of the President of the Order of Engineers of the Province of Messina Marilena Maccora, of the CESF President of the Order of Engineers of the Province of Messina Saints Found and the Secretary General of the AdSP Giusy Marabello.
The President of the Strait Port System Authority opened the proceedings Francesco Rizzo, highlighted how the project was started with entirely community funding, the best way to exploit pre-existing resources. The info day held yesterday and the other in-depth meetings scheduled will serve to outline a shared path and bring forward ideas using all the skills necessary to create a targeted decarbonisation program for ports that does not take away efficiency, but respects the environment. The President also appreciated the important collaboration initiated between the AdSP of the Strait and the Order of Engineers of Messina, a link which he defined as strategic, and which aims to correlate the technical skills of the professional orders close to the contents of GREENROUTES with the management and development of all the maritime assets of the port.
Thanking the President of the Strait Port System Authority, Francesco Rizzofor the start of the collaboration, the President of the Order of Engineers of Messina, Marilena Maccoraunderlined the value and strategic importance of the European project GREENROUTES. In her speech, the President highlighted how tomorrow’s challenges must be planned already in the present, crucial issues for an area – that of the Strait – deeply linked to the sea and its transport dynamics.
The Messina Order of Engineers, which has always been sensitive to the issues of innovation and in profound synergy with the world of professions, is ready to share the commitment to support the technical growth of the territory, hoping that the technical analyzes will represent a solid starting point for the drafting of the future transnational strategy for maritime corridors.
During the Info Day of the European GREENROUTES project, the scientific consultant of the AdSP of the Strait, Francis MM Cirianni, illustrated the strategy for the development of Green Maritime Corridors in the Adriatic-Ionian region, highlighting the central role of ports, shipping companies and institutions in the process of decarbonisation of maritime passenger transport.
The project, financed by the Interreg IPA ADRION programme, aims to promote the transition from fossil fuels to alternative fuels and low or zero emission technologies, through the creation of a shared strategy, a digital platform for monitoring emissions and a transnational cooperation network.
Particular attention was paid to the role of the Strait Port System Authority, called to contribute to the development of sustainable energy infrastructures, cold ironing systems and innovative solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of port activities and maritime connections in the Strait of Messina.
The director of the technical area of the AdSP of the Strait Massimiliano Maccarrone illustrated the path undertaken by the Strait Port System Authority to accompany the energy and environmental transition of the system’s ports, as part of the European strategies for the decarbonisation of maritime transport.
Through the Port System Energy and Environmental Planning Document (DEASP), the Authority has developed a detailed analysis of energy consumption and emissions generated by port activities, naval, road and rail traffic, identifying the main areas of intervention to reduce their environmental impact.
Particular attention was paid to the project of electrification of the docks using cold ironing systems, today considered the most technologically effective solution for reducing emissions from ships during port stays, allowing electricity to be supplied from shore and the on-board engines to be turned off.
The Strait AdSP also aims to promote the use of alternative fuels, electric mobility in port areas, the energy efficiency of buildings and infrastructures and the production of energy from renewable sources.
The planned interventions include the installation of photovoltaic systems, the testing of technologies for the production of energy from the marine currents of the Strait, the renewal of lighting systems with high energy efficiency solutions and the use of digital and artificial intelligence systems for the monitoring and optimization of port flows. A set of actions that aims to transform the ports of the Strait into increasingly sustainable, innovative infrastructures capable of contributing to the European objectives of climate neutrality with an increasingly less invasive impact on the surrounding territories.
The engineer then intervened. Giuseppe Mobilia, Coordinator of the Technical Area of the Strait Port System Authority who illustrated the “Stretto Green” project, one of the main energy transition interventions promoted by the Authority as part of the decarbonisation strategy for maritime transport.
The project involves the electrification of the docks of the ports of Messina, Reggio Calabria and Milazzo using On Shore Power Supply (OPS) or cold ironing systems, which will allow parked ships to turn off their on-board engines and power themselves from the land-based electricity grid, significantly reducing air emissions, noise and environmental impact in urban port areas.
During the meeting, the main goals achieved of the project, started in 2021 and currently under construction, were reviewed, for a total investment of over 23 million euros intended for the electrification of port infrastructure.
It was also highlighted how cold ironing represents one of the most mature and effective technologies to accompany the maritime sector towards the European decarbonisation objectives, contributing to the improvement of air quality and the reduction of costs linked to climate-altering emissions. Finally, the intervention underlined the strategic role of the ports of the Strait in the path towards the creation of the Green Maritime Corridors of the ADRION area, highlighting how the electrification of the docks constitutes a fundamental step to encourage increasingly sustainable and innovative maritime mobility.
During yesterday’s meeting together with the president of the Order of Engineers Marilena Maccora and with the Councilor of the Order Ing. Francesca Franza it was decided to launch a path of joint initiatives between AdSP and the Order.
The info day held at the IIS Verona Trento was a new opportunity for technical and institutional debate on the results achieved so far by the GREENROUTES project and on the prospects for sustainable development in the Adriatic-Ionian area.
The main objective is to define a transnational roadmap capable of guiding the transition from fossil fuels to alternative marine fuels.
Among the most anticipated results of the project are a common strategy for green corridors, an online platform for calculating CO2 emissions and the carbon footprint per passenger, and a formal cooperation network between the area’s stakeholders.
In this scenario, the Strait Port System Authority plays a crucial planning and coordination role to transform the Port of Messina into a strategic reference node for the maritime sustainability of the entire ADRION region.
At the same time, the Order of Engineers, through its structure and the CESF, confirms itself as the central actor for the training, updating and technical-scientific support of the professionals called to design these complex infrastructures.
GREENROUTES brings together nine organizations from Montenegro, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, committed to defining common solutions for the decarbonisation of maritime transport in the ADRION area.