Ferry operators are facing rising costs under the EU Emissions Trading System faster than practical decarbonisation solutions are being deployed, according to a warning issued this week by Interferry. The industry body said emissions are increasingly being priced before operators have access to the infrastructure needed to reduce them, placing financial pressure on services without yet delivering equivalent emissions reductions.
The warning has intensified scrutiny of how maritime decarbonisation commitments are being translated into action. While regulation across Europe has accelerated, the pace of infrastructure delivery has not kept up, leaving ferry and short-sea operators exposed to higher operating costs with limited near-term options to cut emissions.
Green Shipping Corridors were launched at COP26 through the Clydebank Declaration as a mechanism to bridge that gap. The corridors were intended to move decarbonisation from policy ambition to practical delivery by focusing investment, regulation and collaboration on specific routes. More than four years on, attention is increasingly shifting from frameworks and commitments to implementation.
Short-sea Green Shipping Corridors are widely recognised as the fastest and most viable route to progress. Ferry, RoPax and short-sea cruise services operate on fixed schedules, with regular port calls and predictable dwell times, making them well suited to port-side electrification and charging solutions that can deliver immediate emissions reductions.
Against this backdrop, NatPower Marine says the concerns raised by Interferry underline a widening disconnect between regulation and enabling infrastructure. The company argues that pricing emissions without giving operators rapid access to practical solutions risks increasing costs, undermining route viability and pushing up ticket prices, without accelerating decarbonisation in practice.
There is also concern about wider transport impacts. In some cases, higher ferry costs could weaken the role of maritime transport in shifting passengers and freight away from higher-emissions road transport. That outcome would run counter to long-standing transport and climate objectives at both national and European level.
Stefano D.M. Sommadossi, CEO of NatPower Marine UK, said the Interferry warning reflects a structural challenge facing the sector. “The ferry industry is signalling that obligations are rising faster than the infrastructure needed to meet them,” he said. “Climate policy only delivers results when operators can act on it in practice.”
While much of the policy debate continues to focus on long-term fuel pathways, NatPower Marine says short-sea routes offer the most immediate opportunity to turn Green Shipping Corridors into operational reality. These routes can benefit directly from shore power and high-capacity e-ship charging, allowing vessels to eliminate emissions while alongside.
Port-side electrification enables ferries to cut carbon dioxide emissions at berth and also delivers reductions in nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and particulate matter. This has direct implications for air quality in port cities and island communities that rely heavily on ferry services. It also supports compliance with metrics such as the International Maritime Organization’s Carbon Intensity Indicator.
Sommadossi said electrifying ports strengthens ferries as part of the climate solution rather than penalising them. “If emissions pricing pushes freight and passengers away from ferries and back onto already congested road networks, overall emissions increase,” he said. “Port-side power does the opposite. It reinforces sea transport as the lowest-emissions corridor and supports long-standing objectives to shift traffic from road to sea.”
NatPower Marine points to specific routes as examples of how short-sea Green Shipping Corridors can move quickly from policy ambition to delivery on the quayside. The 142 mile, or 123 nautical mile, Heysham to Belfast route is cited as a case where shore power and e-ship charging infrastructure could deliver immediate emissions reductions and support operator investment in electric and hybrid vessels.
The Heysham initiative is described as a landmark step, with the potential to eliminate more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The route is seen as a practical demonstration of how targeted infrastructure deployment can translate regulatory pressure into real-world decarbonisation outcomes.
NatPower Marine’s route-based, fully funded infrastructure model is designed to remove the need for upfront capital investment by ferry operators. By funding and delivering port-side power and charging infrastructure, the model aims to allow decarbonisation to scale without compromising connectivity, affordability or competitiveness on key routes.
The company argues that this approach is essential if Green Shipping Corridors are to move beyond declarations and become operational assets. Without rapid infrastructure rollout, emissions pricing mechanisms risk outpacing the industry’s ability to respond, particularly for operators providing essential connectivity for island and coastal communities.
Sommadossi said the challenge facing maritime decarbonisation is not a lack of ambition. “Since the Clydebank Declaration, regulation has accelerated, from FuelEU Maritime to the EU ETS, while a global IMO framework remains uncertain,” he said. “What has not kept pace is the rollout of enabling infrastructure. Short-sea corridors show that when port-side power is in place, emissions fall immediately and commercially. That is how Green Shipping Corridors move from policy commitment to operational delivery.”
As regulatory pressure continues to rise, the debate is increasingly focused on whether infrastructure deployment can match policy ambition. For ferry operators already facing higher costs under emissions pricing, the delivery of practical solutions on specific routes is becoming central to maintaining viable services while meeting climate targets.
