Finland and Estonia sign green shipping corridor agreement
A new green shipping corridor is being planned between ports of Helsinki in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia.
PHOTO: Eckero Line ferry arriving from the Port of Tallinn in Estonia to the Port of Helsinki in Finland. Getty Images
Helsinki-Tallinn is a major ferry and cargo shipping route in the Baltic Sea. Approximately “9 million passengers and 2 million vehicles” are transported across this route every year, the Helsinki Port Authority reported.
This makes reducing greenhouse gas emissions along this route crucial for mitigating the effects of climate change and "for the well-being of the whole area on both sides of the Gulf of Finland”, it added.
Apart from the city officials and port authorities of Helsinki and Tallinn, the green corridor partnership also includes Finnish shipping companies Rederi AB Eckerö and Viking Line and Estonian shipping company Tallink Grupp
The partners will work to develop the availability of low- and zero-emission fuels along the shipping route and increase the adoption of low- and zero-emission technologies.
“This means that there will be joint roadmaps for shipping companies, cities and ports with founding - and other partners - to assist them with achieving zero-emission goals,” said the Helsinki Port Authority.
In addition, they will also establish a green shipping corridor on the Vuosaari-Muuga ferry route between Finland and Estonia. Currently, two ferries operate on this route: one is operated by Eckerö Line, owned by Rederi AB Eckerö and the other by Silja Line, an arm of Tallink Grupp.
The partners have not yet disclosed which low- and zero-emission fuels and technologies will be prioritised to decarbonise the shipping route.
By Konica Bhatt
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