The 'Green North Sea Shipping Corridor Project' that will link Tyneside with the Netherlands has been officially launched at Port of Tyne.
The project is part of a £9m Government investment introduced in October by Maritime Minister Mike Kane and will link the Tyne with the Port of IJmuiden in Amsterdam. It aims to decarbonise shipping and stimulate green jobs growth with the funding going towards port infrastructure for electrification and refuelling of clean power vessels.
The route, including the ferry between the Port of Tyne's International Passenger Terminal and Amsterdam, is currently served by ageing vessels. Around 850,000 tonnes of CO2 could be saved via the corridor which is supported by ferry company DFDS, engineering firm Ricardo and maritime logistics specialist KVSA. DFDS wants to significantly reduce its CO2 emissions by transitioning to methanol-fuelled RoRo/RoPax vessels.
Mr Kane has previously said that corridors such as this could "turbocharge" the use of sustainable fuels and make travel and shipping of goods more environmentally friendly.
Matt Beeton, CEO at the Port of Tyne, said: "This initiative represents a huge step forward for the Port in our sustainability journey and it was fantastic to gather with our partners to forge ahead with our plans. The route is a key connection for the region and wider Ƶ, supporting important tourism and trade.
"By establishing this green corridor between the Port of Tyne and the Port of IJmuiden, we aim to significantly reduce carbon emissions between the North East of England and Europe, with the aim of saving up to 850,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The success of this project will bring more green jobs to the region and drive the development of port infrastructure for electrification and the refuelling of state-of-the-art clean powered vessels.”
Declan Walsh, director business development and Strategy at DFDS, said: "DFDS is committed to becoming a carbon neutral Transport & Logistics company by 2050 and the decarbonisation of our Passenger business is a key part of this journey. Transforming our current Amsterdam-Newcastle route to a RoPAX Green Corridor is a massive undertaking and we are fortunate to have such great partners to help us make this happen."
Tim Scarbrough, director of Maritime Innovation at Ricardo, said: "Green corridors represent a crucial milestone on the path to maritime decarbonisation. By focusing on predictable routes and consistent operational profiles, they lower barriers to adoption and create momentum for sustainable change. At Ricardo, we are proud to leverage our expertise in vessel and port decarbonisation to support these transformative projects, delivering insights that help build resilient infrastructure and robust fuel supply chains for a greener future.”
Peter van de Meerakker, managing director of Zeehaven IJmuiden N.V. - Port of IJmuiden, said: "This project is very important for us, as we need to accelerate the reduction of our shipping emissions. With the ‘zero emission’ new tonnage of DFDS, we are taking an important step forward, since a lot needs still to be done on both sides of the North Sea and this project helps enormously speed up and achieve our goals."
