Carbon neutral towage

The port service provider PortsDirect has partnered with Svitzer to give its customers access to the EcoTow towage solution to help them drive up sustainability in their supply chains.

”The entire supply chain is under scrutiny for where efficiency gains can be made and our partnership with Svitzer provides our customers with the opportunity to address and further improve their Scope 3 emissions within the port environment, improving their sustainability, but also their competitiveness in the eyes of counterparties,” said Kenny Bjergstad, managing director, PortsDirect.

Green towage

Svitzer’s ten EcoTow tugs, located in London and Medway, are powered by marine biofuel and operate entirely on Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – an ISSC and RSB-certified sustainable second-generation biofuel produced by using waste material such as used cooking oil as feedstocks.

The biofuel reduces carbon emissions by 100% on a tank-to-wake basis and 90% on a well-to-wake basis compared to marine diesel.

By choosing to use EcoTow, PortsDirect’s customers will be able to lower their Scope 3 emissions, which make up the majority of a company’s carbon footprint and improve the sustainability of their supply chains.

“The reception for EcoTow in London and Medway has simply been fantastic, proving that the shipping industry is looking for solutions to help it make decarbonisation progress in the near term. Our innovative and world-first carbon-neutral towage solution is an obvious fit to be able to offer to PortsDirect’s customers, and we look forward to further collaboration as we work together to reduce the environmental impact of towage and other services in the port ecosystem,” said Sven Lumber, head of EcoTow at Svitzer.

Svitzer will partner with an independent auditor which will enable the organisation to provide PortsDirect customers with a CO2 savings certificate compliant with regulatory authorities.

For ship owners and operators, PortsDirect’s services include the provision of discounted rate agreements for port services such as towage, launches and pilotage.