91 Interferry2024 will be hosted at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakesh, Morocco, marking the first time the association has held the annual conference on the African continent vice chairman; Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS, who has been instrumental in the company’s expansion during the past 15 years; Matteo Catani, CEO of GNV, a leading Western Mediterranean ferry operator controlled by MSC Group; Ettore Morace, CEO of Grimaldi Trasmed, who has over 40 years of industry experience; Steve Nevey, head of Washington State Ferries, the USA’s largest ferry system; and Mark Wilson, who will join the discussion as newly appointed president and CEO of Canada’s Northumberland/Bay Ferries. We will also have two informative and insightful keynotes from Bud Darr and Sotiris Raptis. Darr is executive vice president of maritime policy and government affairs at MSC Group and works with its cargo and passenger divisions, developing and refining the company’s central government affairs function. Sotiris is secretary general at the European Community Shipowners’ Associations. A good part of the safety programme will focus on domestic ferry safety and build on discussions held at the Africa Ferry Safety Seminar hosted by Interferry and International Maritime Organization in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in April 2024. Other discussions will focus on all areas of operational security, including physical security concerns pertaining to ports and ships and increasing cybersecurity risks as technology is moving faster than ever before. The sessions focusing on sustainability will continue to highlight zero-emission solutions and include presentations on sustainable ship construction and interiors. Building on one of our key initiatives from Interferry’s new three-year strategic plan, I want to urge governments and electricity utilities to prioritise investments in onshore power supply (OPS) development to help the ferry sector maintain its lead in maritime electrification and hybridisation. Ferries provide lifeline and essential services to communities across the globe, carrying around 4.3 billion passengers and 373 million vehicles, according to a study conducted by Oxford Economics on Interferry’s behalf. The relatively short distances covered by ferries warrant battery-electric propulsion. Operating battery-electric vessels also means the ferry industry doesn’t have to tap into the limited resources of alternative fuels. However, as long as governments and electricity utilities don’t prioritise the strategic rollout of OPS, ferry operators remain in limbo with regard to ordering new fully electric or hybrid ships. As many governments have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, a carbon tax – for example the European Union’s Emissions Trading System – it would only be fair to reinvest a good portion of these revenues in OPS infrastructure. As long as governments are reluctant to put their shoulder to the wheel, it will be almost impossible for the ferry sector to meet ambitious national and global decarbonisation targets, jeopardising the essential lifeline services offered by ferries. COMMENTARY
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