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European shipping key for Europe’s security with 35% of global fleet

Ahead of the European Shipping Summit, European Shipowners release today a Deloitte study on the EU Shipping Competitiveness and a CE Delft study on the economic value of European shipping.

European shipping represents a geopolitical asset for Europe facilitating the export and import of goods, food and energy, a Deloitte study finds.

Whilst the EU represents around 15% of the global GDP, the European shipping fleet is one of the largest in the world, representing around 35% of the world fleet in terms of global tonnage across all segments, a CE Delft study finds. European shipping controls 30% of the world’s bulk carriers, 44% of container ships, 35% of tankers and 33% of LNG carriers, making it a leading force in global trade.

The Deloitte study highlights that the EU faces fiercer international competition as a preferred location for shipping activities today than ever before. The European fleet is growing steadily, but other fleets are growing faster. As geopolitical uncertainty grows, European shipping should be viewed as a geopolitical asset in the region, solidifying the EU’s leading position in international supply chains.

The study concludes that the current EU regulatory and taxation framework facilitates a competitive EU shipping sector. However, it highlights significant areas for improvement such as closing the investment gap for the uptake of clean tech and fuels, reducing administrative burden, and aligning with international regulations.

“Shipping is a cornerstone of Europe’s energy and supply chain security and is in the frontline of the energy transition. European shipping is a success story. Europe represents 35% of the global fleet against the EU’s 15% share of global GDP.

The European fleet and our tonnage have been growing, but others have been growing faster. For Europe to retain shipping as a geopolitical asset, we need to maintain its international competitiveness and invest in the energy transition.

Investing the EU and national ETS revenues in clean tech and clean fuels will make the whole maritime industrial cluster more competitive” said Sotiris Raptis, Secretary General of European Shipowners | ECSA.

The Deloitte study puts forward recommendations on four pillars:

Developing a forward-looking European maritime strategy
A new European maritime strategy could ensure the international competitiveness of European shipping, facilitate cooperation between EU maritime centres, promote the EU shipping cluster, and focus on the synergies between different centres of excellence.

With a strong shipping industry, Europe should be viewed as one unified centre with players covering various aspects of the maritime industry such as services, clean fuels, clean technologies, legal services, port infrastructure, and insurance.

Aligning and simplifying the regulatory and policy environment and reducing administrative burden
The EU could prioritise regulatory simplification to ensure alignment with international regulation at IMO and ILO level. Based on the historic IMO agreement of July 2023 to reach net-zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping by 2050, the IMO is preparing measures to implement these targets. The alignment of EU legislation with future IMO instruments will be essential to ensure a level playing field in the sector.

Closing the investment gap: supporting public investment and facilitating access to finance
The energy and digital transition of shipping requires immense investments. It is recommended to implement measures that guarantee access to adequate public and competitive private financing in the EU.

The earmarked revenues for the maritime sector under the Innovation Fund could be used to bridge the price gap between conventional and clean fuels and to support investments in clean technologies providing an additional incentive for suppliers to scale up industrial production in Europe. It is also recommended that additional funding instruments are introduced (such as the mechanism of Auctions as a-Service) which allows Member States to use EU ETS national revenues to top up EU funds.

Promoting upskilling and reskilling
Upcoming clean fuels and digital technologies will require new and additional skills, education, and operational training for seafarers. The energy and digital transition will require to upskill and reskill an estimated 800.000 seafarers in the next 10 years internationally and according to the Draghi report, 250.000 seafarers in Europe alone. The international framework of IMO STCW-convention should be strengthened and the framework for mutual certification recognition in the EU should be updated. The attractiveness of seafaring as a profession should also be enhanced.