Port of Québec celebrates new partnership as RightShip supports EcoCargo emissions reduction initiative

RightShip, the world’s leading maritime due diligence organisation, is pleased to announce that the oldest port in Canada - the Port of Québec - joins a growing list of organisations using its proprietary greenhouse gas (GHG) rating tool, to assess the emissions of ships entering its waters. The Port now offers discounts on port fees to vessels, dependent on their GHG Rating and emission efficiency.

RightShip’s GHG Rating provides a transparent method to assess the relative efficiency of vessels and compare a ship’s CO₂ emissions relative to peer vessels of a similar size and type, using an easy-to-interpret A to G scale.

Using the RightShip rating system enables the Port of Québec to measure - and then manage - the emissions of vessels travelling in and out of the 35km² (14m²) site via its EcoCargo initiative. EcoCargo is designed to drive shipping decarbonisation through fee reduction incentives based on RightShip data or by a ship owner’s level of achievement within the Green Marine environmental certification program. This initiative could help reduce potentially harmful effects on local populations and environment, ultimately creating a safer landscape with improved air quality.

As Port of Québec CEO Mario Girard explained: “Environmental management is more than just an obligation for us: it’s a civic responsibility and business priority as well. It is our profound conviction that the long-term development of the maritime industry is directly linked to the way ports and other industry actors prioritise innovative environmental measures as they conduct business.

“That’s why we want to encourage others to think the way we do, with discounts applied to harbour dues for those committing to think sustainably. Different RightShip GHG ratings earn different discounts for ship owners, beginning with a 30% discount for an A rating, 20% for a B rating, and 10% for a C rating. With this incentive, we are rewarding the best performances in ship emissions. It’s a constructive approach that allows ship owners to save on fees, while also lessening our collective carbon footprint.”

Tam Pham, Senior Sustainability Advisor at RightShip, commented: “We’re proud to be driving reporting that can incentivise the maritime industry to increase its energy efficiency through the EcoCargo scheme with the Québec Port Authority. While government incentives are key for decarbonisation, ports and terminals also shoulder the responsibility of making zero-harm shipping cost-effective, in an industry which can often see a lag between innovation and uptake due to long lead times on vessel upgrades and retrofits.”

“We’re confident that we can work with partners across the globe to increase the number of ports using schemes like this one. From South America to Africa to Asia, it is clear ports are taking decarbonisation seriously through this and other green schemes – it’s our role to make their ideas measurable and documented.”

RightShip CEO, Steen Lund, added: “We enable thousands of voyagers a year to complete safe and sustainable journeys. The power of collaboration is in RightShip’s DNA. We know we share an industry-wide desire to deliver zero-harm shipping and working in partnership with the Port of Québec and others shows that we can help make a zero-harm maritime industry possible.”

RightShip are also in talks to initiate similar programmes across South America and APAC.