Ferry connections between the mainland and islands of the Central Baltic form an important part of the intermodal transport chains linking islands to mainland. Decarbonizing maritime transport is a pressing global imperative. The new international project REISFER aims to improve the intermodal nodes in island ferry traffic by reducing CO₂ emissions by 10 – 20 % on selected routes in Estonia, Finland, Åland and Sweden.
The maritime industry’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has prompted a paradigm shift, necessitating innovative approaches to minimise greenhouse gas emissions. While larger vessels often dominate the discussions on emission reduction, the persistent trend towards decarbonizing smaller ferries presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities.
The low-carbon fuels and electrification of ferries are developing fast. Additionally, the organizational improvements of the whole ferry transport system (e.g. routing, scheduling, enhanced digitalisation) along with different technological improvements can also provide significant potential to decrease CO2 emissions. These elements are explored jointly through several pilot activities to provide added value and cost-efficiency to each partner. “Sharing knowledge and best practices is in the heart of the REISFER project”, says Professor Ulla Tapaninen from TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy.
The REISFER project is funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Programme 2021-2027 and co-funded by the European Union. The project will run from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027. It includes 9 partners from three Baltic Sea region countries – Estonia, Finland (including the Åland islands) and Sweden:
- Lead Partner Estonian Maritime Academy of Tallinn University of Technology
contact Kadi Kasepõld ([email protected]) and Ulla Tapaninen ([email protected]) - University of Turku (FI)
- Blidösundsbolaget (SE)
- Kihnu Veeteed (EE)
- FinFerries (FI)
- Estonian State Fleet (EE)
- Government of Åland (AX)
- Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (SE)
- Suomenlinnan Liikenne Oy (FI)
This article was first published on 4 April by TalTech.
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