Inland shipping is also facing the challenge of becoming greener towards (near) zero-emission transport. At the same time, inland shipping is a fragmented market in which the supply side is dominated by very small enterprises, often operating a single vessel (or coupled convoy). Dutch vessels hold a large market share in European inland navigation, particularly in the larger vessel segments. Much of the transport by water is arranged via the spot market. As a result, under normal economic conditions there is almost continuous pressure on freight rates and profit margins are minimal.
For such small operators, absorbing the transition to zero-emission transport—and the associated additional costs—is difficult, as insufficient equity has been built up to invest, the additional costs cannot be recovered, and bank financing is hard to obtain. Therefore, Top Sector Logistics wanted to investigate whether there is financial options within the supply chain to initiate this transition.
Central research question: How can zero-emission inland shipping be achieved by 2050 while maintaining the competitive position of the sector? In this report, CE Delft has examined this together with Panteia, EICB, and TNO. The report is only available in Dutch.