The Spanish Shipowners’ Association (ANAVE) has demanded that the revenue generated by the inclusion of maritime transport in the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) be allocated to financing the decarbonisation of the sector. This was defended by its president, Vicente Boluda, during the event held after the organisation’s General Assembly in Madrid, on the eve of the review of the maritime ETS that the European Commission plans to address in mid-July.
Boluda called for Spain to attend that debate with a firm position aligned with the conclusions recently approved by the Transport Council on the European Maritime Industrial Strategy.
According to data from the European Commission, shipping companies subject to the Spanish administration delivered more than five million emission allowances in the first year of the system, with an approximate value of 380 million euros. Forecasts indicate that this figure will exceed 5,000 million euros accumulated by 2030, while the National Maritime Transport Decarbonisation Plan contemplates an allocation of 250 million between 2026 and 2030. “The imbalance is evident,” Boluda stated.
Boluda: “The revenue from the maritime ETS must return to the maritime sector”
The president of ANAVE argued that these resources should be used to finance “the renewal of ships, the adaptation of existing units, energy efficiency, renewable fuels, OPS systems, and the reduction of the cost differential of low-emission alternatives.” He also demanded that the aid have agile, technologically neutral regulatory bases, adapted both to new builds and to the modernisation of the existing fleet.
Boluda also argued that the revision of the ETS should serve to prepare for convergence with the future international framework being developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), preventing Europe from consolidating a permanent regional system.
In this regard, he warned that an exclusively European regulation could generate distortions in the competitiveness of maritime transport.
Furthermore, he warned that maintaining two different carbon regulation systems could make European logistics chains more expensive, divert port calls, and harm competitiveness without achieving an effective reduction in emissions on a global scale.
ANAVE also requested the maintenance and expansion of the exemptions applicable to the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, considering that they will continue to depend on maritime transport to guarantee their connectivity and supply beyond 2030.
Boluda argued that penalising these services “provides a very limited climate advantage and makes life more expensive for their residents.” He also asked that the revision of the ETS avoid a transfer of goods from maritime transport to road transport, as, he stated, this would go “against the environmental objectives pursued by European regulations.”
Coinciding with the International Day of the Seafarer, the president of ANAVE wanted to recognize the work of the crews and recalled that the functioning of maritime transport depends on those who operate the ships.
With reference to the international geopolitical situation and the restrictions affecting some of the main energy routes, he called for greater institutional support and close coordination between the maritime administration and diplomatic action to protect seafarers.
Boluda: «Freedom of navigation and the protection of seafarers are not sectoral matters. They are matters of State»
Boluda further emphasized that crew safety must be placed above any other consideration and asked that all channels of action be kept open when a ship and its crew become trapped in an international crisis.
During his speech, the president of ANAVE positively assessed the approval of the Maritime Strategy of Spain 2025-2050, although he insisted that it must now move to the execution phase through a defined timetable, budget, responsible parties and monitoring mechanisms. He also called for the launch of the Maritime Advisory Committee (COMMAR) as the governing body of said strategy.
Likewise, he expressed his concern over the loss of competitiveness of the Spanish merchant marine and over the evolution of the Special Register of the Canary Islands, recalling that tonnage under the Spanish flag has fallen below two million GT for the first time in more than two decades. Finally, he asked to expedite the call for subsidies for the embarkation of trainee students for 2026 and reiterated the need for maritime transport to have a stable international regulatory framework and sufficient resources to face its energy transition.
