Is the Government listening?
Continuing our ongoing series of interviews, Robert Parton, managing director of Aqueduct Marina and president-elect of British Marine, talks to Phil Pickin about the recent discussions with the Minister for Maritime at the Department for Transport
A NUMBER of British Marine members recently attended a meeting with Lord Davies of Gower, the new Minister for Maritime at the Department for Transport, to outline the progress the industry is making to reduce carbon emissions as well as some of the challenges being encountered along the way. British Marine’s president-elect and owner of Aqueduct Marina, Robert Parton, took part in the meeting and has provided us with his views on what was discussed.
What must have been encouraging for the BM members who attended was that, in Robert’s opinion, “the minister was in listening mode” and that during a wideranging discussion, one of the subjects that would be of particular interest to the users of the waterways was that of HVO. He told us: “One of the most important points I wanted to make was that of the supply of hydrogenated vegetable oil for use on the waterways. With little, if any, HVO being produced in the UK combined with increasing demand as more diesel users look for low-carbon alternatives, there is always the potential for supply disruption.
“This potential problem, coupled with the significant price differential between HVO and mineral diesel, is not only putting off boat owners from buying the fuel but also causing marinas to think twice about investing in new HVO tanks and pumps, thus delaying the rollout of alternative fuels.”
Over the past two years, Aqueduct Marina has sold in the region of 50k litres of diesel against 2k litres of HVO, with the higher price and customers being unaware they can safely use HVO being some of the reasons for the lack of HVO sales. However, to help with the issue of price, the Government has introduced RTFCs (Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates), which wholesalers can apply for to reduce the duty charged on biofuels. This, it is hoped, will be passed on to consumers. Diesel outlets such as marinas will then be able to sell HVO under the same self-declaration process as currently used with standard diesel. This will help reduce the difference between the different types of fuel.
As Robert pointed out at the meeting: “We, like many other marinas, are having to consider the viability of the investment in the equipment needed to improve the provision of HVO to the boating community. We all want to do what we can to reduce carbon emissions, but we are concerned that the supplies of HVO that are coming into the country could well be swallowed up by the automotive and other industries, leaving little for us”.
With the use of HVO being just one way of reducing carbon emissions from the waterways, Robert reports that electrification was also discussed. “We highlighted the lack of infrastructure and the fact that marinas cannot make a profit from the electricity they supply to boats. This results in a lack of incentive to invest in new boat charging equipment. We pointed out that this used to be the case in the automotive sector until the rules were changed. As a result, EV chargers are far more widespread than in the past. The same needs to happen in the marine industry, along with an improvement in grid connectivity. These measures could well encourage more potential boat owners to opt for 100% electric sooner rather than later, especially in the shorter dayboat where electric propulsion works best.”
Robert added: “I felt that this meeting provided an invaluable chance for British Marine to get across the issues faced by the marina leisure sector and, as part of that, for Aqueduct Marina to be a representative for the inland waterways on this critical matter. The decarbonisation agenda is a challenge that poses both a significant threat but also significant opportunities for the UK marine trade.”
Some of the questions that came from this meeting have to be: was the Government listening to the points raised, and if it was, what is likely to happen as a result? Perhaps more importantly for the minister, the question of whether he will still be in post this time next year remains to be seen. This could possibly have more impact on the outcome of the meeting than anything else.
With serious bushfires in Chile, a lack of snow in the Alps and record January temperatures in Spain, let’s hope it is not all too little, too late.