Rewarding green ships

The Isle of Man Ship Registry (IOMSR) said it will become the first flag state in the world to incentivise ship owners by offering reduced registration fees for ships deploying green technology.

”There is so much debate in the sector regarding which alternative fuels will be best in the future which conversely can create confusion and delay innovation,” said Cameron Mitchell, director of the IOMSR

”We want to jump start work in this area with this new green registration fee and state clearly that if you are a shipping line making steps towards hitting IMO Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions targets, the Isle of Man flag will reward you. We want to welcome more new, greener ships to our fleet.”

Green discount

The green discount will give ship owners a 15% reduction on their annual registration fee. The reduced fee is available to operators of cargo ships, commercial yachts or passenger ships which are investing in biofuel, alternative fuels, wind, or shore-side energy technology.

The IOMSR green registration fee applies to vessels which can provide evidence of using biofuel or biofuel blends as the primary source of fuel for a period of not less than 120 days during the 12 months preceding the 1 April.

It will also apply to a vessel’s ability to use alternative fuel – liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, hydrogen enriched fuel, fuel cells, or battery systems.

A reduced fee will also be awarded to a vessel able to use wind assisted propulsion or wind energy for power generation or shore-side energy to provide continuous electrical power to its equipment while it loads or unloads its cargo at berth with its main and auxiliary engines turned off.

The new green registration fee forms part of the Isle of Man Government’s Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2022, which will be submitted to Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man, for approval at its sitting in March 2022.

These regulations set out the IOMSR fees from 1 April 2022.