Interferry, the international association representing ferry companies, took her time, maybe even too much given the impact that the regulatory proposal may have on the activity of the European associates, to comment on the proposal for the revision of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) presented by the European Commission last July ( of 17 July 2026).

Today, Interverry has expressed its support for the proposal believing that 'it has significant potential to accelerate the maritime decarbonisation, provided that the final text ensures accessible shore-side power infrastructure, and reliable grid connections, through obligations for Member States and more robust funding mechanisms'. The reference is to the availability in ports of plants of onshore power supply (cold ironing) that allow ships to connect to the shore power supply by turning off the auxiliary motors on board.

The association, in fact, highlighted that "the expansion of the of hybrid and battery-electric ferry operations depends on EU passenger ports' compliance with the legal obligations relating to the supply of energy from shore. The Member States must also ensure that local networks are in a able to provide sufficient electricity for the ports can recharge hybrid and electric ships without compromising regional energy supplies".

In addition, Interferry has called for that in order to support the transition energy in the maritime sector, legislators should decide to allocate 100% of the revenues generated by the ETS applied to the maritime sector to decarbonise the sector, by encouraging the production of sustainable marine fuels in the EU, the development of clean technologies and the construction of infrastructures of ground charging. This request is not met by what is currently provided for in the proposal for the revision of the Commission introducing a general constraint of at least 50% of the total ETS revenues (not specifically maritime) towards a Broad list of priority areas - clean energy, industrial decarbonization, maritime and air transport, management waste, etc. - leaving the choice to Member States as to how allocate this 50% among the different priorities.

Finally, the association of ferry companies, specifying its support for the mechanism proposed by the Commission to Sustainable Alternative Marine Propulsion (SMAP), highlighted the existence of the concrete risk that the demand exceeds the available funds. Interferry specified that the amount estimated at one billion euros per year must in fact cover the entire maritime sector, including ferry transport, and noted that Member States should therefore integrate the SMAP funding with targeted national support measures. The fear expressed by Interferry is confirmed by the text of revision, which states that "if for a given year the demand is higher than availability, the quantity of allowances shall be reduced uniformly for all shipping companies involved in the assignment for the year in question", thus confirming that there is no guarantee of full coverage of demand. The proposal allows yes that the SMAP assignment can "take into account any support under other schemes at national, Union or which opens the door to support schemes national complementary, but does not impose or encourage Member States explicitly to set up national support targeted, as requested by Interferry.

For the association, the review must also define a path clear and predictable so that zero-emission operators early access to SMAP funds since, although operators of fully electric ferries are not required to surrender emission allowances, they still have to bear large initial investment costs.

In the light of Interferry's comments, it appears It is difficult to understand what aspects of the proposal to revise the European Commission meet with the approval of the association. If the proposed revision substantially strengthens the ETS funding for maritime decarbonisation and recognises explicitly ship electrification as an eligible area, however, on the four more specific points raised by Interferry - state obligations on OPS/network, 100% ring-fencing maritime revenues, national financing guarantee complementary to the SMAP, and early access to funds for operators with zero emissions - the text does not introduce binding provisions, leaving these aspects to different instruments (AFIR, FuelEU Maritime), with which an explicit coordination, or the discretion of the Member States.