SEA Europe (Shipyards' & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe)

📢 SEA Europe, the association of European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, unveils today its policy recommendations for a European Maritime Industrial Strategy. 🚢 🚨 Strenghtening commercial and naval shipbuilding capacity amidst a challenging global landscape will enable Europe to: ✅️ Fortify its economic resilience and secure its trade. ✅️ Achieve the Green Deal objectives in the maritime domain. ✅️ Bolster its naval defence capabilities, thereby ensuring its strategic autonomy. 🌐 🎯 To this end, by 2035, the European maritime technology industry aims to supply 10,000 sustainable and digitalised vessels to strategic sectors of the European Blue Economy, said Christophe Tytgat, Secretary-General of SEA Europe. 🛳⛴️ ⚓️ To achieve this goal, we call upon EU policymakers to put in place a supportive policy framework bolstering technological leadership, fostering investments, and nurturing a skilled workforce. 🥇💶👷🏻♂️ 🇪🇺 European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and European Commission, will you ride the blue tech wave with us? 🌊 Read SEA Europe's policy recommendations here 👇

How can European shipyards compete with Asia's shipbuilding giants? 🚢🌏 This was one of the question Dimitris Monioudis asked me today during Mare Forum’s online roundtable on maritime competitiveness, where I represented SEA Europe (Shipyards' & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe). ⚓️ My reply: Instead of competing with Asia in the mass production of large cargo ships, European shipyards can leverage their expertise in specialized markets driving the blue economy in Europe. 💡 Where is their expertise? ✅ RELIABILITY: High quality ships built with premium materials and cutting-edge technology. 🌟 ✅ SUSTAINABILITY: Low-emission vessels aligned with climate goals. 🌱 ✅ EFFICIENCY: Cost-effective designs and production processes integrated into a circular economy. ♻️ ✅ SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE: Tailored solutions to reduce shipowners' risky dependence on Chinese shipyards. 🛡️ 🔎 In which strategic markets for Europe's blue economy can they excel? ➡️ SUSTAINABLE AND DIGITALIZED WATERBORNE TRANSPORT IN EUROPE (short-sea shipping, inland navigation, passenger transport). EU policies can play a pivotal role in fostering this market by incentivizing a modal shift from road to water – a more sustainable and efficient alternative that reduces emissions and congestion. ⛴️ ➡️ SPECIALIZED VESSELS such as offshore support vessels, dredgers, cable-layers, icebreakers, fishing vessels, and research vessels – all vital for a resilient maritime economy. 🌊 ➡️ RETROFITTING FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND EFFICIENCY. Modernizing existing vessels to meet the highest environmental and operational standards. 🔧 How else can European shipyards stand out in the competitive shipbuilding market? ✨ ▶️ Watch the recording of the online roundtable: https://lnkd.in/ekE299by #Shipbuilding #MaritimeInnovation #BlueEconomy #Sustainability Ioannis (Jannis) Kostoulas Evina Fotiadou

The European Commission has published a first round of pledges from stakeholders under the Mobility Transition Pathway. 🔎💡 SEA Europe (Shipyards' & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe) was one of the leading organisations co-creating that Pathway, with the aim to boost sustainability, digitalization, and resilience in the European waterborne transport industrial ecosystem. 🌊⚓️ Check out the great pledges from the maritime technology industry! 🚢✨️ If you missed the first call for pledges, a new one is open. Details below.

The European Commission is calling for input to evaluate the EU Public Procurement Directives and subsequently revise them. 🔎 SEA Europe (Shipyards' & Maritime Equipment Association of Europe) outlined the following points: 🔹A strong European shipbuilding industry and maritime equipment supply chain is crucial for Europes economic security. It gives the European Union control over essential maritime technologies and thus the ability to build/construct ships and platforms vital for trade, (renewable) energy supply, and critical maritime and underwater infrastructures. 🚢 🌐 🔹In the context of the upcoming revision of Public Procurement Directives announced by President von der Leyen, SEA Europe calls upon the European Commission to integrate EU added value and non-price criteria into strategic licensing and auction procedures for key maritime projects such as wind farms, underwater infrastructure, dredging, ice breakers, ice-going vessels, ferry lines, and aquaculture. 🌊 ⚓ ▶️ https://lnkd.in/eYvbpBha

Maritime has been included as one of the sectors eligible for a slice of a €2.4 billion funding pie announced by the European Commission. The ‘Innovation Fund’ aims to support net-zero technologies and promote decarbonisation projects across different sectors, one of which is the maritime industry. SEA Europe, an organisation that represents European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, said it welcomed the opportunity – ‘especially the condition that shipbuilding and refurbishment projects must take place within Europe’, it said. “This aligns with the sector’s long-standing advocacy for reinforcing European maritime industries,” a statement said. SEA Europe’s vice chairmen include representatives from companies including VARD, Chantier Naval de Marseille, Damen, Kongsberg Maritime and Navantia, S.A., S.M.E. In September, it raised concerns about the lack of support from the EC for the maritime industry, including the issue of unfair competition from non-European shipyards. In response to an EC consultation released on draft rules for transport, SEA Europe said the proposed rules did not require vessels to be built or retrofitted in European shipyards, ‘potentially funnelling funds from EU countries to non-European competitors that often benefit from domestic subsidies, further disadvantaging European shipbuilders’. Focusing on inland waterways, it called for clearer eligibility criteria to ensure aid could be accessed by European stakeholders. “The Innovation Fund is pivotal in accelerating maritime decarbonisation efforts,” said secretary-general Christophe Tytgat. “It supports the development and scaling of cutting-edge technologies led by European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers. This call will bolster the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector, safeguard its technological leadership and revitalise its industrial capabilities.” Keep up to date with the latest industry news on Maritime Journal; https://lnkd.in/epUvhtmX

📢 New European Innovation Fund Call for Net-Zero Technologies: SEA Europe Applauds Focus on European Shipbuilding and Refurbishment. 🚢 The European Commission has announced a €2.4 billion funding call under the Innovation Fund, aimed at supporting net-zero technologies. This initiative will promote decarbonization projects across various scales and sectors, including the maritime sector. 🌱⚓️ SEA Europe, representing European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, enthusiastically welcomes this significant opportunity, especially the condition that shipbuilding and refurbishment projects must take place within Europe. This aligns with the sector's longstanding advocacy for reinforcing European maritime industries. 🇪🇺🛠️ Christophe Tytgat, Secretary-General of SEA Europe, emphasized: "The Innovation Fund is pivotal in accelerating maritime decarbonization efforts. It supports the development and scaling of cutting-edge technologies led by European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers. This call will bolster the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector, safeguard its technological leadership, and revitalize its industrial capabilities." 💡🌊🔧

📢 The SEA Naval Newsletter no. 8 is out - this edition, which covers both October and mid-November, includes: ⚓ news (published in the press) about #naval #capability development, #innovation, #EU policy, major contracts, news from our members, news from outside Europe, and finally updates on the #EDF #EuropeanDefenceFund projects in which SEA Naval actively participates as a permanent working group of SEA Europe, and ⚓ recommendations for further reading and podcasts/videos. We hope you enjoy reading this format!

Who will design and build the zero-carbon short-sea ship of the future? 🚢 I will share SEA Europe's ideas at the online Mare Forum discussion on December 19. 🌊 ⚠️ Spoiler: The shipyards of the future will be in Europe! ✨️ Register for free here: https://lnkd.in/dPiSE75V Thank you to Ioannis (Jannis) Kostoulas for the invitation!

📢 I am thrilled to announce my designation by the European Commission as the Coordinator for the shipbuilding industry within the EU Energy Transition Partnership for Fisheries and Aquaculture. 🎣⚡️ This Partnership brings together stakeholders to drive the decarbonization and energy transition of European fisheries and aquaculture, fostering resilience and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. ⛽️🌱 As one of ten sector coordinators – including fisheries, aquaculture, fish processing, shipbuilding, ports, research organizations, and NGOs – I will work with vessel designers, shipyards, technology developers, and equipment manufacturers to deliver actionable recommendations. 🚢⚓️ Together with the entire community, we will collaborate to shape a comprehensive roadmap, making climate-neutral fisheries and aquaculture a true European success story. 🎯✨️ 🔎 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eQ3pRGme SEA Europe, CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, Delilah Al Khudhairy, Ana Peralta Baptista, Manuel Pleguezuelo Alonso, Nathan G., Leonardo Manzari, Mihaela Mirea Candea

🗝 Keynote speaker of the day: Monia El faziki, Director of Social and EU Public Affairs at SEA Europe. The Shipyards' & Maritime Equipment Assocication of Europe (SEA Europe) represents the maritime technology industry in 16 countries, encompassing the production, maintenance, repair, retrofit and conversion of all types of ships and floating structures, commercial as well as naval, including the full supply chain with the various producers of maritime systems, equipment material, and services.