16 June 2021
Cleaner port city territories to celebrate the World Ocean Day
Many port cities are showing a strong commitment to protect the local ecosystem, improving the water quality, and reducing emissions. For example, with the...
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Aside from the economic benefits it brings to the city, the port is often seen as a source of negative externalities. The quality of the city-port relationship—a key focus for AIVP—depends largely on the port’s ability to ensure a safe and healthy environment for its workers and for people living nearby. This begins with the implementation of an independent and transparent monitoring system for air and water quality, as well as noise, odor, soil, and light pollution.
These monitoring tools will enable the port to identify the environmental impacts it causes and take appropriate action. If these impacts exceed recommended levels, the port will need to invest in greener port equipment, implement new regulations, and take measures to reduce pollution.
To improve the quality of life for residents in port cities and protect their health, the AIVP has identified five priorities for action:
Independent environmental monitoring is a prerequisite for any real improvement in the quality of life in port areas. Without reliable, publicly available data, local residents cannot assess how their situation is changing, policymakers cannot set measurable improvement targets, and port operators have no incentive to reduce their environmental impacts. Fixed or mobile environmental sensor networks, air quality monitoring balloons, and water quality monitoring buoys: these devices exist and must be systematically deployed in port areas.
Example — Istanbul Galataport (Istanbul, Turkey)
Seawater quality, particulate matter and dust levels, and noise levels are measured quarterly. Marine ecology is monitored annually. This data allows for continuous assessment of the project’s actual environmental impact and enables adjustments to protective measures.
Ports are major consumers of water: terminal cleaning, firefighting, industrial processes, green spaces, and restroom facilities for crews. Against a backdrop of growing water stress in many coastal regions, optimizing water consumption has become an economic and environmental imperative. Rainwater harvesting, graywater reuse, the adoption of sustainable irrigation practices, and the installation of leak detectors can significantly reduce water consumption in port areas.
Example — Redevelopment of a Multihull Spot (Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France)
The nautical hub incorporates smart water-saving systems into its very design, with green practices for water resource management throughout the facilities’ lifecycle—an approach consistent with the location of the site in the Rhône Delta, an area facing significant ecological challenges.
The transition of port equipment to less polluting technologies is both technically feasible and economically viable in the long term. Electric or hydrogen-powered material-handling equipment, low-light-emission LED lighting, filtering quay surfaces, dust collection systems, and absorbent materials in bulk cargo loading areas: the range of available solutions is broad. Supporting port operators in making this investment—through tailored financing mechanisms, phased regulatory requirements, and valuable environmental certifications—is a priority.
Example — Istanbul Galataport (Istanbul, Turkey)
The buildings’ air conditioning systems are powered by seawater, eliminating the use of refrigerants with high global warming potential. Green roofs reduce the urban heat island effect. The entire project was designed to minimize its environmental footprint at every stage, from construction to day-to-day operations.
Port fees and pricing policies are powerful tools for influencing the behavior of shipowners and shipping companies. By adjusting port fees based on ships’ environmental performance—SOx, NOx, and CO₂ emissions, noise levels, and the presence of a ballast water treatment system—ports can create significant economic incentives for the decarbonization of the global fleet. Systems such as the Green Award or the ESI environmental indices are already being used by several major ports for this purpose.
Example — Port of Montreal’s Grand Quay (Montreal, Canada)
The terminal’s comprehensive renovation includes shore power for cruise ships, allowing them to shut down their auxiliary engines as soon as they dock. This technology directly reduces air pollutant emissions in Old Montreal, one of Canada’s most visited historic districts.
Cruise tourism can represent a significant economic opportunity for port cities, but it also places considerable strain on historic districts, urban infrastructure, and residents’ quality of life. Setting maximum visitor capacity limits based on the city’s actual capacity, spacing out port calls over time, developing tours into the hinterland to disperse visitor flows, and imposing strict environmental standards on cruise ships: these are all measures that port cities can implement to strike a balance between tourist appeal and quality of life.
Example — Istanbul Galataport (Istanbul, Turkey)
The unique system of 176 independent hydraulic hatches creates a temporary customs zone only where the ship is docked, and instantly clears the rest of the waterfront as soon as the ship departs. The city regains control of its waterfront at the end of each port call—an ingenious technical solution to the challenge of balancing cruise ship operations with urban life.
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