Is it possible to improve and enhance maritime transport and, at the same time, contribute to reduce emissions in the field of mobility? The pathway towards a more sustainable ferry transportation can now benefit from a new and effective routing tool. This is thanks to the GUTTA project – savinG fUel and emissions from mariTime Transport in the Adriatic region, funded by the Interreg Italy-Croatia Programme, and coordinated by the CMCC Foundation. The major outcomes of the project were presented today during a workshop open to the public.

Images at the following link 

LECCE, 4 May 2022 – The project GUTTA – savinG fUel and emissions from mariTime Transport in the Adriatic region, funded by the Interreg V-A Italy-Croatia Programme presented its results today during the public workshop  “Journey of a droplet to the ocean of decarbonisation”. The GUTTA project aims at reducing the carbon footprint of ferry routes between Italy and Croatia, by means of an automated route optimization tool, to enhance cross-border connectivity, and assess the role of COVID-19 on ferry transportation. During the workshop, the project illustrated GUTTA-VISIR, the decision support system devised for computing least-CO2 ferry routes in the Adriatic Sea.

The event involved several experts coming from different European countries in order to present the state of the art of maritime decarbonisation from multiple viewpoints: the regulatory institutions, the research and academia, the industry, and an environmental NGO. A special focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the maritime sector was made, and how it may have affected its pathway towards its decarbonisation. Indeed, the workshop provided insights on how the measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic impacted maritime transport, presenting several scientific studies and research. As a case study, the workshop presented the results of a study exploring the possible role of ferries in triggering the second wave of COVID-19 in Croatia, showing that this was not the case.

The project

GUTTA is a cross-border cooperation project, including in its consortium actors from academia, the industry, and the public sector from both Italy and Croatia. The project aims at improving and enhancing maritime transport and, at the same time, contributing at  reducing emissions from this sector. More in detail, GUTTA project aims at reducing the carbon footprint of ferry routes between Italy and Croatia, by means of route optimization tools, to enhance cross-border connectivity, and assess the role of COVID-19 on ferry transportation.

GUTTA-VISIR is a decision support tool devised for computing least-CO2 ferry routes, depending on forecast meteo-oceanographic conditions in the Adriatic Sea. It represents the key outcome of GUTTA project and embodies its aims to  make ship route optimization an easy-to-access service, for the benefit of both navigation and climate. The tool is based on three main components: the environmental forecasts of waves and sea-surface currents provided by the Copernicus Marine Service; the VISIR ship routing model; and a web application for browsing and exploring its results, both graphs and numerical data.

Operational runs of VISIR are performed at the CMCC Supercomputing Center in Lecce, Italy. Every day, the GUTTA-VISIR web service makes available more than seven thousand fresh routes in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, freely available and downloadable from the web.
The seakeeping and CO2 emissions of a ferry were estimated through data collected from a ship simulator installed at the University of Zadar (Croatia), a partner of the GUTTA project. The CO2 and Carbon Intensity Indicator savings obtained through VISIR are computed for routes between various ports, departure times, and ship’s engine loads.
A user-friendly interface enables users browsing least-CO2 routes and can support the decision-making process, before and during navigation: this is the main tool provided by the project to contribute to the decarbonization of the maritime sector.

Coordinated by the CMCC Foundation, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), GUTTA includes among its partners Mare Nostrum – Croatian Shipowners’ Association, the University of Zadar, the Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, and the Port System Authority of the Southern Adriatic Sea.

For further information, visit the official web-pages of the GUTTA project on the CMCC website and on the Interreg Italy-Croatia website.

Key-Data – the GUTTA project in numbers

• Funded by Interreg V-A Italy-Croatia Programme 2014-2020
• ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) quota of 1,020,000 EUR
• Duration: 42 months, from January 2019 to June 2022
• Budget: 1,200,000 EUR
• 5 Partners: CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterrannean Center on Climate Change (CMCC, Lead Partner), Mare Nostrum – Croatian Shipowners’ Association, University of Zadar, Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport, and Infrastructure, Port System Authority of the Southern Adriatic Sea.

Main outcomes of the GUTTA project

1. The GUTTA-VISIR operational system for computing least-CO2 ferry routes in the Adriatic and Northern Ionian seas, based on meteo-oceanographic forecasting products of the Copernicus Marine service

• Watch the final video of the project and explore all the functionalities of GUTTA-VISIR: https://youtu.be/JyEhrcsK19A
• The WebApp GUTTA-VISIR:  https://www.gutta-visir.eu/
• The paper:
  Towards Least-CO2 Ferry Routes in the Adriatic Sea
  Mannarini G., Carelli L., Orović J., Martinkus C.P., Coppini G.
  2021, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9 (2), DOI: 10.3390/jmse9020115

2.The assessment of COVID-19 impacts on ferry transport in the whole Europe.
Data from the THETIS service by EMSA, the European Maritime Safety Agency, were used.
For further information, read the paper:
How COVID-19 Affected GHG Emissions of Ferries in Europe
Mannarini G., Salinas M.L., Carelli L., Fassò A.
2022, Sustainability, 14(9), 5287, DOI: 10.3390/su14095287

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The workshop

 Watch the live streaming!

Maritime transportation represents the backbone of the global supply chain and has a significant environmental impact on both the oceans and the climate: shipping, being responsible of about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, significantly contributes to climate change and its detrimental consequences for the functioning of the ecosystems, the human wellbeing, and the stability of societies. For the past few years, the sector has undertaken a path to reduce its carbon footprint, driven by preliminary regulatory steps and followed by some industry actions.
However, the challenges for a sustainable energy transition of the maritime sector remain high: technology readiness, scalable availability of zero carbon fuels, port infrastructures and logistics, and business models still need to progress much, at a time of rising market demand, shortage of commodities, geopolitical risks, and global concern for new pandemic waves and health crises. 

The workshop addressed some important topics related to the maritime sector and relevant for the economy and politics, such as the newest European legislative proposals about energy and emissions (e.g. fitfor55), or the technological innovation and strategies for a transition to zero-carbon alternative fuels, highlighting remaining gaps, challenges to address, opportunities and perspectives. The COVID-19 pandemic as a macroeconomic shock, its impact on the global supply chain, and lessons learned from an analysis of what happened, was another key topic addressed during the workshop.

The workshop is endorsed by IOC-UNESCO in the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and by the European Commission as an event of the initiative “European Maritime Day in my Country” (#EMDin My Country).