With a little courage and will shipping could save the community millions

The question of Stockholm's future fuel supply has been an issue for many years. Over 3.5 million tons of fuel products are transported by trucks in Stockholm and the Greater Stockholm region. A new report shows that important gains can be made by instead using inland waterway transports.

The City of Stockholm and Nacka Municipality have long since decided that the oil depots of Loudden and Bergs are to close. Meanwhile, Port of Södertälje has been granted permission to expand operations at the Fuel Terminal. With the new regulatory framework for inland navigation that has now been introduced in Sweden, there is reason to look closer at the types of transport that may be relevant. A number of investigations have been carried out, by Transek and WSP, and other studies currently underway concerning the issue.

New report highlights shipping opportunities

Studying the possibility of distributing liquid fuel via inland waterways has been demonstrated as a possible alternative to the increased transport on land. WSP demonstrates this in its study on Stockholm's future fuel supply following the closure of the Loudden and Bergs fuel terminals.

Thanks to public funding for research and innovation in the maritime sector, the Maritime Administration has now had the opportunity to further deepen its knowledge of inland waterways, transport opportunities, risks and other influencing factors. The Swedish Transport Agency, Port of Södertälje, the City of Stockholm and Avatar Logistics AB have all taken part in this project and three interim reports have been authored by a consulting firm with proven experience of similar projects.

Important economic gains

In the new report it is noted that the analysis shows the socio-economic profitability of the replacement of road transport to transport by so-called IVV vessels, i.e. via inland waterways. Annually, around 40-46 million SEK could be saved through reducing road wear, transports and accident costs. The amount of emissions decreases clearly when we replace parts of road transports to IVV vessels, corresponding to 2.5 - 2.8 million kg of carbon dioxide annually.

The report also shows that even the non-priced effects are deemed to be positive. Depending on whether tanker traffic would be replaced by IVV vessels at low or peak hours and, calculated against the congestion benefits that arise for other road users, this would contribute to savings of up to 20 million SEK.

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