Port emissions tax will affect 80% of ships docking in Barcelona 

The new tax on port emissions will affect 80% of ships that dock in Barcelona, climate action minister David Mascort announced on Friday.

The draft of the new pollution tax on large ships has been completed, with Mascort's department calculating that ships will pay an average of €759. 

The government expects to collect around €7.5m a year. 

The minister is confident that the tax will come into force next year and claims that it will not have a deterrent effect: "We are not talking about large fees," he said. 

Ships travelling to or from the Balearic Islands, those that dock due to force majeure and those that do so for humanitarian reasons will all be exempt from paying the tax. 

The new measure aims to be an incentive to ensure that large vessels with a capacity or volume greater than 5,000 gross tonnage (GT) that dock in Catalan ports reduce their emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particles (PM), "without causing an inconvenience to economic activity." 

One euro per tonne 

The department estimates that ships will pay an average of €759. Specifically, they estimate that 78% will pay €1,000 or less, 60% will pay €500 euros or less, and 44% will pay €300 or less.  

"We are not talking about large quotas that deter ships from coming to Barcelona," Mascort insisted, pointing out that the fee is €1 per tonne. 

On average, cruise ships will pay €1,440, oil tankers will pay €3,000 euros, and container ships will pay €445. 

The income derived from the will be used to fund the green transition. 

In three years, the measure will be reviewed. "If there is no positive development during this period, we will have to increase the quota," the minister said, adding that ships are responsible for 19% of emissions in Catalonia. 

Cruise ships podcast 

Barcelona is Europe's busiest cruise port, with around 800 cruise ships carrying more than 3 million passengers a year. 

Listen below to the Filling the Sink podcast on the cruise industry's economic impact, environmental issues and its role in the debate on tourism.