On 27th October in Düsseldorf, seventeen parties from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom started the European LIFE project - CLINSH, or CLean INland SHipping.

More than 90 people attended the Kick off meeting. The conference was opened by President-director Thomas Delschen of LANUV Nordrhein-Westfalen and Rik Janssen, regional Minister of the province of Zuid-Holland. Other speakers were Mr Guido de Wilt from the European Commission and Mr Hans van der Werf, the secretary-general of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.

The Province of Zuid-Holland and the Port of Antwerp gave presentations on CLINSH and the demonstration project, respectively.

Real time monitoring of the emissions is important. The inland shipping industry is facing a challenge in terms of sustainability. That means that the sector has to invest in cleaner ships. This is because the international requirements relating to energy-saving and cleaner air are becoming stricter. Customers, too, are increasingly setting good environmental performance as a precondition for the purchase of services.

The CLINSH project is there to support the inland shipping sector. The sector is a reliable partner when it comes to transporting large volumes and specific products. To remain competitive in the future, the sector must invest in cleaner ships now.