Viana do Castelo, Portugal, Dec. 15, 2025 (Lusa) - The leader of Portugal's Ocean Forum, Rúben Eiras, said on Monday that decarbonising the shipbuilding and repair sector by 2050 represents "a huge challenge" for companies, but "opens up new business opportunities".
"The Portuguese shipbuilding industry has an opportunity in decarbonisation, provided that this is carried out with a business strategy, i.e., seizing market niches that have customers and demand," he said.
The leader of Fórum Oceano, which together with the Alto Minho Business Confederation (Ceval) drew up the Zero Carbon Naval Roadmap (RNCZ) for the Shipbuilding, Repair and Maintenance (CRMN) sector, presented today in Viana do Castelo, said that to "take action" on decarbonisation "it takes commitment and courage to get started, but with rationality".
Rúben Eiras pointed out that the roadmap's goals include a focus on "energy efficiency management systems, dual-fuel propulsion systems and rigid sails, which are beginning to be in high demand by shipowners for integration into ships".
He also said that the electrification and automation of shipyards help to reduce material production costs.
Energy efficiency of materials, renewable energy, replacement of fossil fuels, electrification and digitisation are decarbonisation actions proposed in the Zero Carbon Naval Roadmap (RNCZ).
The document points to the lack of skilled labour as a barrier to decarbonisation in the shipbuilding industry, which, according to companies, is due to "the loss of technicians to competing sectors, aggravated by a lack of training".
Bureaucracy and regulation, infrastructure and energy, due to limitations on the installation of renewable energy, problems with bank financing and delays in the payment of public funds also hinder decarbonisation.
Luís Ceia, leader of the Alto Minho Business Confederation, Ceval, said that the roadmap "is a strategic document that was lacking in the shipbuilding ecosystem" and that "it puts sustainability on the agenda".
Luís Ceia warned of the need for "a balance between business competitiveness and sustainability," calling for "streamlining, simplification, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the process of accessing funds earmarked for this area."
In presenting the roadmap, Gonçalo Santos, from Fórum Oceano, pointed out that "in Portugal, which accounts for less than 1% of world production, around 30 to 40% of the 7,000 workers in the naval industry are over 50 years old", which translates, among other problems, into "an increased risk of accidents at work and the retention and attraction of skilled labour".
"It is a very serious problem. It is difficult to find skilled labour. The overwhelming majority of shipbuilding companies are small and medium-sized enterprises that have difficulties in this area," he stressed.
The public session to present the roadmap, which is still ongoing, includes round tables, one national and one international, which brought together industry, authorities, academia and European clusters within the scope of the Reverse Mission.
The roadmap was presented "after about a year and a half of analysis, workshops and consultation sessions across the country, involving various players in the sector".
The initiative aimed to link the technical knowledge produced (diagnosis, scenarios, decarbonisation vectors and trajectories) with the involvement of public decision-makers, national industry, academia and European clusters, creating a moment of validation, commitment and mobilisation for the implementation of the roadmap by 2050.
The guide is co-financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and NextGenerationEU funds.
The Ocean Forum is the managing entity of the Portuguese Sea Cluster, certified and recognised by the ministry of economy and maritime affairs, the ministry of national defence and the ministry of planning and infrastructure.
The Ocean Forum has more than 175 members from a wide range of sectors of the economy and maritime affairs, including public and private companies, business associations, R&D centres, educational institutions, local authorities and other associative organisations.
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