Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the availability of shore power and alternative fuel infrastructure for ferry operators serving the Isle of Wight.

The policies set out in the Government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy will encourage more shore power or alternative fuel availability for ferry operators, by incentivising investment in maritime decarbonisation across the UK and in our ports.

This Government will continue to work with Ofgem, the independent energy regulator, in its work to incentivise network companies to invest strategically ahead of need, ensuring that future grid capacity planning reflects the emerging demands from electrifying sectors, including the Isle of Wight ferry market.

Through our UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions research programme, we have awarded nearly £580k funding to support a feasibility study, which is looking into options for providing shore power for the existing Wightlink FastCat ferry service.