Singapore – The potential for shipping routes and maritime hubs’ actions to reduce shipping’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support maritime decarbonisation was examined during the IMO-Singapore NextGEN Workshop on Development of a Route-based Action Plan Methodology, held in Singapore from the 5th to 6th of October 2023.
The workshop was organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Norway. In line with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, the aim was to raise awareness on actions to reduce GHG emissions from ships and foster cooperation along shipping routes with stakeholders across the whole value chain to aggregate demand and support energy transition.
Some 40 participants representing ports and national administrations responsible for policy development, participated in the two-day workshop i.e., Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, as well as multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Cheryl Rita, Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for Straits of Malacca (SOM) of the Maritime Industry of Malaysia (MIMA) participated alongside representatives from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) Malaysia and Malaysia Marine Department (MMD).
During the forum, the Chief Executive of MPA, Mr Teo Eng Dih, iterated the need for a collective and inclusive approach to enhance supply chains and examine cost-effective approaches to support energy transition and decarbonise international shipping. The forum also showcased that a gathering of a multi-national group to examine route-based measures for the Asian region is encouraging, given the economic vibrancy and growth potential.
As the background, the route-based action plan methodology presented at the workshop was developed by the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub (LR MDH). LR MDH was awarded the winner of the IMO-Singapore NextGEN Connect Challenge in April 2023 for their proposal on “Development of a Route-based Action Plan Methodology based on Silk Alliance”.
The workshop followed the signing of a Memorandom of Understanding (MoU) in March 2023 between the IMO GreenVoyage2050 project and the IMO-Singapore NextGEN Connect Initiative, to combine efforts and technical expertise to exchange best practices and raise collective readiness to facilitate the implementation of route-based actions to support shipping community and energy transition.
MIMA is happy to be involved directly in efforts towards realising the IMO aspirations on maritime decarbonisation, and will continue to play an active role in addressing national policy advisory needs on the area.
