MPA and global partners aim for 30% reduced GHG emissions in shipping corridor

The partnership seeks to develop near-zero fuels in large container vessels.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Rotterdam, and 20 other partners in the Green & Digital Shipping Corridor are seeking to cut 20% to 30% of emissions from international shipping by 2030.

In a joint statement, MPA said the project partners aims to develop zero or near-zero fuels in large container vessels (of at least 8,000 TEU) deployed on the 15,000-kilometre route, backed by a combination of operational and digital efficiencies.

One of the project partners, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero-Carbon Shipping, conducted a study that explored multiple alternative fuels across a variety of zero and near-zero emission pathways including synthetic and bio-variants of methanol, ammonia LNG, and hydrogen.

Low-carbon fuels, however, are expected to be more expensive than existing fuels. The partners will upscale the production of zero and near-zero-emission fuels to help close the cost gap and encourage even wider adoption of such fuels.

Working groups were also set to observe the deployment of these fuels on the trade lane across demand and supply of fuel, standards, safety procedures, financing, and regulations.

Aside from these, Singapore and Rotterdam jointly evaluated the readiness of both ports such as adopting similar bunkering standards and safety frameworks to accelerate the adoption of zero and near-zero emission fuels on this major trade route which was put in action in the third quarter of 2023.

The Green & Digital Shipping Corridor was established in August 2022 to bring together partners across the supply chain to achieve zero and near-zero emissions shipping on the Rotterdam-Singapore route.

Here are the partners in Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor:

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, the Port of Rotterdam, A.P. Moller Maersk A/S, bp, the Centre for Maritime Studies of the National University of Singapore, Citi, Clifford Capital, CMA CGM, Digital Container Shipping Association, the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, the Global Maritime Forum, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero-Carbon Shipping, Methanol Institute, MSC, Nanyang Technological University Maritime.