Global Industry Alliance News

A newly signed initiative is set to provide pilot projects to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management in developing countries, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.The TEST (Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies) Biofouling Project will run for four years (2022-2025), following an agreement signed on December 8 by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

United Kingdom-based maritime company  Silverstream Technologies has entered into a framework agreement with  European ship design consultancy International Contract Engineering (ICE) group for worldwide installation design services for retrofitting of the Silverstream System.Silverstream System is a patented air lubrication system designed for reduction of friction between ships’ hulls and seawater. The company claimed that it the system has been proven to deliver substantial fuel savings and an associated reduction in GHG emissions.Silverstream Technologies is a founding member of the Global Industry Alliance for combating pollution within shipping.Steinar Draegebo…

Partnerships and innovations are essential to combat climate change through reductions in GHG emissions. Norway has provided an additional NOK 40,000,000 (US$4.3. million) to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-Norway GreenVoyage-2050 project, which will support GHG reductions in line with the IMO initial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping.This supports UN SDG 13 on climate action. The project aims to assist countries to implement legal, policy and institutional reforms, build capacity and initiate and promote global efforts to demonstrate and test innovative technical solutions for reducing GHG emissions from shipping.IMO is currently in the process of selecting pioneer pilot countries…

Ammonia and hydrogen are promising potential fuels of the future in a de-carbonized shipping industry, which has to switch to alternative, zero carbon fuels in order to meet the targets set out in the initial  International Maritime Organization (IMO) strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, an IMO symposium on sulfur 2020 and alternative fuels heard on Friday (18 October).Setting the scene, IMO's Edmund Hughes said the initial GHG strategy, adopted in 2018, had sent a clear signal that shipping will need to adapt. "We have to change to address global climate change," he said."We have to find new technologies and new fuels if we are to achieve at least 50% reduction in annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050…

The Panama Canal and the Port of Rotterdam signed a Memorandum Understanding (MOU) to promote international trade between Europe and the West Coast of South America.Through this agreement, the two organizations will work closely to optimize operations while encouraging economic growth and the exchange of information on new business development opportunities, including logistics parks and port development projects."The Expanded Canal continues to reshape global trade routes today, reinforcing our position as the logistics hub of the Americas," said Vice President for Complementary Businesses Rafael Pirro. "We are proud to be partnering with the Port of Rotterdam to ensure our customers experience the most efficient…

"Just-In-Time" (JIT) operations have the potential to cut the time ships spend idling outside ports and help reduce harmful emissions as well as save on fuel costs.According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), this can be achieved by communicating in advance the relevant information to the ship about the requested time of arrival - allowing the ship to adjust to optimum speed. A desktop trial in Just-In-Time ship operations has yielded positive results, showing emissions can be cut considerably.The trial was conducted by members of the IMO-led Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA), at the Port of Rotterdam (10 July).Technical adviser Astrid Dispert said…

The Global Industry Alliance (GIA), a key International Maritime Organization (IMO)  initiative supporting ship decarbonisation, is set to be extended to 2023, in line with the time-frame of IMO’s Initial greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) Strategy.The UN body announced that the extension follows two years of good progress by the initiative, whose 6th Task Force meeting took place in Gothenberg, Sweden this week (25 June).The task force discussed developments in a number of on-going projects, including the upcoming release of the first of three ‘Energy Efficient Ship Operation’ e-learning courses, which will be made available free of charge.Work is progressing on the second course…

Data sharing is a prerequisite to enabling the successful implementation of “Just-In-Time” (JIT) operations – which can cut the time ships spend idling outside ports and help cut emissions as well as save on fuel costs.Participants at a roundtable meeting of  International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) at IMO Headquarters, London (1-2 May), agreed that increased transparency of information through data sharing was imperative, while this should be achieved through standardized functional and data definitions.More frequent exchange of information would lead to better predictability of when a berth is available.

The Panama Canal Authority and A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S are the latest entities to join the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA).According to the UN body, the GIA now has 18 members, including leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, oil companies and ports.The new members signed up to the GIA during the fifth meeting of the GIA Taskforce at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (15 March).The GIA Taskforce meeting (photos) progressed work on several on-going projects, including on the validation of performance of Energy Efficiency Technologies…

The barriers and incentives relating to the uptake of alternative fuels in the shipping industry were in the spotlight at a roundtable meeting of International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Global Industry Alliance (GIA) to Support Low Carbon Shipping at IMO Headquarters, London.Experts from across the maritime industry were brought together to discuss successful incentives in other transport sectors and how they might be applied to shipping and ports, said a press note from the UN body.The group discussed economic, technological and institutional barriers that are hindering greater market penetration of cleaner fuels. These include capital and operating costs…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s  Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) brought together a wide range of industry stakeholders to discuss how to operationally make “Just-In-Time” (JIT) a global reality.Convening at IMO Headquarters in London (31 January), representatives from shipping companies, port authorities, terminal operators, service providers (including ship agents, bunker providers and tug operators) and other maritime organizations, discussed in detail how to tackle existing operational barriers.Implementing “Just-In-Time” (JIT) operations to cut the time ships spend idling outside ports can help cut emissions. This is good for the environment and can cut costs too.

Technological innovation and the global introduction of alternative fuels and/or energy sources for international shipping will be integral to achieving the overall ambition in the Initial International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships.A press note from the UN agency said that a meeting of the IMO Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) Task Force at IMO Headquarters in London (27 November) held a lively debate on the marine fuel for the future - and discussed how the GIA can support IMO in the development of measures that can increase the uptake of low carbon fuels (with a view to feeding this into IMO’s work on the Initial GHG Strategy).The meeting agreed…

If seagoing vessels were better informed about the availability of berths and adapted their speed accordingly, substantial savings could be made in terms of fuel and CO2 emissions. This conclusion is based on a study that was recently commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and research institute TNO.The study pointed out that if sea-going vessels are regularly kept informed – particularly during the last twelve hours before arrival – about exactly when their berth will become available, they will be able to adapt their sailing speed accordingly.That usually means reducing their speed so that they arrive just in time. This in turn leads to less fuel consumption and therefore lower emissions of unwanted substances such as carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides.

Reducing the amount of time ships spend waiting outside port and at anchor could significantly reduce ship emissions, according to studies carried out by members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) GloMEEP Global Industry Alliance (GIA).Ships can spend hours or days waiting at anchor outside ports, but providing ships with regular updates about the availability of berths, especially in the last twelve hours prior to port arrival, can support significant reductions in ship and port emissions.Implementing “Just-In-Time” ship operations means ships receive information in advance so they can time their arrival at the berth.

When arriving at a destination port, ships can remain anchored for many hours or days until getting a berth. During this time, fuel is still being used – which can have a significant impact on port air quality. Could Just-In-Time (JIT) ship operation be part of the solution to reducing ship emissions? This is the question being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO)-led roundtable meeting of the Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) and relevant industry stakeholders, at IMO Headquarters, London (29 June). Participants are considering JIT operation, which is not currently a common industry practise…

The ground-breaking Global Industry Alliance (GIA) – a partnership of key maritime stakeholders pursuing low carbon shipping – has met at International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters, London (7 December). The GIA is made up of leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, port and oil companies – tasked with identifying and developing innovative ways to encourage use of energy-efficiency technologies and operations. The GIA Task Force meeting, the second one in the series, saw 20 industry representatives from across the Alliance’s 16 member companies discuss how to make further progress on on-going GIA funded activities and to agree new priority areas to pursue under the partnership.

The Global MTTC Network (GMN) maritime technology project, run by International Maritime Organization (IMO) and funded by the European Union, was presented during a side-event (10 November) at the UN climate change conference in Bonn, Germany (COP 23). The project established a network of five regional Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCCs). Representatives of the European Union, IMO, MTCC-Caribbean and MTCC-Pacific participated at the event. MTCCs updated the audience on their pilot projects, including data collection on fuel oil consumption on ships. From 2019, ships over 5,000 gross tonnage worldwide – which account for 85% of CO2 emissions from international shipping - will be required to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil they use…

"No stakeholder, alone, can deal with the complexities the planet faces in addressing the challenge of climate change", said International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Director of the Marine Environment Division, Stefan Micallef. He was opening the joint Singapore-IMO International Conference on Maritime Technology Transfer and Capacity-Building also known as Future-Ready Shipping Conference 2017, held in Singapore (25-26 September). The Conference looked at future collaborations that can drive discussions towards identifying opportunities that can have an impact on the shipping industry as it moves towards decarbonization. The event also included sessions covering the latest trends in maritime and port energy efficient technologies…

Close to 240 maritime leaders and professionals will gather in Singapore to identify priority areas for international action and exchange best practices in maritime technology transfer and capacity building at the Future-Ready Shipping 2017 Conference. Jointly organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the conference will take place from 25th to 26th September 2017 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. Future-Ready Shipping 2017 is the second edition in the conference series which pioneered a global dialogue on maritime technology cooperation. The first, also held in Singapore in 2015…

At a ceremony in Singapore Bureau Veritas formally joined the Global Industry Alliance (GIA). The GIA was officially inaugurated on June 29 by IMO Secretary General, Mr Kitack Lim. 17 companies have now signed up to join the GIA, which will work within a framework established by Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnership (GloMEEP) Project, a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - IMO project. The GIA will support improving the energy efficiency of ships and shipping by collectively identifying and developing innovative solutions to address common barriers and promote the uptake of energy efficiency technologies and operational measures.

Days after the announcement by International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the Global Industry Alliance (GIA), another commercial company has joined the initiative to help shipping and related industries transition towards a low-carbon future. The Grimaldi Group, a global shipping and logistics company, has become the 14th company to join the GIA, a public-private partnership initiative in which 'industry champions' from various sectors of the industry come together to tackle the challenges of decarbonizing the shipping sector. The GIA members will identify and develop innovative solutions to barriers holding back the uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency technologies and operational measures in shipping.

Leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, and oil companies have signed up to a new Global Industry Alliance (GIA) to support transitioning shipping and its related industries towards a low carbon future. Thirteen companies have signed up to launch the GIA, under the auspices of the GloMEEP Project, a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-International Maritime Organization (IMO) project aimed at supporting developing countries in  the implementation of energy efficiency measures for shipping. Together, the GIA partners…

Nearly 300 delegates from International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States, international NGOs and intergovernmental organizations have gathered at IMO Headquarters in London for the first meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (26-30 June). The group, which is meeting in a closed session, will provide a report to next week’s session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) (full preview here). The working group report will form the basis for further deliberation in relation to the elements set out in the Roadmap for developing a comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which was agreed at MEPC 70.