Members of The Silk Alliance have issued an open letter to share their vision for the implementation of a green shipping corridor cluster, to steer efforts towards zero-emissions shipping across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The open letter aims to increase transparency and accountability of the green corridor cluster initiative and outline an implementation plan with key milestones and actions to achieve before the end of the decade. Multi-year implementation plan sets goals for the practical deployment of vessels using near-zero carbon ammonia and methanol, to drive investments in scalable fuel supply infrastructure.
We, the Members of the Silk Alliance, are sharing our collective vision for this Green Corridor cluster initiative as a step towards raising awareness and driving wider support from governments and key stakeholders as we move forward with our implementation plan.
… said the Alliance in their letter
The multi-year implementation plan will focus on practical applications, exploring the deployment of vessels using near-zero-carbon ammonia and methanol fuels, scalable fuel supply infrastructure and avenues for bio and synthetic methane.
Implementation will commence by focussing on three short-term milestones:
- Establishing the sequence of the green corridor cluster – understanding where the corridor starts and how it scales over time
- Determining fuel carbon intensity targets – By early 2025, Silk Alliance members will identify the fuel pathways to move from an initial pilot to scaling up the corridor with near-zero carbon fuels
- Developing a green financing template – addressing the investment hurdles that will support offtake agreements that are essential for the green corridor to get underway.
The implementation plan outlines the key efforts needed to achieve the deployment of pilot vessels running on near-zero carbon fuels by 2027. By aggregating demand for alternative fuels through the pilot vessels running on low carbon methanol and ammonia deployed in this initiative, Silk Alliance members will drive investments into scaled alternative fuel supply infrastructure in Singapore and the intra-Asia container trade route from 2028 to 2030. These fuels will have the scalability to further grow the wider regional bunkering market.
This open letter by members of the Silk Alliance demonstrates our strong commitment to ensure our learnings will be shared effectively as a model for cross-industry collaboration across the maritime supply chain, which is essential to accelerate decarbonisation goals.
… SAID Charles Haskell, Programme Director, LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub
The milestones outlined in the open letter will need to be delivered through a combination of actions from Silk Alliance members alongside efforts from the across the maritime value chain to support the ultimate implementation of this green corridor cluster. The implementation plan will be refined and updated by members as the initiative continues to progress.
Established by the LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, a joint initiative between Lloyd’s Register Group and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, members of the Silk Alliance comprise leading cross-supply chain maritime stakeholders.
Most recently, the membership expanded to include the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore and fuel producers, with the Alliance looking to continue strengthening its public and private sector engagements further.
