The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and Port of Long Beach (POLB), with the support of C40 Cities, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex.
According to Port of LA, the MoU was signed by TEO Eng Dih, Chief Executive of MPA, Gene Seroka, Executive Director of POLA, and Mario Cordero, Executive Director of POLB, and witnessed by S Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, His Excellency, Jonathan Kaplan, Ambassador of the United States to Singapore, NIAM Chiang Meng, Chairman of MPA, Sharon Weissman, Long Beach Harbor Commission President, and Edward Renwick, Los Angeles Harbor Commissioner.
The MoU follows an earlier announcement in November 2022 that MPA, POLA, POLB and C40 had begun discussions to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex.
As informed, C40 is the facilitator of the green and digital shipping corridor, providing support to the cities, ports and their corridor partners by coordinating, convening, facilitating, and providing communications support in furtherance of the corridor’s goals.
Singapore, Los Angeles and Long Beach are vital nodes on the trans-Pacific shipping lane and key stakeholders in the maritime sector’s green transition. Ahead of the revision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Initial Strategy for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships in July 2023, the three ports will come together with C40 and other stakeholders in the maritime and energy value chains, to jointly accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime industry in line with the goals of IMO, and Singapore’s and the United States’ respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Innovation.
In particular, the green and digital shipping corridor aims to support the transition to low- and zero-emission fuels by ships calling at Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex. The parties will work to facilitate the supply and adoption of these fuels and explore the necessary infrastructure and regulations for bunkering. In addition to identifying and collaborating on pilot and demonstration projects, the MoU aims to identify digital shipping solutions and develop standards and best practices for green ports and the bunkering of alternative marine fuels, including sharing experiences at international platforms such as IMO.
No single port or organisation can tackle the challenge of decarbonising the supply chain alone, no matter how innovative their technology or robust their efforts. The establishment of this green shipping corridor between the San Pedro Bay Port Complex and Singapore will prove to be a living, breathing testament to the power of global collaboration.
said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.
Curbing greenhouse gases from international shipping is essential to fight global warming.
..said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero.
Delivering science-based, rapid and concrete action on shipping emissions is crucial to ensure the shipping sector decarbonisation is aligned with the goal of keeping global heating below 1.5°C. C40 is proud to support this first mover initiative aimed at accelerating the transition to low- and zero-carbon fuels and other decarbonisation technologies.
C40 Cities Executive Director Mark Watts said.
Overall, the agreements regarding green corridors are currently on the rise. For example, earlier this year, DFDS ferry operator, the Port of Dover, the Port of Boulogne Calais and the Port of Dunkerque signed MoU for green corridor on Dover Strait and to work together to decarbonize maritime trade. Furthermore, on March 15th, 2023, California and Japan announced a new collaborative effort to establish green shipping corridors. As Global Maritime Forum has informed, a new consortium involving five different industries also aims to establish a green corridor between South Africa and Europe.
