A total of 13 companies have signed up to support transitioning shipping and its related industries towards a low carbon future.

They include leading shipowners and operators, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers and oil companies – such as ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd, Lloyd’s Register EMEA, Ricardo UK, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Total Marine Fuels.

The new Global Industry Alliance (GIA) – a Global Environment Facility (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) project – aims to support developing countries in the implementation of energy efficiency measures for shipping.

The GIA partners will together identify and develop innovative solutions to address common barriers to the uptake and implementation of energy efficient technologies and operational measures.

They will focus on a number of priority areas, including energy efficient products, alternative fuels and digitalisation.

Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary-General said: “What we are witnessing is the formal start of a tried and tested partnership concept which has the potential to boost still further our efforts to kick-stark the change that society demands and create a firm, tangible basis to transform the shipping sector for the better.

“Under this new public-private partnership initiative, these ‘industry champions’, which come from different sectors of the industry and may have different business strategies within the same sector, are coming together to contribute to tackling the challenges of decarbonising the shipping sector.”

Source: EnergyLive