Singapore, LA, LB ports sign MoU for green, digital corridor
Corridor to support transition to low- and zero-emission fuels by ships calling at Singapore and San Pedro Bay ports
Photo Courtesy: Port of Los Angeles
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, with the support of C40 Cities, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay ports complex to support the decarbonisation of the maritime industry and improve efficiencies through digitalisation.
The memorandum was signed by Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, MPA, Gene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles and Mario Cordero, Executive Director, Port of Long Beach, says an official release from the Port of Los Angeles.
“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," says Seroka. "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. I am honoured to be here with key leaders from MPA Singapore, the Port of Long Beach, and C40 Cities to sign this MoU turning a shared commitment to fighting climate change into a meaningful step forward toward the future of global sustainability.”
Cordeo adds: “Curbing greenhouse gases from international shipping is essential to fight global warming. Creating this green corridor with our partner ports and C40 Cities is part of our strategy to coalesce all of our efforts here and beyond to help advance our goals for cleaner marine fuels for oceangoing vessels, improve efficiencies for the global movement of goods, and to achieve a carbon-neutral future."
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, the release said. "Ahead of the revision of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) initial strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships in July 2023, the three ports will come together with the C40 Cities network and other stakeholders 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."
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 ports complex. The parties will work to facilitate the supply and adoption of these fuels and explore the necessary infrastructure and regulations for bunkering, the release added.
“The signing of this MOU signals our collective will to pool our resources, technical insights, industry and research networks to deliver scalable green as well as digital corridor solutions to help the maritime industry attain the 2050 emission reduction targets expected of the International Maritime Organization and help spur the development of green growth opportunities,” says Dih.
Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities says: “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 degrees Celsius. C40 is proud to support this first mover initiative aimed at accelerating the transition to low- and zero-carbon fuels and other decarbonisation technologies."