The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Port of Rotterdam revealed the agreement today (August 2), which anticipates establishing a vital Asian-European shipping lane, promoting the use of clean marine fuel alternatives including hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and biofuels.

If established, the corridor would come as a steppingstone towards meeting the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) goal of slashing carbon dioxide emissions in the industry by 50% by 2050.

Read more: Greening up the global supply chain: Hydrogen-powered, low carbon shipping is on the horizon

Aside from alternative fuels, the MoU hopes to optimise maritime efficiency, safety, and the transparent flow of good by creating a digital trade lane, allowing electronic documentation and standard to be shared.

H2 View understands the authorities will work with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero-Carbon Shipping as action partners, as well as other industry partners across the supply chain, including bp, Maersk, MSC, and Shell.

S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Minister-in-Charge of Trade Relations, said, “Decarbonising shipping is an urgent climate action priority, which requires the collective efforts of the entire maritime sector.  As a trusted global maritime hub, Singapore contributes actively to IMO’s efforts to make international shipping more sustainable, and global supply chains more resilient.

“This MoU with the Port of Rotterdam demonstrates how likeminded partners can work together to complement the efforts of the IMO. It will serve as a valuable platform to pilot ideas that can be scaled up for more sustainable international shipping.”

Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam, added, “Shipping is among the most important industries to decarbonise, owing to its large international reach and volume, which continues to grow. By bringing together parties across the supply chain along one of the world’s biggest trade lanes, we can enable carriers to switch to zero-carbon fuels and speed up the transition to more sustainable shipping”.

Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, said,  “This MoU further strengthens the strong partnership between Singapore and Rotterdam.  It reaffirms Singapore’s commitment towards facilitating a multi-fuel bunkering transition as part of the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050.

“The pilot will complement efforts undertaken by the shipping industry, including partners such as Google Cloud, and the IMO to support decarbonisation and digitalisation transition for international shipping, as we work towards developing and scaling up green and digital solutions for wider adoption.”