New progress report highlights Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore on Saturday (2 December) said the progress of the Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) highlighted in the 2023 Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors published by the Global Maritime Forum.

“The report tracks how far the green shipping corridor movement has come since the launch of the Clydebank Declaration in 2021. It looks at their potential, assesses progress, identifies challenges, and offers recommendations, in particular by advancing the commercial-scale deployment of zero-emission fuels, vessels and infrastructure on promising routes,” MPA said in a social media post. 

Among the things mentioned in the report is that the Rotterdam-Singapore GDSC adopts a “building-block” approach to decarbonise the trade lane – by bringing together value chain stakeholders, identifying zero and near-zero fuel pathways, building an enabling ecosystem for deployment. 

“This includes developing and harmonising emerging methanol and ammonia bunkering standards in both ports, undertaking joint pilots and demonstration projects and exploring reduced port dues for zero and near-zero emission vessels,” MPA said. 

MPA and Port of Rotterdam established one of the world’s busiest GDSC in August 2022, bringing partners across the supply chain together with the ultimate aim to reach net-zero emissions in 2050. 

“Over the past year, the corridor has attracted strong support from more than 20 global value-chain partners, including shipping lines, port authorities and operators, fuel suppliers, fuel coalitions and associations, banks, leading institutes of higher learning and knowledge partners, with Hapag-Lloyd AG as the latest addition to the Corridor,” MPA added.

In a separate statement, the Global Maritime Forum said the report revealed a doubling of green corridor initiatives, increased maturity of existing projects, and a significant increase in the number of stakeholders involved.

The second edition of the Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors revealed that the number of green corridor initiatives around the world went from 21 to 44 over the past year, and finds substantial maturation among existing corridors, with multiple corridors clearing a progress stage, deciding on their priority fuels, and setting targets for operation. Beyond the numbers, ample evidence points to green corridors triggering pre-investment activity.

The report, released in conjunction with COP28, says that 2024 will prove pivotal for green corridors, which are defined as specific trade routes where the feasibility of zero-emission shipping is catalysed by public and private action. Along with the marked advancements, the report also identifies several emerging challenges that will need to be overcome as green shipping corridors move closer to implementation, including the need to make key fuel decisions and secure both commercial arrangements and governmental support.

“It is, of course, encouraging to see the emergence of so many new green corridor initiatives and the increased maturity of existing green corridors, but the other side of this maturation has been the unearthing of a new set of challenges as the corridors move closer to implementation,” Jesse Fahnestock, the Global Maritime Forum’s project director for decarbonisation, said. 

Note: Read more on the development of the Rotterdam-Singapore GDSC and the 2023 Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors here. 

Related: Partners in Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor support emission reductions 

Related: MPA and Port of Rotterdam sign MoU to form world’s longest Green and Digital Corridor

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 4 December, 2023