Shipping Corridor

Viking Line, Ports of Stockholm and Turku to create green shipping corridor by 2035

Partnership will act as an innovative platform to develop scalable solutions for phasing out fossil marine fuels and enable green shipping between Stockholm and Turku.

Published

8 months ago

February 8, 2024

Admin

Viking Line, Ports of Stockholm and Turku to create green shipping corridor by 2035

Ports of Stockholm on Wednesday (7 February) said it entered into a partnership with Port of Turku and Viking Line to create a green shipping corridor between Turku and Stockholm, which will be fossil fuel-free by 2035 at the latest.

The result will be a framework with scalable solutions for the transition to fossil-free fuels and shipping with low climate impact.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on 6 February, with the parties agreeing to establish a green shipping corridor by 2035 at the latest, the goal being an entirely fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emissions-free corridor.

“Climate change is happening here and now. It is more important than ever to take tangible steps towards a green transition. We know that more transport by rail or sea is needed rather than by road and air. Green shipping plays a major role in climate transition measures in the transport sector,” says Clara Lindblom, City Council responsible for Ports of Stockholm.

“Viking Line is a shipping company that has its roots in the vulnerable archipelago. That means that for us the work of protecting and preserving the Baltic Sea is part of our DNA. We strive to be an ambitious role model in the industry and proud of taking this step together with Ports of Stockholm and Port of Turku to come closer to achieving fossil fuel-free cruises and transport in this important shipping fairway between Sweden, the Åland Islands and Finland,” Viking Line CEO, Jan Hanses, said.

The project and partnership qualifies as a green shipping corridor according to the Clydebank Declaration, of which both Sweden and Finland are signatories. This undertaking is well in advance of the EU's Fit for 55 strategy time line.

“Environmental work has always been a focus of our business operations. The Port of Turku nestles within a very vulnerable archipelago. This gives us the responsibility of respecting our surroundings at all times in our daily activities. In 2023 we signed Turku’s Climate City Contract, which has the goal of the city being carbon neutral by 2029. This is a goal we are working systematically to achieve and is why this memorandum to develop a green transport corridor between Turku and Stockholm is a natural step for us,” Erik Söderholm, CEO Port of Turku, explained.

The partnership will act as an innovative platform to develop scalable solutions for phasing out fossil fuels and enable green shipping between Stockholm and Turku. The project will also leverage the advances and solutions in the Decatrip project, a collaboration between Rauma Marine Constructions, Viking Line, Åbo Akademi University and Kempower.

During the project the partners will successively reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and work towards creating an entirely fossil fuel-free corridor. The collaboration may also expand to involve other key stakeholders in the shipping industry, as well as other relevant ports, cargo owners and forwarding companies.

Photo credit: Ports of Stockholm
Published: 8 February, 2024

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Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: EnterpriseSG to launch new Singapore standard for e-BDN

EnterpriseSG, through the Singapore Standards Council, will launch a new Singapore Standard 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.

Published

16 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: New Singapore standard on digital bunkering to be launched

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will launch a new Singapore Standard (SS) 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (9 October).

MPA said the new standard will ensure data consistency and interoperability between digital systems and facilitate smoother transactions through trusted and verifiable digital bunkering documents.

This comes following Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, announcing that from 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default.

The move was decided following successful pilots conducted since 1 November 2023 with bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.

To further enhance transparency and transaction integrity in bunkering operations, MPA will also introduce a centralised e-BDN record verification facility. This enables key stakeholders to verify the e-BDN received against the information transmitted to MPA.

EnterpriseSG has also launched the revised Singapore Standard (SS) 648 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include data integrity and transmission requirements in line with this new digital standard.

In the first eight months of 2024, MPA said Singapore saw strong growth of approximately 7% in total bunker sales over the same period last year, reaching over 36 million tonnes. Biofuels and liquefied natural gas bunker sales surpassed 700,00 metric tonnes.

To support the operationalisation of a higher mix of low-carbon alternative fuels, both EnterpriseSG and MPA are developing the Singapore standards for methanol bunkering and ammonia bunkering by 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels.

MPA also announced that three major shipping lines — Hafnia, K-Line, and MOL — are in early discussions to join the Singapore - Port of Los Angeles (LA)- Port of Long Beach (LB) Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) initiative.

Each partner would be expected to spearhead a project to advance the corridor’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals, such as the adoption of net-zero fuels, Just-in-Time route optimisation, and energy efficiency technologies such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.

The addition of the new partners will significantly strengthen the GDSC’s capacity to drive innovation in sustainable shipping practices and accelerate the adoption of zero/near-zero emission fuels and green technologies along the corridor.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 10 October, 2024

Shipping Corridor

Singapore and Shandong ink MoU for Green and Digital Shipping Corridor

MPA and Shandong Provincial Transport Department will work with stakeholders, including maritime administrations and port operators, to promote digital and low-carbon initiatives for shipping.

Published

17 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Admin

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the People’s Republic of China’s Shandong Provincial Transport Department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday (9 October) to establish the Singapore – Shandong Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC).

Under the MoU, MPA and the Shandong Provincial Transport Department will work with various stakeholders, including maritime administrations, port operators, maritime companies, institutes of higher learning, and shipyards, to promote digital and low-carbon initiatives for shipping.

Focus areas include exploring collaboration in emerging technologies, training in safe handling of alternative fuels, knowledge sharing on shore power technologies, exchange of digital information to facilitate port clearances, and sharing of standards and best practices.

This MoU marks the second GDSC between Singapore and China following the Singapore – Tianjin GDSC established in 2023.

Mr Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, MPA, and Mr Gao Hongyan, Deputy Director, Shandong Provincial Transport Department, signed the MoU at the 25th Singapore –Shandong Business Council meeting held in Singapore.

The signing was witnessed by the co-chairmen of the Singapore – Shandong Business Council, Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, and Mr Zhou Naixiang, Governor of Shandong Provincial Government.

The Singapore – Shandong GDSC will tap the growing trade and shipping volumes between the two economic centres, supported by their strong research and innovation ecosystems, to drive the adoption of green and digital solutions and growth of the maritime industry between Singapore and the Bohai and Yellow Sea region.

Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering hub and busiest transshipment seaport, and Shandong is a coastal province which hosts a key cluster of ports and shipyards along China's coastline including Qingdao Port, which is among the world's busiest container ports.

Shandong is also China’s second most populous province, after Guangdong, with approximately 101 million people. Shandong has the third largest provincial economy in China with a GDP of 9.2 trillion RMB (approximately 1.7 trillion SGD) and GDP growth of 6% in 2023.

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 10 October, 2024

Bunker Fuel

SIBCON 2024: Singapore bunker suppliers must provide e-BDN from 1 April 2025

Senior Minister of State Amy Khor also announced MPA will reduce the frequency of verification checks for mass flow meters from twice a year currently, to once a year, from 1 April 2025.

Published

2 days ago

October 9, 2024

Admin

SIBCON 2024: Singapore bunker suppliers must provide e-BDN from 1 April 2025

From 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers in the Port of Singapore will be required to provide digital bunkering services as a default, said Senior Minister of State for Transport and Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor on Wednesday (9 October).

Khor said Singapore will be the first port globally to implement digital bunkering at scale. MPA launched the digital bunkering initiative on 1 November 2023, becoming the first port in the world to implement electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDN).

“This initiative is expected to save the industry close to 40,000 man-days annually. In addition, MPA will introduce a centralised electronic Bunker Delivery Note record verification facility to enhance the transparency and integrity of transactions in bunkering operations,” she said in her speech at the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition (SIBCON).

She emphasised that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will work closely with industry partners and the unions to digitalise and streamline processes to improve efficiency in our port; strengthen our capabilities for the bunkering of future fuels and encourage adoption of these fuels; and upskill our workforce to facilitate the green transition.

Khor also made the following announcements:

From 1 April 2025, MPA will reduce the frequency of verification checks for mass flow meters from twice a year currently, to once a year. Singapore was the first port globally to adopt mass flow meters in 2017, and this new move is expected to help the industry save approximately $300,000 annually.
From 1 January 2025, MPA will roll out two innovative AI applications, DocuMind and DocuMatch, developed in collaboration with cloud service providers to drive greater efficiency in our port. These are expected to accelerate certificate processing time from up to three days currently, to a few minutes for most transactions.
Two ammonia bunkering proposals by Mitsui and Fortescue-Equatorial Marine Fuels have been selected by the consortia for the next round of Request for Proposal to provide a low- or zero-carbon ammonia solution on Jurong Island for power generation and bunkering.
MPA will commit $50 million to support the implementation of the refreshed Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, to further encourage the early adoption of green fuels and technologies across the maritime industry.
Singapore will continue to strengthen international partnerships through initiatives like the Green and Digital Shipping Corridors (GDSCs) to enable the digitalisation and decarbonisation of shipping. On 9 October, MPA and the Shandong Provincial Transport Department will be signing the Singapore-Shandong GDSC at the sidelines of the 25th Singapore-Shandong Business Council co-chaired by Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, and Mr Zhou Naixiang, Governor of the Shandong Provincial Government.

Photo credit: Singapore Ministry of Transport
Published: 9 October, 2024