This edition covers:
- This week’s Insider highlight with Rhona Macdonald
- IMO adopts 2023 GHG Strategy
- IAPH members attend IMO MEPC 80 meeting
- IAPH / IMO training workshop to take place in Mumbai
- Revised guidelines approved on underwater radiated noise
- IAPH team strategy meeting held in London
- ESI Advisory Group meets in London
- Jury begins evaluating IAPH Sustainability Awards entries
- Welcome to new IAPH members
- July-August issue of Ports & Harbors is out
- IAPH Harbor Café showcases ESI with guests MSC
- Taskforce Port Call Optimization releases animation
- Countdown begins to #IAPH2023
- Member Port News
- World Maritime News
- Calendar of Events
This week’s Insider highlight with Rhona Macdonald
IMO adopts 2023 GHG Strategy
Last week saw the IMO finalise and adopt the Revised 2023 IMO GHG Strategy after two weeks of intense and emotional negotiations amongst member states and international organisations at ISWG-GHG 15 and MEPC 80. Despite significant divergence over the levels of ambition, member states demonstrated a willingness to compromise to deliver a strategy for the international maritime sector and to showcase to the wider public a strong commitment to reducing GHG emissions and efforts to combating climate change. As a result, the committee agreed to ‘peak GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible and to reach net-zero GHG emissions by, or around 2050’. On the interim checkpoints, delegations agreed on a need for 2030 and 2040 targets to measure progress towards the long-term goal and agreed to reduce GHG emissions by 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, and by 70%, striving for 80%, by 2040. An additional target for the uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies and fuels to represent at least 5%, striving for 10%, of the energy used by international shipping by 2030 also achieved wide support. To accelerate the uptake of new fuels and technologies, the committee discussed the basket of candidate mid-term GHG reduction measures to develop further in the next phase of the work plan. Although there was agreement for combined technical and economic elements, a lack of consensus on a potential levy-based economic instrument resulted in the Committee agreeing to initiate a comprehensive impact assessment of the feasibility of the candidate measures, taking into account potential disproportionate negative impacts on states, to facilitate decision making at the next session. The next meeting of ISWG-GHG 16 and MEPC 81 will take place next year from 15 to 19 April and 22 to 26 April, respectively. If you would like to download a copy of the summaries made for IAPH members by IAPH’s policy and IMO liaison officer Rhona Macdonald, click here for ISWG-GHG 15 and click here for MEPC 80.
MEPC 80 plenary last week at the IMO headquarters as delegates reach a historic agreement
IAPH members attend IMO MEPC 80 meeting
Several IAPH regular members attended the 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in London last week. Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero and managing director of planning and environmental affairs Heather Tomley (both far right in image below) met IMO secretary general Kitack Lim and maritime safety division director Heike Deggim together with IAPH’s managing director Patrick Verhoeven. A Singapore delegation led by chief executive Eng Dih Teo took part in both the 15th Intersessional Working Group on GHG Emissions Reduction from Ships as well as MEPC 80. Other IAPH members attending included a delegation from the Port of Seattle which included commissioner Sam Cho and executive director Stephen Metruck as well as the Algeciras Port Authority and the Port of Montreal. International community relations manager Tom Monballiu presented Port of Antwerp-Bruges’ decarbonisation strategy in a joint session hosted by Chile and Belgium. IAPH technical director Antonis Michail and policy and IMO liaison officer Rhona Macdonald gave debriefings online on two Teams calls yesterday to all technical committee members.
The Port of Long Beach were among several IAPH members at the IMO last week
IAPH / IMO training workshop to take place in Mumbai
As part of its contribution to the IMO / Norway GreenVoyage2050 project, IAPH will be delivering a training workshop on port actions for greener shipping in Mumbai from 10 to 12 October. Over three days, participants will be trained on emission reduction opportunities in ports, aligned with IMO’s resolution MEPC.366(79) encouraging voluntary cooperation between the port and shipping sectors to contribute to reducing GHG emissions from ships. Focus will be placed on onshore power supply (OPS), providing participants with an in-depth overview of OPS from the port perspective and guiding them through assessing feasibility and potential usage before any investment and implementation decisions are made. Further attention will be given on alternative marine fuels, supporting port representatives with know-how to prepare for the new fuels and identify opportunities for future development. IAPH colleagues Bruce Anderson (Starcrest) and Peter Alkema (Port of Amsterdam and chair of the IAPH Clean Marine Fuels working group) will be respectively leading these two training streams. This in-person workshop is open to port participants from the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 partnering countries including Azerbaijan, Belize, China, Cook Islands, Ecuador, Georgia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. IAPH warmly encourages its member ports from these countries to consult the open call for participation, note the provided funding opportunities, and apply to attend the workshop, by completing the dedicated form (download here) by 30 July.
IMO-Norway’s GreenVoyage2050 technical manager Astrid Dispert (right) and technical analyst Minglee
Hoe (left) during a visit to the hybrid passenger ferry network of Kochi Water Metro in India last year
Revised guidelines approved on underwater radiated noise
At MEPC 80, the committee approved the revised guidelines for the reduction of underwater radiated noise from shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life. As part of the ongoing work on the topic, member states and international organisations were encouraged to submit lessons learned or best practice in the implementation of the guidelines by MEPC 85, including outreach and awareness efforts to support the uptake of the Guidelines. Considering the next steps, the committee further endorsed the updated work plan and agreed to extend the target completion year to 2024. A correspondence group will continue with the remaining work on identifying ways to implement the revised guidelines and an expert workshop shall be convened to consider the relationship between energy efficiency and underwater noise. This is due to take place at the IMO on 18 and 19 September this year.
IAPH team strategy meeting held in London
Europe-based IAPH team colleagues gathered in London last week in between the IMO MEPC 80 sessions for discussions on internal organisation and strategic options going forward. Top of the agenda was feedback and follow-up actions on the membership survey which we will feature in the next Insider. The team also discussed how to better engage with members overall, how to shape the future World Ports Sustainability Program to meet their expectations, and planning ahead of the further integration of the IAPH global team following the board decision to adopt a new organisational structure. Our thanks to CEO Richard Ballantyne and everyone at the British Ports Association for hosting us.
IAPH’s Europe-based team (L-R): Patrick Verhoeven, Nick Blackmore, Victor Shieh, Antonis Michail,
Rhona Macdonald and Fabienne Van Loo
ESI Advisory Group meets in London
The IAPH Environmental Ship Index (ESI) Advisory Group met in London on 29 and 30 June to discuss progress with the development of ESI version 2.0. Since May this year, the management and content development of ESI 2.0 is guided and assisted by Panthalassa, a team of experts lead by ex-Port of London Authority and ESI active member, Tanya Ferry. This was the first meeting of the group under the new set-up and was well attended by experts from the Ports of Amsterdam, Antwerp-Bruges, and Vancouver, joined by Green Award Foundation, Starcrest and IAPH colleagues. For two full days, the participants exchanged on options for the further enhancement of the different ESI modules and components to address vessels’ performance on air emissions, GHG emissions, implementing innovation, and underwater noise. The Advisory Group was further guided through the recently launched ESI at berth module and discussed options for its current promotion and future development and integration as part of ESI 2.0. Over the summer period Panthalassa will be actively consulting with the Advisory Group members and will be presenting its concrete proposals on the way forward during the next group meeting to take place in Le Havre from 25 to 27 September. The aim is for ESI 2.0 to be operational by 1 January 2025. If you have any questions on ESI or wish to join and get involved, please contact Takeshi Suzuki ([email protected]).
Tanya Ferry (second left) with ESI Advisory Board members including chair Bruce Anderson (Starcrest, third left)
and Henri van der Weide (Port of Amsterdam, far right) who co-leads the at-berth module
Jury begins evaluating IAPH Sustainability Awards entries
A record high of 86 candidate projects will be competing for the 2023 IAPH sustainability awards in six categories, namely infrastructure, digitalisation, climate and energy, community building, environmental care, and health, safety and security. We are delighted to oversee this year’s participation of 48 different ports from 31 countries, offering a balanced geographical coverage of all regions of the IAPH membership. We sincerely thank all submitters for sharing their high-quality sustainability initiatives which can be viewed on the World Ports Sustainability Program website under the projects portfolio portal. The difficult task now passes to our jury of experts who have already started evaluating the projects as of 10 July. The jury will define the eighteen finalists, namely the top-3 projects in each of the six categories, by the end of August. A public vote will then be launched among the finalists on the WPSP website in September. The jury evaluation and the results of the public vote will co-determine the final winners to be awarded during the dedicated ceremony at the gala dinner of the World Ports Conference in Abu Dhabi on 1 November. We wish good luck to all award candidates for this year’s intense competition. This year’s expert jury are in the below picture left to right, from top to bottom: Dr Geraldine Knatz, professor of practice University of Southern California, Gerald Munjanganja, line manager Seatrade, Barbara Salgado, editor-at-large Mundomaritimo, Dr Christopher Wooldridge, joint science coordinator EcoPorts, Namrata Nadkarni, founder and CEO Intent Communications, Mark Assaf, chief human resources development UNCTAD TrainForTrade, Ines Nastali, editor Ports & Harbors, Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, former president World Maritime University and Dominica’s candidate IMO secretary-general.
Welcome to new IAPH members
We welcome three new members this week: two regular members, from the United States and Greece, and an associate member from the United Kingdom. The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport, nearly 20 miles of waterfront including Jack London Square, and a publicly owned utility. Three container terminals and two intermodal rail facilities serve the Oakland waterfront with all shipping channels and 90% of berths at the port are capable of accommodating vessels of up to 18,000 TEU capacity. Heraklion Port Authority SA is owned by the Greek state and supervised by the Ministry of Shipping and the Aegean. It is an important economic portal for the country and, notably, for the island Crete, serving as a hub for maritime transport and tourism throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is a world-leading centre for hydrography, specialising in marine geospatial data to support safe, secure and thriving oceans. UKHO sources, analyses and processes data from seabed to surface, to help partners around the world make the best use of the marine environment. This includes mariners and shipping companies, who have used UKHO’s ADMIRALTY products and services for 225 years for safe and efficient navigation.
July-August issue of Ports & Harbors is out
The July-August edition of Ports & Harbors has been published. In this edition, we bring shipping and ports together with IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven in conversation with Emanuele Grimaldi, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping. They discuss their organisations’ united decarbonisation journey ahead of the Clean Energy Marine Hubs initiative launch at the Clean Energy Ministerial summit in Goa next week. IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim provides perspective on how ports need to adapt and change to support shipping’s digitalisation and decarbonisation. We interview Puerto Dock Sud Management Consortium’s ^president Carla Monrabal, and get interesting personal insights from Mārtiņš Ziemanis, the chairman of the IAPH Legal Committee and deputy CEO of Freeport of Riga. Alongside our regular features and articles we also get an analysis on the renewed use of India’s inland waterways, and a historic overview of the art of hydrography.
IAPH Harbor Café showcases ESI with guests MSC
Two weeks ago to the day the most recent, highly popular IAPH Harbor Café took place online on the implementation of vessel calculation tools and port incentive schemes to reduce emissions. Ports from across the African and European continents took part alongside the African Development Bank and special guests MSC who provided the audience with insights on their experience as the largest user of the IAPH Environmental Ship Index. With interactive exchanges between regular and associate members via the conversation, chat function and informal Q&A’s, the Harbor Café format is becoming the de-facto standard for networking online and will be extended to other IAPH meetings in the future. There is a private link with password available to members who wish to see the recording for internal use only. To request this, please contact [email protected].
Taskforce Port Call Optimization releases animation
The International Taskforce Port Call Optimization, led by Port of Rotterdam’s captain Ben van Scherpenzeel and which includes major ports, shipping lines, terminal operators and supporting industry associations such as IAPH has released a 12-minute animation. This describes, step-by-step, the entire port call process of any cargo ship. This process has been included in the IMO guide on implementing a Maritime Single Window and is part of the campaign to ensure member states implement an MSW by January 2024. It can be used by ports to explain to their communities, governing bodies and the public every detail of a port call, and how data is being standardised in order to improve ship-shore communications. You can watch and share the animated video below.
Countdown begins to #IAPH2023
With just over three and-a-half months to go until the IAPH World Ports Conference in Abu Dhabi, attendance figures are already heading towards the two hundred mark. We look forward to gathering the world’s port communities together with shipowners, regulators, financial institutions, global shippers such as IKEA and Cargill as well as energy ministers and corporations as we look at #ReinventingPorts to meet the demands of the new energy transition, accelerating digitalisation and enhancing port resilience. If you haven’t reserved your pass yet it is advisable to do so now to take advantage of the best flight and hotel rates ahead of the high season in the UAE which coincides with the conference. We also advise our IAPH members from South America, the Pacific, South-East Asia and Africa to book now in order to ensure smooth and timely visa applications with letters of invitation offered by our organiser S&P Global. You can find out more about accommodation, visa handling and registration on our event portal.
Member Port News
In this edition’s round up of member port news, you will find stories from the following IAPH members:
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Africa and Europe region: Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure Company,Belfast Harbour Commissioners, North Sea Port, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Autoridad Portuaria de Huelva, Autoridad Portuaria de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Ports of Tenerife), Autorità Portuale di Genova (Port Authority of Genoa), Freeport of Riga Authority, Port Autonome d’ Abidjan (Abidjan Port Authority), Port of Bergen, APS- Administração dos Portos de Sines e do Algarve, SA, Gibraltar Port Authority, HAROPA PORT, Port Authority of Vigo, Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao, Port Autonome de San Pedro, Autoridad Portuaria de Valencia (Port Authority of Valencia), Durrës Port Authority, Mauritius Ports Authority, Oslo Port Authority, Port of London Authority, bremenports GmbH & Co. KG, Autoridad Portuaria de Sevilla, Port of Amsterdam, Port of Helsinki Ltd
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America region: Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Companhia de Intergração do Complexo Portuário do Pecém – CIPP, Port of Oakland, Port Saint John, Montreal Port Authority, Port of San Diego, Port of Seattle, Northwest Seaport Alliance, Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (Panama Maritime Authority), Canaveral Port Authority, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, National Ports Administration (Uruguay), Port of Hueneme
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Asia and Oceania region: Incheon Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan Port Authority, Incheon Port Authority, Marine and Water Bureau, Government of Macau, SAR, NSW Ports, Marine Department, HKSAR, Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (YGPA), Maldives Ports Limited, Chittagong Port Authority, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero), Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Port of Tokyo),Bintulu Port Authority, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA),Busan Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, Port Klang Authority
Check out the full line up on our Member Port News page.
World Maritime News
These maritime news stories made the headlines over the past two weeks:
• Ports of Los Angeles and Nagoya agree on green shipping corridor
• Singapore port body joins cross-industry decarbonization alliance
• European hub ports invest in terminal automation, digitization
• Japan’s largest port Nagoya gradually resumes operation after hacker attack
• Maersk adds six ships to expanding methanol order book
• IMO’s revised GHG strategy sparks mixed reactions
• ETS will require monitoring to prevent cargo diversion
• Ocean carriers in Europe facing a multi-billion-dollar emissions price tag
• USDOT awards $40M to boost port emissions reduction, surface projects
• Ocean carriers guarding their digital gates as visibility requests increase
• Congressman adds ban of China shipping data platform to defense budget
For details of each story, please visit the World Maritime News section on our website.
Calendar of Events
IAPH events and events where IAPH is represented
- 13-14 July – PorTech Asia Summit – Shanghai
- 17-21 July – IMO Council – London
- 21-22 July – 14th Clean Energy Ministerial – Goa
- 30-31 August – WMU conference on maritime decarbonisation – Malmö
- 11-15 September – London International Shipping Week – London
- 20-21 September – TOC Africa – Tangiers
- 22-24 September – North Bund Forum and Port Authorities Roundtable – Shanghai
- 10-12 October – WCO Technology Conference – Hanoi
- 17-19 October – British Ports Association Conference – London
- 18-20 October – GreenPort Congress & Cruise – Lisbon
- 30 October – IAPH Board and Council meetings – Abu Dhabi
- 31 October-2 November 2023 – IAPH 2023 World Ports Conference – Abu Dhabi