GCMD and IAPH Form Coalition to Accelerate Maritime Decarbonization

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) and the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) have entered a two-year Coalition partnership to advance decarbonization efforts across the global maritime sector. The agreement was announced during the IAPH 2025 World Ports Conference, held from October 7–9 in Kobe, Japan.

The partnership aims to combine GCMD’s expertise in addressing operational, safety, and technical barriers to low-carbon shipping with IAPH’s extensive global network of over 200 port authorities and operators in more than 85 countries. Together, the organizations will focus on developing solutions to accelerate the transition toward alternative marine fuels and sustainable port operations.

According to GCMD, ports play a pivotal role in enabling maritime decarbonization. “In nearly all of GCMD’s pilots, ports have been pivotal to success—whether in enabling the world’s first ship-to-ship ammonia transfer at the Pilbara, bunkering across six biofuel supply chains in Singapore or the Port of Rotterdam, or demonstrating the full value chain for onboard captured CO₂ in China,” said Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD.

Strengthening Port Readiness and Fuel Transition

Through the collaboration, GCMD and IAPH will focus on advancing alternative fuels bunkering, developing port infrastructure, and supporting regulatory evolution to enable the industry’s energy transition. Leveraging IAPH’s clean marine fuels and port readiness expert working groups, both partners aim to co-develop tools and frameworks that will help ports, shipowners, and operators safely and efficiently adopt low- and zero-carbon fuels.

Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director of IAPH, said: “We look forward to teaming up with GCMD’s experts, who will work with our port members to co-develop tools to help further accelerate the decarbonization of the maritime sector and to de-risk long-term investments in port infrastructure, which will be essential for the industry’s energy transition.”

Building on an Established Collaboration

The Coalition builds on an existing partnership between the two organizations through the Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM-HUBS) initiative — a cross-sectoral public-private platform under the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). GCMD is a supporting partner in CEM-HUBS, while IAPH is a founding member. Through this expanded collaboration, GCMD and IAPH aim to reinforce shipping’s role as an enabler in the production, transportation, and adoption of low-carbon fuels, aligning with global efforts to achieve net-zero emissions in maritime transport.