Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center launches port partnership for European Green Corridors

Green corridors – cited by many decarbonisation experts as the best hope for fast-track shipping’s path to zero emissions – have been given a significant boost with news that the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has established the European Green Corridors Network with the port authorities of Hamburg, Gdynia, Roenne, Rotterdam, and Tallinn, a move directly supporting the Clydebank Declaration announced during COP 26 in Glasgow.

Signatories to the Clydebank Declaration have agreed to work together to support the establishment of green shipping corridors, defined as zero-emission maritime routes, between two or more port pairs.

According to the new European project’s backers, the northern European corridor will demonstrate the early commercialisation of alternative fuel supply chains, showcase and support first-mover solutions, and create a blueprint for rolling out green corridors in other areas and regions. Additional public and private stakeholders will be onboarded along the way.

“This is a vital step towards accelerating the decarbonisation of the shipping industry and meeting the EU’s 2030 climate ambitions. Developing green corridors are instrumental in activating industry first-movers across the value chain, and this project can be used as industry references to develop blueprints for new business models and identify the maritime industry’s inter-dependencies. It is truly fascinating to see a whole region and various stakeholders engaged in this. In addition, we hope this project will help facilitating the important work with maritime standards at the EU and IMO,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

In January Splash reported on how two of the most important port pairings in global container shipping are to create a green corridor. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Shanghai have committed to create a green shipping corridor on one of the world’s busiest container shipping routes, while last November the Dutch port of Antwerp and the Canadian port of Montreal signed a cooperation agreement to support the creation of a green shipping corridor in the North Atlantic.

Source: Splash247