Marina, DoST boost maritime transport

THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DoST-PCIEERD) have partnered to launch the Maritime Energy Demand Information and Analysis Software (Medians) project.

Marina and DoST-PCIEERD signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to promote cleaner and more sustainable maritime transportation in the Philippines.

The Medians project’s primary goal is to assess crude oil consumption and demand within the country. It seeks to develop a comprehensive plan to meet global environmental regulations, including the reduction of sulfur content in marine fuels. The project focuses on accurately measuring greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from ships, a significant step toward greener ocean transportation.

By leveraging technology and data, Marina and DoST-PCIEERD underscore the Philippines’ commitment to environmentally responsible maritime practices and high-quality marine transportation.

Meanwhile, the Philippines showcased its efforts in green shipping and decarbonization at the 45th Asean Maritime Transport Working Group meeting.

The country’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions from ships aligns with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) revised strategy. The Philippines is implementing fuel economy policies and standards, as well as policies toward cleaner fuels, vehicles and vessels.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan 2020–2040, hydrogen is being considered for power generation and is looking at the possibility of use in the maritime transport sector. The Department of Energy plans to increase the capacity of LNG facilities to accommodate maritime transport, as it considers LNG a transitional maritime fuel.

The Philippines shared updates on the Port and Ballast Water Baselines using ecological, microbiological and eDNA approaches, or the Portec Project, which includes capacity-building activities on port baselining and microbiology hands-on training conducted with the maritime sector.

The project has completed two-year water samples at the Port of Manila. Around 80 percent of the collected samples were successfully identified; the remaining 20 percent have been submitted for DNA barcoding.

The Philippines also reported updates on the capacity improvement of the Asean network ports, coordination efforts to support the sustainability of the Davao-General Santos-Bitung RoRo route, and safety, health and environmental management in ports.