There is an increasing urgency for all of us to address climate change and there is a need to work together. Most of the problems, and their solutions, overlap and require collaboration.

Green Ports & Shipping Congress | Press release | 15-01-2024

The latest initiative to help deal with this is Green Ports & Shipping Congress  – Reducing Emissions Together, to be held in Singapore on 8-9 May 2024 at  Asia’s leading destination for business, leisure and entertainment, Marina Bay Sands.

Caring for the environment by reducing emissions is a priority for all our businesses. The ports and terminals communities are served by a number of organisations and events with this specific agenda, so too are the shipping communities. But practically, neither group can achieve their objectives without working together or without the direct co-operation of the other.

Mercator is fortunate to have a unique insight into the requirements of both, having produced 18 annual GreenPort Congress’s in co-operation with the leading ports in Europe, this year branching out to Australia. Mercator has also produced 44 annual Propulsion & Future Fuels conferences, currently based in Hamburg. These events are supported by our sector specific, knowledge-based online magazines, Port Strategy, GreenPort and The Motorship. 

Our keynote panel will be discussing ports and shipping collaborating to achieve 2050 goals. Shipping already has regulations to follow from the IMO but what do they need from Ports to achieve these goals.

New! Keynote panel speakers announced:

Antonis Michail, Technical Director, International Association of Ports and Harbors / World Ports Sustainability Program –  Dr Antonis Michail is an engineer in background with specialisation on the environmental management of ports and freight transport systems at Master and PhD level, and with more than 15 years of professional experience in these fields. Since February 2018, Antonis joined the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) as the person responsible for the technical developments and projects under the umbrella of the program. 

Dr Sanjay C Kuttan, Chief Technology Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation –  Sanjay is Chief Technology Officer at the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD). Established by six founding partners from the maritime industry and supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, GCMD’s mission is to help the sector accelerate its decarbonisation efforts through shaping standards, deploying solutions, financing projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors. At GCMD, he oversees four project initiatives: ammonia as a marine fuel, assurance framework for drop-in green fuels, unlocking the carbon value chain, and energy efficiency technologies to improve fuel efficiency of ships.

Er Tham Wai Wah, Chief Sustainability Officer, MPA –  Er Tham Wai Wah is specialized in Project Management for construction related projects namely building, marine and infrastructure projects. He has deep experience and has directed many large-scale IT system development and R&D projects. He is knowledgeable and leads many sustainability development and decarbonization initiatives.

Lars Robert Pedersen, Deputy Secretary General, BIMCO -  Deputy Secretary General Lars Robert Pedersen is responsible for BIMCO’s technical and operational activities involving all technical and nautical issues within the area of marine, environment, ship safety and maritime security. Lars Robert is furthermore responsible BIMCO’s activity related to regulatory developments relevant to shipping at international, regional and national levels. In the past decade, he has served on IMO expert groups on market-based measures and on the steering group for the IMO 2020 fuel oil availability study. Lars Robert has also chaired the Motorship Propulsion & Future Fuels Conference for the past 6 years.

Eva Liu, Head of Shipment Product, Oceania Market, Maersk -  Eva Liu is the Head of Shipment Product with responsibility for Maersk Oceania import and export short term revenue and product strategies. She has 9 years of shipping experience in Maersk, including commodity trading, Latin America trade and marketing, later lead a team which dedicated in revenue optimization in Oceania trade. Her passions are business innovation and leading the transformation of shipping market. Eva holds a master’s degree in International Finance from Yonsei University, South Korea.

Expand your knowledge on decarbonisation in the shipping and port sector and learn what skills or technologies you can implement in your organisation. Our expert speakers will provide insightful discussions on the areas that port-based organisations and shipping companies need to work together on, for their mutual advantage, to reduce emissions.

The audience will include policy makers; ports and terminal operators, shipping companies; shippers and logistics companies; fuel and propulsion providers; classification societies and associated decarbonisation clusters. 

The founding supporting organisations are:

Between them, BIMCO and IAPH represent well over 60% of the world seaborne trade and fleets with some excellent initiatives already in place.

Mercator CEO Andrew Webster said, ‘I sincerely trust we can establish this collaboration and it develops its own momentum going forward. All these people and organisations want to make a difference and by working more closely together we can produce quicker outcomes. Please get in contact with us if you would like to contribute to this initiative’.

Green Ports & Shipping Congress – Reducing Emissions Together, for 2-days will include welcome address, keynote speakers and various sessions and working groups, with ample opportunity to network during the refreshment and lunch breaks.

The programme will be announced shortly and for more information, please see: www.greenseascongress.com  or contact the events team on +44 1329 825335  or info@greenseascongress.com

Notes for Editors
International Association of Ports & Harbors
IAPH is a non-governmental organization (NGO) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Established in November 1955, it is global alliance of ports, representing today some 168 ports and 134 port-related businesses in 84 countries. The member ports together handle well over 60% of the world’s sea-borne trade and over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH aims to be the global trade association of choice for port authorities and operators, representing their interests at regulatory level at the International Maritime Organization, the World Customs Organization, the International Standards Organization and other global alliances such as the Global Maritime Forum and the World Economic Forum.

BIMCO
BIMCO is the world’s largest direct-membership organisation for shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers and agents. BIMCO is an organisation and global shipping community of over 2,000 members in around 130 countries.  BIMCO members cover 62% of the global fleet and consist of local, global, small, and large companies.

From offices in Houston, London, Copenhagen, Athens, Brussels, Singapore and Shanghai BIMCO aim to help build a resilient industry in a sustainable future whilst protecting world trade.

International Chamber of Shipping
International Chamber of Shipping publications promote and support shipping industry best practices and provide guidance across all key sectors and trades of the maritime industry. Rigorous in development, and regularly used and recommended by ship operators globally, ICS publications are an important complement to international regulations and are essential for every maritime bookcase.

Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was formed on 1 August 2021 with funding from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), and six founding partners, namely BHP, BW, DNV Foundation, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Ocean Network Express and Seatrium.

Located in Singapore, GCMD was set up as a non-profit organisation to support decarbonisation of the maritime industry to meet or exceed the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) goals for 2030 and 2050. The Centre is partnered with 26 leading maritime organisations including Hapag-Lloyd, BP, NYK Line, BCG, MSC, IBIA, International Chamber of Shipping, Singapore Shipping Association, Global Maritime Forum and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

Blue Visby Solution
The Blue Visby Solution is a neutral and independent multilateral platform aimed at reducing shipping GHG emissions by about 15% by eradicating the practice of “Sail Fast, then Wait” . It comprises software and algorithms, an operational system, a sharing mechanism and a contractual architecture.

The Blue Visby Consortium was set up in the summer of 2022 to help test and refine the Blue Visby Solution, and has grown to about 30 participants, including organisations, shipowners, charterers, traders, shippers, or receivers of cargo from around the world.

The Blue Visby Solution combines technology with long-established maritime traditions of cost sharing, collaboration and mutuality. It deploys the maritime industry’s own DNA to enable a new and environmentally better way of doing things.

Mercator Media
Established in 1989, Mercator builds maritime communities though conferences, exhibitions and online. Mercator works closely with key stakeholders and representative bodies across all its activities. It has just produced the 24th Seawork exhibition and next year the 14th Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition. It also produces the respected GreenPort Congress, Propulsion & Future Fuels, Fish Waste for Profit conference series, complemented by online magazines, Port Strategy, The Motorship, Maritime Journal and World Fishing.