A COUPLE of weeks ago, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) issued a press release announcing: “Partners support emission reductions on Rotterdam-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor”.

The statement followed the third Green Corridor workshop held in Rotterdam, where the city’s port and 20 partners in the corridor worked on reducing 20 per cent to 30 per cent of emissions from international shipping by 2030. 

The Green & Digital Shipping Corridor was established in August 2022 to bring together partners across the supply chain to realise zero and near-zero emissions shipping on the Rotterdam-Singapore route, with the ultimate aim to reach net-zero emissions in 2050. 

According to the partners, over the past year, the corridor has attracted strong support from global value-chain partners, including shipping lines, port authorities and operators, fuel suppliers, fuel coalitions and associations, banks, leading institutes of higher learning and knowledge partners. It is intended to deepen efforts towards achieving the strengthened ambition of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. 

This is to be achieved through the development and uptake of zero and near-zero emission fuels in large containers vessels (of at least 8,000 20-foot equivalent units) deployed on the 15,000 km route, supported by a combination of operational and digital efficiencies.

A modelling study led by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero-Carbon Shipping, one of the corridor partners for the project, and supported by the ports, explored multiple alternative fuels across a variety of zero and near-zero emission pathways, including synthetic and biovariants of methanol, ammonia and liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

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Perhaps surprisingly, the statement did not refer to carbon capture. That is an option being pursued by a significant number of ship operators, perhaps more in the dry and liquid bulk sectors, but attracts criticism from various directions. To suggest continued use of fossil fuels is equivalent to waving a red flag at a bull when it comes to green campaign groups.  

Practical objections

However there are also practical objections. Carbon capture uses significant extra energy, and its economic viability is not yet clear. Perhaps the most persuasive argument against it is the issue of dealing with the capture carbon dioxide (CO2): Where does it go? How much will CO2 transport and long-term (for ever) storage cost?

Actually, my e-mail inbox is full of press releases from very prestigious sources, classification societies, technology giants and ship operators claiming to address these issues. The recent LR-commissioned Global Maritime Trends 2050 report, featured in last week’s Strait Talk, noted: “Climate technologies, including carbon-removal solutions, will become a mainstream and necessary component in net-zero scenarios for 2050. Even if all mitigation targets are met, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expects that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and other carbon removal technologies will still be required.”

The press release also notes: “Beyond the (Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center) study, hydrogen is one other alternative fuel pathway to be looked at.”

That is significant and, as also noted in a recent Strait Talk, could become even more important if geological (‘white’) hydrogen lives up the expectations of its proponents. 

However, directly using hydrogen as a fuel for ocean-going vessels involves a number of technical challenges. Coincidentally, just as this column was being written, Rotterdam-based short sea container ship operator Samskip Group has ordered two new vessels that will be powered hydrogen fuel cells. These will be much smaller than the ships plying the Corridor but it is still an interesting development.

Meanwhile the partners report: “Efforts are underway to aggregate demand and supply to reduce cost gap towards the adoption of sustainable fuels.”

That is encouraging but the EU’s Emissions Trading System is now being extended to shipping and will become a significant factor pushing the use of alternative fuels.

As the partners accept: “Low-carbon fuels will likely be more expensive than existing fuels, and a separate working group has been formed with the support of the Global Maritime Forum, the Centre for Maritime Studies of the National University of Singapore, University of Oxford, and Citi, to address gaps in regulation and financing.”

The study includes modelling price-gap differences to incentivise the uptake of alternative fuels. 

Joint assessment

Singapore and Rotterdam have jointly assessed the readiness of both ports and steps ahead, such as adopting similar bunkering standards and safety frameworks to accelerate the adoption of zero and near-zero emission fuels on this major trade route. 

This was put into action in the third quarter of 2023 with the conduct of ship-to-ship green methanol bunkering on the world’s first methanol-fuelled container ship at both the Ports of Singapore and Rotterdam. The Corridor Partners assert that “the corridor’s approach, supported by the strong industry coalition will provide greater certainty in demand and help scale-up production of zero and near-zero emission fuels”. 

This is expected to help close the cost gap and encourage even wider adoption of such fuels. The press release highlights Rotterdam and Singapore as the first ports adopting and sharing port and vessel information, such as arrival and departure timings, in accordance with global standards, specifically the IMO and International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) standards to enable systems interoperability.

Both ports are also promoting the use of electronic bills of lading and digital solutions such as just-in-time planning and coordination to enhance efficiencies and reduce GHG emissions. 

Green corridors are starting to proliferate. It remains to be seen how effective most of them are, but the Rotterdam-Singapore Corridor has the powerful backing of two of the world’s largest ports. It should become a model for others to follow.