MSC partners GCMD to help shipping decarbonise

World’s largest container shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) have signed a five-year impact partnership agreement to support shipping’s decarbonisation.

As informed, the partners aim to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions.

By joining forces with GCMD, MSC is strengthening its commitment towards a collaborative approach to decarbonization.

As an impact partner, MSC will provide cash contributions towards GCMD’s pooled resources for pilots and trials.

Furthermore, the shipowner will also make in-kind contributions through its participation in projects, including access to vessels, operational equipment, and other assets, as well as vessel operating data and evaluation reports so their learnings can help inform GCMD’s future trials.

“Despite current economic uncertainties, decarbonising shipping will need liners – who are closest to customers willing to pay a green premium – to make hard commitments for the industry to progress towards IMO’s 2030 and 2050 goals. With MSC coming onboard as our newest Impact Partner, GCMD is now in a stronger position to drive decarbonisation solutions across the industry,” Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, stated.

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. GCMD’s strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Sembcorp Marine, bp and Hapag Lloyd.

“We are committed to helping to tackle climate change and in GCMD we believe we have found an excellent partner to help drive the green transition in our sector. We look forward to exchanging ideas, information and access to our substantial expertise and assets, to help accelerate progress towards the net zero future we all aspire to,” Bud Darr, Executive Vice President Maritime Policy & Government Affairs MSC Group, said.

Swiss shipping giant MSC has 730 vessels and the industry’s largest newbuilding orderbook of energy-efficient container ships with 124 on order.

The company has been working on energy efficiency for many years and has been an early adopter of responsibly-sourced blended biofuels as a transitional fuel.

MSC has advocated for the availability of supply of a range of alternative fuels and has set a clear goal to achieve net decarbonization by 2050.

Recently, the company welcomed new eco-friendly giant containerships, MSC Tessa and MSC Irina. The vessels were built by Chinese shipbuilders Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and  Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co.