Pacific Basin to offset carbon emissions

Hong Kong-based dry bulk shipping company Pacific Basin Shipping Limited has pledged to offset all carbon emissions from its global shore-side operations starting in 2020.

These will include all office activities, commuting and business and crew travel.

To this end, Pacific Basin has partnered with CLP Innovation Enterprises Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-headquartered power company CLP Holdings Limited, which is supplying Pacific Basin’s carbon emissions offset programme with carbon credits derived from CLP’s wind farms in India.

“In addition to pledging net zero-carbon emissions from our global shore-side operations, we will offer our cargo customers the opportunity to voluntarily purchase carbon credits to offset carbon emissions from the transportation of their cargoes on Pacific Basin vessels starting in 2021. Such an arrangement is similar to carbon offsetting that airlines offer to their passengers,” Mats Berglund, CEO of Pacific Basin, said.

“As commodity producers, traders and end users become increasingly interested in mitigating the environmental footprint of their activities, they are also likely to become more interested in offsetting emissions from the transportation of their products.”

“Our carbon credits platform harnesses the renewable energy assets in our portfolio to serve the business sustainability strategies of companies such as Pacific Basin. By working together with industry leaders that are taking decisive actions to make their businesses more sustainable, we can build a greener and brighter future for everyone,” Austin R Bryan, Senior Director – Innovation, CLP Holdings, said.

The company currently operates approximately 235 dry bulk ships of which 116 are owned and the rest chartered. Pacific Basin has over 3,900 seafarers and over 345 shore-based staff in 12 offices around the world.

Earlier this week the company announced that it bought four second-hand Ultramax vessels for a total of $67 million.

The four sister vessels each have cargo carrying capacities of over 61,000 dwt and are Kawasaki Heavy Industry designs built by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. (NACKS), a joint venture between Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation and COSCO.

All four ships are fitted with scrubbers and ballast water treatment systems, and two are equipped to carry logs.