At the first annual meeting of the Sea Cargo Charter Association on 11 March 2021, 13 members were elected to the Steering Committee to coordinate the Association on behalf of its members.

The Getting to Zero Coalition’s updated Mapping of Zero Emission Pilots and Demonstration Projects uncovers emerging trends, sees a strong climb in the number of identified projects as well as increased activities in Asia.

Global industry and human rights leaders, including A.P. Møller – Mærsk, BP, BW, Cargill, COSCO, DOW, Euronav, MISC Group, NYK, Rio Tinto, Shell, Trafigura, Unilever and Vale, sign the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change in a worldwide call to action to end the unprecedented crew change crisis caused by Covid-19.

In a first-of-a-kind climate finance report, 15 Signatories of the Poseidon Principles disclose the climate alignment score of their ship finance portfolios. The Poseidon Principles Annual Disclosure Report 2020 shows that 3 banks’ ship finance portfolios are aligned with UN decarbonization targets while 12 banks’ portfolios are not. The climate assessment offers banks new insight into their lending decisions and provides opportunity to work with their shipping clients to meet society’s goals.

The decarbonization of shipping will require the creation of a new green shipping value chain. It is urgent to launch a first wave of commercial scale zero emission shipping projects to test new technologies and business models. Cost-lowering and de-risking strategies can reduce the total costs of the first commercial scale zero emission pilots by 30-50% but governments and shipping customers have to play a crucial role in supporting the maritime transport’s energy transition.

Transparency, cross-value chain collaboration and public-private partnerships will be crucial to rebuilding the world economy post COVID-19 while addressing long-term challenges such as the climate crisis.

The Sea Cargo Charter sets a new benchmark for responsible shipping, transparent climate reporting, and improved decision making in line with United Nations decarbonization targets.

Maritime decisionmakers deem a global economic crisis as the issue that can have the greatest impact on the industry in the next ten years, reveals the Global Maritime Issues Monitor 2020. Regardless of the ongoing pandemic, climate and environmental issues remain a top priority and increase in rankings of impact, likelihood, and preparedness.

Essays on seafarer wellbeing, ship recycling, and shipping’s decarbonization win three young professionals from the Philippines, United Kingdom, and South Africa a spot in the Global Maritime Forum’s Virtual High-Level Meeting.

More than 200 representatives from Getting to Zero Coalition members convened virtually this week for the Coalition’s second biannual working session with the objective of advancing the ambition of having commercially viable zero emission vessels operating along deep sea trade routes by 2030. The Coalition members are prepared to move ahead of regulators to develop the technologies and business models needed to meet decarbonization targets.