The Silk Alliance, a cross-supply chain industry alliance within Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, has written an open letter to express its joint vision for the establishment of a green shipping corridor cluster.
The open letter aims to increase transparency and accountability of the green corridor cluster initiative, as well as outline an implementation plan with key milestones and actions to achieve by the end of the decade, in order to steer members’ collective efforts towards accelerating zero-emissions shipping across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The multi-year implementation strategy will concentrate on practical applications, such as the deployment of vessels powered by near-zero-carbon ammonia and methanol, scalable fuel supply infrastructure, and bio and synthetic methane routes.
The implementation will begin with three short-term milestones. Members will first choose the sequencing of the green corridor, including where it will begin and how it will scale over time.
The Silk Alliance members will next determine which fuel paths will escalate beyond the initial pilot project stage by evaluating the carbon intensity of each fuel and identifying those pathways that would supply the corridor with near-zero carbon fuels by early 2025.
READ: LR unveils ‘Silk Alliance’ green corridor project
The third milestone will include a financial workstream to address investment barriers and find financing solutions to get the project up and running.
The implementation plan covers the essential initiatives required to deploy pilot boats powered by near-zero carbon fuels by 2027.
Silk Alliance members will reportedly drive investments in scaled alternative fuel supply infrastructure in Singapore and the intra-Asian container trade route from 2028 to 2030 by aggregating demand for alternative fuels via the pilot vessels running on low carbon methanol and ammonia deployed in this initiative.
These fuels will be scalable, allowing the regional bunkering business to expand further.
READ: PSA joins ‘The Silk Alliance’ green corridor project
To support the final implementation of this green corridor cluster, the milestones indicated in the open letter will need a combination of activities by Silk Alliance members as well as initiatives from throughout the maritime value chain.
Members will modify and update the implementation strategy as the effort progresses.
Charles Haskell, Programme Director, LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, said: “This open letter by members of the Silk Alliance demonstrates our strong commitment to ensure our learnings will be shared effectively as a model for cross-industry collaboration across the maritime supply chain, which is essential to accelerate decarbonisation goals.
“As we proceed with the implementation plan, we look forward to working closely with the Silk Alliance members in moving the green corridor cluster initiative from conceptual phase to action.”
