A consortium, led by the Global Maritime Forum and consisting of BHP, Rio Tinto, Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers Corp., have April 6 signed a letter of intent (LOI) to assess the development of an iron ore green corridor between Australia and East Asia.
Governments and industry decision-makers are increasingly looking to enable and simplify the task of decarbonizing the maritime sector by establishing Green Corridors: specific shipping routes where the economics, infrastructure, and logistics of zero- or near-zero emission shipping are more feasible and rapid deployment can be supported by targeted policy and industry action.
“Zero-greenhouse gas emission pathways require the creation of a parallel value chain that involves new ways of working, new contractual relationships, and drives the development of decarbonized fuel production and infrastructure. This new iron ore green corridor collaboration is an important step towards enabling zero greenhouse gas emission shipping from both the supply and demand side,” says Johannah Christensen, CEO at the Global Maritime Forum.
The parties in the consortium intend to jointly assess green ammonia supply, bunkering and first mover support mechanisms, necessary for their participation in a viable Australia to East Asia iron ore Green Corridor.
Through the work in the consortium and with inputs from the wider supply chain, the partners aim to develop a framework as a preparatory step towards real-world implementation of a green iron ore shipping value chain.
The Green Corridor collaboration’s outputs are intended to lay some of the groundwork for real world implementation of the Green Corridor. The new consortium will facilitate a robust public-private dialogue to investigate conditions that need to be in place to mobilize demand and to feasibly scale zero or near-zero-GHG emission shipping on the corridor.
Photo credit: iStock/ JohnCarnemolla. Loading iron ore on a ship at Dampier Western Australia.
