Singapore and Australia to set up green corridor by end of 2025 09/06/23

Singapore and Australia are set to establish a Singapore-Australia Green and Digital Shipping Corridor by the end of 2025 after starting discussions to explore areas of co-operation in green and digital shipping.

This follows on from the Green Shipping Cooperation initiative outlined in the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement in October 2022, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a release.

MPA and Australia’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts are the respective agencies leading the initiative and are working closely with port operators, relevant jurisdictions, and maritime and energy value chain stakeholders to galvanise action to decarbonise and digitalise the shipping industry.

Common areas of interest that have the potential to be developed include the establishment of low- and zero-carbon fuel supply chains and greening port services and shipping operations to accelerate the development and uptake of green marine fuel sources.

Collaboration would also involve the identification of digital shipping solutions to facilitate efficient port call and flow of goods, and paperless handling between the ports of Australia and Singapore, all of which will ensure interoperability across the relevant systems.

MPA noted that the substantial cross-border trade between Australia and Singapore presents a good opportunity for collaboration as both partners explore how to take a global leadership role in optimising their shipping routes to test and trial green and digital solutions.

Singapore already has a digital and green corridor with Rotterdam and is considering establishing one with Japan. In April, Singapore also signed an agreement to set up a similar corridor with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, a Global Maritime Forum-led consortium consisting of miners BHP, Rio Tinto, and bulker owners Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers, have separately agreed to jointly assess the feasibility of using green ammonia as a fuel in a green corridor on the iron ore trades between Australia and east Asia.

Source: Lloyd's List