Study to be presented to the Intersessional Working Group and submitted ahead of IMO’s 82nd Marine Environment Protection Committee session later this year
The International Association of Ports & Harbors (IAPH) announces the commissioning of a study to investigate energy-related port investments in developing countries.
Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven commented: “After the summer ahead of the next Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 82) at the IMO, we expect exploratory discussions to take place at the Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the topic of a market-based measure. As a contribution to this process, IAPH has commissioned a study that will look at identifying potential energy-related investments that will be required in port infrastructure of developing countries to reflect the updated 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.”
The study will include selected countries from Africa, South America, the Indian Subcontinent, Asia and the Pacific Islands Region, and will entail establishing and quantifying the kind of infrastructure that will be required to ensure their inclusion in the energy transition of shipping.
Further work planned with IMO FAL and MSC on ports digitalisation and resilience
During last month's 48th session of the IMO Facilitation Committee (FAL) committee last April in London, the association made a submission on cybersecurity related to the implementation of Maritime Single Window by member states which got the support of several countries which will now be followed up its data collaboration committee.
In addition, IAPH also attended the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 108) meeting last week at the IMO Headquarters, with further work planned on the recent joint submission the association made on combatting illicit trade and organised crime at ports , with an updated section on the topic planned for the current IAPH Risk and Resilience Guidelines for ports.
IAPH is also pleased to announce that IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez will attend and speak at the upcoming IAPH 2024 World Ports Conference between 8th and 10th October later this year in Hamburg. One key theme of the conference is focused on how ports – from developing and developed nations – are building secure and sustainable solutions to meet the decarbonisation ambitions of the IMO encompassing the whole end-to-end maritime supply chain.
Patrick Verhoeven concluded : “we aim for these initiatives that we have undertaken with the world’s maritime regulator to meet the ambitions of the MOU we signed with the IMO last July which goes beyond a signature for collaboration. We aim to showcase some of those deliverables at our annual conference in Hamburg and to share them with the global maritime supply chain community.”
