SINGAPORE – Singapore and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on March 5 to establish the Singapore-Australia Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.
The aim is not only to cut emissions from shipping, but also make the shipment of goods and port operations more efficient.
Under the MOU, both countries will explore opportunities to develop zero or near-zero greenhouse gas emission fuel supply chains for the maritime industry. They include building infrastructure, formalising standards and developing training needs, both nations said in a joint statement.
They will also explore the exchange of digital information to enable efficient port clearance, port calls and flow of vessels between Singapore and Australia. This will include collaboration with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Australian federal, state and territory governments, and industry stakeholders.
The MOU was signed by Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who is also Second Minister for Finance, and Ms Catherine King, Australia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, and announced at the Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting in Melbourne on March 5.
“The MOU affirms the shared commitment of Singapore and Australia to pool our expertise and resources to develop scalable green and digital solutions for the maritime sector, and upskill our workforce to support the energy transition,” Mr Chee said in the statement.
Ms King said: “This collaboration will place Singapore and Australia among the leaders in contributing to the international maritime community’s objectives, while supporting Australia’s exports of clean renewable energy.”
The statement noted that Australia holds great potential as a major producer of green marine fuels, such as ammonia and methanol, while Singapore is the world’s largest bunkering and busiest trans-shipment hub port.
The maritime sector is responsible for about 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and the industry has backed a plan to reach net-zero emissions “by or around” 2050.
To get there, the industry will have to hasten the switch to greener and cleaner fuels and step up energy efficiency measures, such as better ship design and more streamlined port operations.
Green ammonia, methanol and hydrogen can be produced using renewable energy. To produce these at scale, multibillion-dollar projects are being planned in Australia, the Middle East and elsewhere using vast amounts of solar and wind energy.
Next-generation ships are being built to have engines using these fuels. But large-scale deployment is still some years away, in part because the large-scale supply chains to produce the fuels still need to be built to ensure stable, low-cost supplies.
In 2023, Singapore carried out its first methanol bunkering operation, supported by the MPA, other government agencies and research institutes. The viability of ammonia bunkering is also being explored, and standards for supporting the use of methanol and ammonia in Singapore are under development, the MPA has said.
In 2022, the MPA and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands established a green and digital shipping corridor that includes 20 other partners, such as universities, shipping firms and energy companies.
Singapore and Tianjin will also set up a new shipping corridor at Tianjin Port – the largest port in northern China – to support the greening and digitalisation of the maritime industry, the Singapore Government said in December 2023.
In the same month, the MPA, Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach unveiled a partnership strategy for a green and digital shipping corridor across the Pacific. The strategy follows the signing of an MOU with the MPA and the two US ports during Singapore Maritime Week in April 2023.
