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Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization

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Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle
Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle
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The Port of Seattle Commission voted to accelerate its emission reduction efforts by ten years to be net zero or better for Port-owned emissions by 2040. The Port also committed to accelerating and expanding its goal for emissions from industries operating at its facilities to be carbon neutral or better by 2050.

The policy directives were timed to coincide with the Conference of Parties 26- COP 26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. “The urgency for climate action is underscored by the UN Secretary General’s recent statement that the impacts of climate change are a ‘code red for humanity,’” said Port of Seattle Commission President Fred Felleman.

“The Port’s actions today reflect our recognition of this urgency. Along with our partners at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), we’re making significant investments in green infrastructure, such as shore power, to enable our tenants to meet their climate goals as well,” continued Commissioner Felleman. “As a public port, these investments are not just the right thing to do, but they also give us a competitive advantage because businesses are increasingly seeking ways to reduce their emissions.”

Continuing its emphasis on decarbonization, the Port also announced participation in new exploratory studies of renewable hydrogen as a future vehicle and maritime fuel source, a new partnership with Seattle City Light (SCL) and the NWSA to focus on waterfront electrification, and its membership in a global maritime shipping decarbonization coalition called Getting to Zero.

Port of Seattle Commissioners Weigh in on Environmental Initiatives

“Our agreement with Seattle City Light signals how serious we are about leading change,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner and Sustainability, Environment, and Climate Committee Co-Chair Peter Steinbrueck. “Powering our waterfront with clean electricity is a new way of doing business. This agreement puts us all on the same page working for that change.”

“The Port is a leader in the campaign to decarbonize, and we know we need everyone involved in maritime to participate with us,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner and Sustainability, Environment, and Climate Committee Co-Chair Stephanie Bowman. “The Getting to Zero Coalition is one important way we can spur new collaboration and bring our clients and corporate partners along with us to make a difference on climate change.”

“These improvements happened because our community demanded them. Residents, workers, and business owners called on us to accelerate our efforts to address climate change, and Port staff and leadership took those concerns seriously. As a result, the Port of Seattle’s Maritime Climate and Air Action Plan is better,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Ryan Calkins. “I look forward to continued engagement with our community to improve how the Port and its partners operate.”

“New technologies and infrastructure are the foundation of a clean energy economy,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho. “We’re helping our region make clean energy investments that will address climate change and bring health and environmental benefits to our communities faster.”

Port Accelerates Decarbonization Goals

Recognizing the urgency of action needed to address climate change, the Port of Seattle updated the greenhouse gas reduction objectives to the following:

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Scope 1 & 2 Emission Reduction Pathway for Aviation and Maritime

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port-wide Greenhouse Gas Inventory Shows New Fuels and Policies Most Effective in Cutting Emissions

To support these goals, Port staff provided an update on Port-wide annual greenhouse gas emissions. Commissioners also received an overview of the Port’s plan to cut maritime emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and phase out all maritime emissions by 2050, which will be presented to the Commission for adoption at the November 16, 2021 meeting.

A new 2020 inventory revealed that greenhouse gas emissions from Port-controlled sources dropped 20 percent last year. While COVID-19 led to decreases in Port-controlled emissions from some sources and increases in others, expanded use of low carbon fuels and clean electricity drove the majority (60 percent) of the decline in emissions. The Port began using renewable natural gas in Seattle-Tacoma Internation Airport (SEA) boilers and bus fleet, renewable diesel in port vehicles and equipment and joined Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct renewable electricity program.

Port-wide scope 1 & 2 Emissions

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Aviation industry-related emissions at the airport — including air travel, ground transportation, and tenant operations — declined 35 percent. COVID-related changes in travel were the primary factors in 2020 declines in greenhouse gas emissions from Port-influenced sources, including those from airplanes and ground transportation at SEA Airport. Post-COVID, emissions related to airport activity are expected to continue the steady increases experienced before 2020 due to increasing demand for air travel and associated services.

Scope 3 Emissions SEA Airport

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

The Port will continue to advance initiatives and policies that reduce aviation emissions from ground transportation and promote renewable fuels for aviation. Some of these initiatives include over a decade of funding research into infrastructure needs to bring Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) into SEA, availability of regionally-available feedstocks including King County municipal wastes, and advocating for state and federal legislation making SAF more cost effective for airlines.

The last available inventory of maritime industry emissions occurring at the Port of Seattle in 2016 showed a decline of 20 percent since 2005, due to new international and national clean fuel regulations, increased use of shore power, and adoption of new, more efficient vessels and equipment.

Scope 3 Emissions Maritime

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle accelerates decarbonization. Image: Port of Seattle

Port Introduces Maritime Plan to Cut Seaport-Related Emissions by 50 percent in 2030, Phase out by 2050

Earlier this year the Port of Seattle adopted the 2020 Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, a multi-port strategy to phase out seaport emissions by 2050. The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy depends heavily upon the partnership with the NWSA, Vancouver Frasier Port Authority (BC), and Port of Tacoma. At the October 26 meeting, Commissioners heard how the Port of Seattle can implement this strategy to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and phase out seaport-related emissions entirely by 2050.

The Commission will consider adopting the plan, Charting the Course to Zero, Port of Seattle’s Maritime Climate and Air Action Plan, at its November 16, 2021 meeting.

Port, NWSA, and Seattle City Light Partner on Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy

The Seattle Waterfront Clean Energy Strategy (SWCES) is one of the Port’s primary actions to phase out emissions. It is a holistic energy planning effort led by the Port in partnership with Seattle City Light (SCL), the NWSA, and the maritime industry. Once complete at the end of 2022, the SWCES will provide a strategic roadmap that identifies the clean energy infrastructure and energy sources needed to decarbonize Seattle’s maritime industry by 2050. Because ongoing engagement and collaboration between the Port, NWSA, and SCL are critical to the project’s success, staff prepared a Partnering Agreement that articulates the partners’ joint commitments to the SWCES.

Renewable hydrogen studies to inform renewable energy strategies

The Port is participating in regional efforts to evaluate the potential role of renewable hydrogen as an emerging zero-emission energy source for maritime industrial uses in Seattle. This work is part of our due diligence to explore multiple clean energy alternatives as we decarbonize the maritime industry. The Port is currently involved in two studies and supporting additional exploratory efforts related to renewable hydrogen.

Port Joins Getting to Zero Coalition

This year the Port of Seattle joined the Getting to Zero Coalition, a global maritime coalition supporting efforts to have commercially viable zero-emission vessels operating along deep-sea trade routes by 2030, supported by the necessary infrastructure for scalable zero-carbon energy sources including production, distribution, storage, and bunkering.

Coalition members include the Global Maritime Forum, the Friends of Ocean Action, the World Economic Forum, and more than 150 organizations within the maritime, energy, infrastructure, and finance sectors.

 

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Maritime

The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks

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The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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A new step in the decarbonisation of the Port of Valencia and its firm commitment to be an emission neutral site by 2030. The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has put out to tender the drafting and execution of the works for the electrical connection to ships for the Transversal Costa-MSC quay. This is the first electrification or Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project to be carried out by Valenciaport in the Valencian precinct.

The APV is thus initiating the procedure for the award of the contract for the drafting and execution of the project for the installation of electrical connections for ships and the maintenance of the same at the Transversal de Costa quay. To this end, Valenciaport has jointly launched the drafting of the construction project, the execution of its works and the maintenance of the installations in the same procedure for an amount of 12,468,626.8 euros (VAT included).

Onshore Power Supply (OPS) electrification infrastructures have been consolidated as a very useful tool for the decarbonisation of ports, as this system avoids the use of auxiliary engines of ships when they are docked in the enclosures. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions – due to the use of electricity that eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels used in these auxiliary engines – and stops the emission of particles and polluting gases.

This OPS initiative in the Port of Valencia will be carried out in parallel with the works on the new electrical substation – a second substation is also planned – which was put out to tender last month with a base budget of around 11 million euros and a completion period of 24 months. This infrastructure will be responsible for supplying green energy to the first OPS electrification project of the Transversal de Costa-MSC quay.

In this regard, Joan Calabuig, president of Valenciaport, stressed that “these are just two examples of real projects in the execution phase that confirm the firm commitment that Valenciaport is making to achieve the goal of being a zero-emissions port by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Pact. It is a commitment to sustainability and to the society of our environment that is supported by initiatives such as the electrification of the docks, the use of hydrogen in port operations, the installation of photovoltaic plants or the commitment to intermodality with the railway. We are committed to sustainable growth that reinforces our position as a port of reference in the Mediterranean”.

Project included in the Next Generation Funds

The joint contracting of the preparation of the project and the execution of the corresponding works in the same procedure is carried out in response to the fact that there are no references in Europe compatible with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 80005 standard and in Spain there is currently no previous experience of OPS projects in operation with the characteristics of the pilot project defined by the Port Authority of Valencia. The combination of the individual components required for this type of installation (transformers, protection cells, disconnectors, frequency converters, etc.) with infrastructures for supplying electricity to ships requires specific projects, with technically complex solutions that have to be designed specifically for each location. In addition, and given that the execution of the construction project is subsidised by the European Union’s Next Generation funds and the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the joint tender is the only way to meet the established deadlines, since if two separate contracts were launched, the one for the execution of the construction project could not be launched until the one for the drafting of the construction project had been awarded, which would mean that the work would be completed beyond the deadline for the execution of the works to meet the target set by Europe.

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Environment

MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
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The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation GCMD and MOL announced the signing of a five-year Impact Partnership agreement. On the same day, both parties held a signing ceremony at the GCMD office in Singapore.

Decarbonisation in the maritime industry is a challenge that needs to be achieved through accelerating collaboration and increasing investment by shipping companies, their customers, ports, energy suppliers and public sector actors. As an Impact Partner of GCMD, MOL will utilise its expertise developed over their long history and make various contributions and collaborations through its participation in GCMD’s projects, including providing access to vessels, operating data and evaluation reports so that internal learnings can be shared publicly and used for future trials.

MOL is one of the world’s leaders in the maritime industry and has been leading worldwide discussions on achieving decarbonisation. The carbon budget concept imposes a ceiling to the cumulative amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that can be emitted globally in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2050. Intermediate targets to reduce emissions, in addition to a net-zero target, are necessary. While plans are in place to adopt low or zero emissions vessels in the future, it is important to deploy measures to reduce emissions now. Such measures include the use of low-carbon and transition fuels that are available today, and deploying energy savings devices onboard vessels. MOL will bring its extensive capabilities and experience to bear as it joins GCMD and existing partners to accelerate international shipping’s decarbonisation.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “We are proud to have MOL, one of the leading shipowners in Japan, come onboard as an Impact Partner. We are excited to tap on MOL’s track record in developing technical energy efficiency measures to broaden our perspective as we scope an initiative to help increase industry adoption of measures that can increase fuel efficiency of ships.”

Toshiaki Tanaka, Representative Director, Executive Vice President Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of MOL, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner of one of the most important global coalitions. We will make our biggest effort to contribute and accelerate progress towards the net zero future in maritime industry, together with GCMD and all its partners.”

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. Our strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Seatrium, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK. Beyond the strategic partners, GCMD has brought on board 15 partners that engage at the centre level, in addition to more than 80 partners that engage at the project level.

Strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and second largest container port, GCMD aims to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

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Container Shipping Lines

Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India

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Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
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Aiming to further enhance service quality and gain a stronger foothold in the Indian sub-continent, Wan Hai Lines has established its India new office in Kolkata in July 2023. Contact details for the new office are as follows: WAN HAI LINES (INDIA) PVT. LTD 3rd Floor, Block C, Apeejay House, 15 Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700016 TEL: 91-33-4450 4500 According to the 2023 Foreign Trade Policy announced by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s export trade volume will reach 2 trillion US dollars in 2030.

Therefore, benefiting from government policy incentives and the shifting trend of the global supply chain, India’s status in global manufacturing and international trade is increasing, which is conducive to maintaining long-term high economic growth. And the proportion of global exports has increased significantly. In addition, the continuous economic stimulus policy will help revitalize the domestic economy, and domestic demand is expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Wan Hai is optimistic about India’s future import and export situation. And also through the establishment of a new office to improve the overall operating efficiency.

Wan Hai India Kolkata office held a grand opening reception in the evening of 27th July. During the banquet, there were many important customers & guests. The Kolkata Port Authority, Kolkata terminal operators, feeder operators and important local customers were invited to send representatives to attend the meeting to express their blessings to Wan Hai’s opening of the Kolkata market. At present, Wan Hai has six owned offices in India, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Mundra, and Vizag, Delhi and the sixth office Kolkata office. In addition to directly providing river port services, it will also simultaneously strengthen service links between India and neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. It is expected to pursue customer first through continuous expansion in the future and sustainable business philosophy.

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