Capital Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Neda Maritime Agency, Star Bulk and Thenamaris get behind initiative for a global Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre, according to LR's release.
The Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub is collaborating with five leading shipowners as Founding Members in the establishment of a not-for-profit Athens-based global Maritime Emissions Reduction Centre (M-ERC) that will focus on optimising the efficiency of the existing fleet. LR and The Founding Members believe that this is a significant initiative, which underlines the importance of Athens as an international maritime centre.
The M-ERC is being created with the goal of removing technical, investment and community barriers for the uptake of solutions to reduce the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions of the existing global fleet, offering a collaborative ‘safe space’ for the maritime value chain’s stakeholders, to safely navigate to net zero.
To inform and inspire the adoption of new and existing solutions to facilitate the maritime energy transition, the centre will use its applied research and innovation to remove uncertainties and barriers, enabling the uptake of technologies and solutions today. The M-ERC will help drive optimal operational gains, identifying and resolving the commercial obstacles that stakeholders face.
The centre will also play an important role in ensuring that today’s ships are suitable for the energy transition whilst ensuring that the people within the industry have the necessary training and skills. These goals will be achieved through research and collaboration with shipyards and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) alongside the M-ERC’s work across society, ports and seafarer organisations to ensure the upskilling and awareness amongst seafarers and shore-based staff.
As part of the collaboration between the LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and leading ship owners, including Capital Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Neda Maritime Agency, Star Bulk and Thenamaris, the centre will aim to attract global and regional funding to fund activities, projects and initiatives to deliver on the desired outcomes of the M-ERC. It is anticipated that more shipping stakeholders will join the initiative in the months to come.