There is an increasing urgency for all of us to address climate change and there is a need to work together. Most of the problems, and their solutions, overlap and require collaboration. The latest initiative to help deal with this is Green Ports & Shipping Congress – Reducing Emissions Together, to be held in Singapore on 8-9 May 2024 at Asia’s leading destination for business, leisure, and entertainment, Marina Bay Sands.

Caring for the environment by reducing emissions is a priority for all our businesses. The ports and terminals communities are served by several organizations and events with this specific agenda, so too are the shipping communities. But practically, neither group can achieve their objectives without working together or without the direct co-operation of the other.

Mercator is fortunate to have a unique insight into the requirements of both, having produced 18 annual GreenPort Congress in co-operation with the leading ports in Europe, this year branching out to Australia. Mercator has also produced 44 annual Propulsion & Future Fuels conferences, currently based in Hamburg. These events are supported by our sector-specific, knowledge-based online magazines, Port Strategy, GreenPort, and The Motorship.

Our keynote panel will be discussing ports and shipping collaborating to achieve 2050 goals. Shipping already has regulations to follow from the IMO but what do they need from Ports to achieve these goals?

New! Keynote panel speakers announced:

Antonis Michail, Technical Director, International Association of Ports and Harbors / World Ports Sustainability Program – Dr. Antonis Michail is an engineer with a background with specialization in the environmental management of ports and freight transport systems at the Master and PhD levels, and with more than 15 years of professional experience in these fields. In February 2018, Antonis joined the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) as the person responsible for the technical developments and projects under the umbrella of the program.

Dr Sanjay C Kuttan, Chief Technology Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation – Sanjay is the Chief Technology Officer at the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD). Established by six founding partners from the maritime industry and supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, GCMD’s mission is to help the sector accelerate its decarbonization efforts by shaping standards, deploying solutions, financing projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors. At GCMD, he oversees four project initiatives: ammonia as a marine fuel, assurance framework for drop-in green fuels, unlocking the carbon value chain, and energy efficiency technologies to improve the fuel efficiency of ships.

Er Tham Wai Wah, Chief Sustainability Officer, MPA – Er Tham Wai Wah specializes in Project Management for construction-related projects namely building, marine, and infrastructure projects. He has deep experience and has directed many large-scale IT system development and R&D projects. He is knowledgeable and leads many sustainability development and decarbonization initiatives.

Lars Robert Pedersen, Deputy Secretary General, BIMCO - Deputy Secretary General Lars Robert Pedersen is responsible for BIMCO’s technical and operational activities involving all technical and nautical issues within the area of marine, environment, ship safety, and maritime security. Lars Robert is furthermore responsible BIMCO’s activity related to regulatory developments relevant to shipping at international, regional, and national levels. In the past decade, he has served on IMO expert groups on market-based measures and the steering group for the IMO 2020 fuel oil availability study. Lars Robert has also chaired the Motorship Propulsion & Future Fuels Conference for the past 6 years.

Eva Liu, Head of Shipment Product, Oceania Market, Maersk - Eva Liu is the Head of Shipment Product with responsibility for Maersk Oceania import and export short-term revenue and product strategies. She has 9 years of shipping experience in Maersk, including commodity trading, Latin America trade, and marketing, and later led a team dedicated to revenue optimization in Oceania trade. Her passions are business innovation and leading the transformation of the shipping market. Eva holds a master’s degree in International Finance from Yonsei University, South Korea.

Expand your knowledge of decarbonization in the shipping and port sector and learn what skills or technologies you can implement in your organization. Our expert speakers will provide insightful discussions on the areas that port-based organizations and shipping companies need to work together on, for their mutual advantage, to reduce emissions.

The audience will include policy makers; ports and terminal operators, shipping companies; shippers and logistics companies; fuel and propulsion providers; classification societies, and associated decarbonisation clusters.

The founding supporting organizations are:

International Association of Ports & Harbors

BIMCO

International Chamber of Shipping

Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Blue Visby Solution

Between them, BIMCO and IAPH represent well over 60% of the world's seaborne trade and fleets with some excellent initiatives already in place.

Mercator CEO Andrew Webster said, ‘I sincerely trust we can establish this collaboration and it develops its momentum going forward. All these people and organisations want to make a difference and by working more closely together we can produce quicker outcomes. Please get in contact with us if you would like to contribute to this initiative.

Green Ports & Shipping Congress– Reducing Emissions Together, for 2 days will include a welcome address, keynote speakers, and various sessions and working groups, with ample opportunity to network during the refreshment and lunch breaks.