Philippe Donche-Gay, President Marine & Offshore, Bureau Veritas said that he was delighted BV was able to provide support to the GIA: “Whether it’s a better understanding of hull structures, digitalisation, gas fuelled and hybrid systems or the many other areas of research and development that are leading to practical solutions, our Marine & Offshore Division - and the 70,000 Bureau Veritas people around the world (10,000 in China alone) across our group - will be able to contribute towards this important initiative,” he said.
The GIA was officially inaugurated on 29th June by IMO Secretary General, Kitack Lim. Some 17 companies have now signed up to join the GIA, which will work within a framework established by Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnership (GloMEEP) Project, a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - IMO project.
The alliance will support improving the energy efficiency of ships and shipping by collectively identifying and developing innovative solutions to address common barriers and promote the uptake of energy efficiency technologies and operational measures.
It is focused on five priority areas of collaboration:
1. Energy efficiency technologies (EETs) and operational best practices.
2. Alternative fuels and energy carriers.
3. Digital transformation.
4. Finance.
5. Human element.
Activities likely to be undertaken or promoted by the GIA on these priorities will include, inter alia:
-
R&D.
-
Showcasing advances in technology development and positive initiatives by the maritime sector.
-
Industry fora to encourage a global industry dialogue.
-
Implementation of capacity building.
-
Information exchange activities.
A GIA task force comprising of members’ representatives has been formed to act as the advisory body and to take decisions on which activities to undertake under the alliance’s umbrella.
Selected GIA projects will be implemented by the GloMEEP Project Co-ordination Unit, with the advice of the GIA task force. Activities will be funded by the GIA fund established by the IMO.
GloMEEP aims to provide long-term global environmental benefits by supporting the effective implementation of IMO’s energy efficiency regulations ( MARPOL Annex VI, Chapter IV), particularly in the developing countries.
Thus far, the three main streams of work set up include:
-
Legal, policy and institutional reforms.
-
Awareness raising, knowledge sharing and capacity-building activities.
-
Public-private partnership to support low carbon shipping.