On 23-24 October SSI members were hosted by Standard Chartered Bank for their bi-annual members meeting in Singapore.

Participants (SSI members + guests) at the biannual SSI members meeting

A full two days with a packed agenda SSI members came together to review SSI progresscelebrate collective achievements, while simultaneously learning and inspiring each other; and continue building the momentum towards shaping the narrative towards a sustainable shipping industry. While we may be based at different locations around the world, the SSI family is close-knit: our members meetings are intimate, and based on mutual trust.

In Singapore we were delighted to have a number of guests join us bringing additional perspectives to the table. Among our guests were Anglo American; BW Group; Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS); Epic Gas; GasLog; Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST); Sumitomo Corporation; and Watson Farley & Williams. Thank you SSI members and guests for your active participation – and special thanks to our host Standard Chartered Bank.

SSI members (from left-right): Mark Lutes (WWF), Mulang Chen (AkzoNobel), Katharine Palmer (Lloyds Register), Marcio Moura (Bunge) and Scott Jones (Oldendorff Carriers)

For sustainable shipping, What should START and STOP?
We asked participants what they thought should happen for sustainable shipping to happen. Here’s a sample of what we came up with:
START: Diversity & inclusion, transparent ship recycling, responsible transition to autonomous ships. STOP: Fossil fuels, poor ship recycling, single use plastics

Industry insights: Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, tsunami detection in the Pacific, Standard Chartered Bank and its role in responsible ship recycling and the role of the media

Clockwise, from top left: Tham Wai Wah (MPA); Roshel Mahabeer (Standard Chartered Bank) and Stephanie Beitien (Eco-Business); John Kornerup Bang (Maersk) and Katharine Palmer (Lloyds Register); Roger Charles (Standard Chartered Bank)

We heard from the Marine and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore’s Chief Sustainability Officer Tham Wai Wah, who shared with us MPA’s Sustainability Journey towards 2030. He highlighted how MPA is actively engaging in a number of sustainability-related activities including international cooperation through the IMO; promoting sustainable port development and sustainable shipping. They recently published a Maritime Sustainability Reporting Guide under MPA’s Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, in which MPA’s journey appears as a case study.

We were delighted that The China Navigation Company’s Managing Director James Woodrow joined us, alongside Simon Bennett, General Manager – Sustainable Development. Simon shared CNCo’s recent public-private collaboration on tsunami monitoring and the maritime sector, that saw a pilot project drawing on ship-based GNSS data to support tsunami detection, meteorology and numerical weather prediction, and space weather. On ship recycling, Standard Chartered’s Roger Charles talked about what he has been working on to raise the bar on ship recycling, through the Bank’s engagement in the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) and ongoing collaboration with PHP shipyard in Bangladesh.

We heard from Eco-Business’ Director of Partnerships Stefanie Beitien, who shared the perspective of the media and its role in shaping the business narrative to one of sustainability. Finance and energy are examples of topics of relevance to shipping that are increasingly attracting media attention and coverage. Eco-Business’ approach seeks to “find a balance between hope and fear”; Stefanie shared some tips on how SSI and its members can shine a light on the positive story of sustainable shipping through compelling storytelling.

Sustainable finance: The momentum from clients, regulators and other stakeholders across and beyond the finance sector is accelerating

Roshel Mahabeer, Executive Director Sustainable Finance at Standard Chartered Bank shared some SSI member insights and perspectives on sustainable finance in the shipping industry, prompting an engaging and interactive discussion. Standard Chartered Bank supports sustainable finance by mapping their business against the SDGs to create a green and sustainable product framework – accredited by Sustainalytics – that sets out the sustainable activities that Standard Chartered finances. As part of this framework they offer a number of sustainable products across five sustainable finance capabilities: loans, bonds, deposits, renewables and blended finance. More on the sustainable finance movement here.

Decarbonisation, getting to zero and sustainable biofuels
Members’ discussions on decarbonisation covered a number of issues on which individual members and SSI as a collective are focused. Katharine Palmer, Global Sustainability Manager of Lloyds Register and Maersk’s Head of Sustainability Strategy John Kornerup Bang presented potential decarbonisation transition pathways, coinciding with the launch of their joint study that identified alcohol, biomethane and ammonia as the three new fuels likely to be first generation net-zero fuels for shipping. We also discussed the recently launched the Getting to Zero Coalition – of which SSI is a knowledge partner – a coalition that has gained global attention and contributed to the growing pressure on shipping to decarbonise. Members also had the opportunity to reflect on SSI’s inquiry into the role of sustainable biofuels in shipping’s decarbonisation – including a discussion on its findings and upcoming launch of its report.