Australia and Singapore working together to build a shipping corridor

Australia and Singapore have come together to establish a green and digital shipping corridor by the end of 2025. The action plan to decarbonize and digitize the shipping industry is in discussion with Australia’s DITRDCA (Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and Arts) and Singapore’s MPA (Maritime and Port Authority) in collaboration with the port operation and other stakeholders of the shipping industry.

At the initial stage, the DITRDCA and the MPA are studying to identify areas of mutual interest toward the reduction of carbon emissions in the maritime sector that includes planning on low and zero-carbon fuel supply chains, greening port services, and expediting port operations that lead to the development and uptake of green marine fuel sources along with digital shipping solutions for paperless handling of cargo between ports of Australia and Singapore.

In a joint press statement, DITRDCA and the MPA stated that substantial cross-border trade between Australia and Singapore is a substantial step towards a global leadership role in optimizing shipping routes to test and trial green and digital solutions.

Australia and Singapore plan to be at the forefront of the concept of green corridors, known as the Clydebank Declaration proposed at the COP26 Conference in October 2021. The idea is to drive specific trade routes between major port hubs to emerge as the first examples of zero-emission solutions for shipping.

The MPA also has a treaty with the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to launch a green and digital shipping corridor. Australia is also leading initiatives for the formation of green corridors on its major trade routes and is busy announcing agreements with the shipping lines and miners for a green corridor to Asia.

The study done by DITRDCA strengthens a previous pre-feasibility report, which establishes the iron ore shipping routes from West Australia to China and Japan as having favourable conditions for early adoption and the potential to have a large bearing on the decarbonization of the maritime sector.