Earlier this month, 6th to 18th November 2022, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a specialist arm of the United Nations, participated in the 27th United Nations’ Climate Change Conference or the COP27 (Conference of the Parties) held at Sharm El Sheikh Convention Center, Egypt. The IMO statement at the COP27 notes that from 1st November 2022, a “comprehensive new set of binding IMO measures designed to deliver on IMO’s commitment to reduce carbon intensity of the global shipping fleet by 40% by 2030, as laid down in the in 2018 Initial IMO GHG Strategy, entered into force”. Furthermore, the IMO and its Member States have agreed that international shipping must switch to low-carbon marine fuels (such as electric, hydrogen, ammonia, wind, methanol, etc.) and this critical necessity be accorded high priority. Inevitably, it requires a robust plan to ensure the “availability, accessibility, and affordability of low-carbon fuels for the shipping industry in all parts of the world”.

It is a fact that nearly 80 per cent of global trade is carried over the seas; however, little is known that the over 32,000 merchant ships that transport a variety of cargoes across continents are the major contributor of Green House Gasses (GHG). It has been noted that if “shipping sector were an independent country, it would be the sixth largest emitter in the world”.

In 2018, the IMO assessed that shipping emissions were responsible for nearly 3% of global emissions due to combustion of fossil fuels. This represented an increase from 2.76% (2012) to 2.89% (2018) which prompted the IMO to develop an initial strategy for the reduction of emissions by phasing out GHGs as quickly as possible. Though an “ambitious pathway towards decarbonisation” i.e. total annual GHG emissions from international shipping should be reduced by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 is underway, this initiative by the IMO and commitment by Member States is laudable. A revised and strengthened IMO GHG Strategy is expected to be ready by July 2023.

Be that as it may, the IMO strategy for decarbonisation of the shipping sector is being supported by a slew of policies adopted under the IMO’s pollution prevention treaty (MARPOL); the energy efficiency design index (EEDI), which is mandatory for new ships; and the ship energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP).

It is also important to recall the Clydebank Declaration announced during the COP26 held at Glasgow, UK. Twenty countries including the US signed the Declaration with commitments to “develop technology, expertise and port infrastructure that will allow key international shipping routes to go zero-carbon, as part of a strategy to decarbonise the entire industry by 2050”. In this context, according to a research commissioned by the UN's Maritime Just Transition Task Force, as many as “800,000 seafarers will need to be trained on new fuels and technologies by 2050 under realistic decarbonisation scenarios”.

The IMO Statement at COP27 goes beyond the shipping and Clydebank Declaration which focuses on end-to-end decarbonized shipping routes, and notes that these measures will be “enforced in every port around the world regardless of the ownership, trade or registration of the ship”. It is a proactive initiative; however, it remains to be seen which agency can potentially implement it at the seaports.  

The international ports bodies such as International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) have launched the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) the 2020 and the WPSP Report provides information on how ports are investing in infrastructure that takes into consideration the climate-energy nexus. By all accounts present capacities to monitor and regulate the GHG emissions by ships calling ports as also port infrastructure (including supply chain trucking) is lacking.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the international maritime regulatory bodies responded through a variety of additional maritime security measures. Among these, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code gained salience as the most robust preventive security measure for enhancing the safety and security of ships, ports, cargo and crew. It quickly gained acceptance as an “international framework” and today, any non-compliance or negligence can attract punitive responses including loss of marine insurance cover.

The IMO Member States have set up organisational structure (national agencies and focal points) to implement the ISPS Code. Nearly two decades since its adoption and notwithstanding the multiple difficulties in its implementation, it is fair to argue that the ISPS Code has served its purpose well.

The time is now ripe to expand the scope and ambit of the ISPS Code to take in more issues that go beyond security. These could include educating the maritime professionals connected with ports and shipping with international maritime legal regimes and the evolving IMO’s GHG Strategy.

Dr Vijay Sakhuja is Consultant Kalinga International Foundation, New Delhi.