A preliminary feasibility study to set up a green shipping corridor between Australia and South Korea was announced in a Korean-language statement earlier this week by the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
A spokesperson from Australia’s Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts confirmed the development in response to query from Shipping Australia.
“Australia is actively engaged with international partners to establish green shipping corridors that trial and demonstrate practical zero emission shipping, to help scale up the wider adoption of marine fuels and technologies that will lead to maritime decarbonisation. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to establish green shipping corridors, as a next step, the Republic of Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts have launched into work on a prefeasibility study.
“This study will examine the fuel supply chains and logistics between the two countries for exploration as part of a green shipping corridor, cargo demand trends by ports of the two countries, port infrastructure readiness for alternative fuels, and vessel types for a green shipping corridor. The Australian Government recognises the need for practical partnerships across the entire maritime value chain to decarbonise shipping through green shipping corridors, and looks to build stronger regional relationships to reduce emissions in the international maritime sector,” the statement reads.
A “green shipping corridor” is a route that it is will enable the low, or no-carbon, emissions through a logistics transport process between two or more ports by utilizing low or zero carbon fuel and eco-friendly technology.
According to the Korean statement, the preliminary study will closely examine key tasks for selecting green shipping routes including:
- analysis of an eco-friendly fuel supply chain between the two countries
- a survey of the export / import cargo and demand trends by port
- a study of the port infrastructure system for fuel supply
- an evaluation of the types of ships suitable for operation
The study is being launched as a step in the process following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation in Building Green Shipping Routes between Korea and Australia, which was signed in February this year.
The Koreans add that the countries have worked together to establish the necessary plans for the preliminary feasibility study. Private companies and research institutions that are said by the government in Seoul to be working on the project include:
- HMM
- Hyundai Glovis
- Pan Ocean
- “H-Line Shipping“
- POSCO Flow
- Jimarine Service
- the Korean Register of Shipping
- Korea Maritime Safety Authority
- Korea Research Institute for Ships and Ocean Plants
- Busan Port Authority
- Ulsan Port Authority
- Korea Maritime Institute
After the study concludes, a roadmap for establishing green shipping routes will be established through feasibility studies on the economy, technology, and systems for the routes selected.
The Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries released a statement (in Korean), which, according to a translation, indicates that Australia is a country that can supply clean energy including marine fuel to South Korea; that the Korean Ministry will actively co-operate with the Australian Government to select the optimal route; and that operation of a green shipping route connecting Korea and Australia will begin from 2029.
