The German ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) have signed a strategic partnership deal committing to cooperate on efforts contributing to maritime decarbonisation.
The Centre and Hapag-Lloyd agreed to focus on collaboration to amplify the impact of the solutions and accelerate the time to deployment and adoption.
Hapag-Loyd is currently the fifth-largest container line in the world with a fleet of 23 container ships and an overall capacity of more than 1.74 million, according to Alphaliner’s figures, representing 7% of the global TEU capacity. The Hamburg-based company has announced its intention to reduce its entire fleet emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels and is aiming to be climate-neutral by 2045, five years earlier than the IMO 2050 target.
Hapag-Lloyd is the second major container shipping line joining GCMD as Singapore-headquartered Ocean Network Express (ONE) is one of the founding partners of the Centre. With both Hapag-Lloyd and ONE onboard, the Centre expects a greater proliferation of its findings towards actual deployment, amplifying the overall impact of GCMD’s decarbonisaton efforts.
GCMD believes that Hapag-Lloyd also brings geographical diversity to GCMD and can facilitate stronger interactions within the European and German ecosystems, while this partnership will add US$10 million in funding, giving a further boost to the Centre’s efforts in conducting pilots and trials.
In welcoming the Centre’s first strategic partner since its founding on 1 August 2021, Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation stated, “Shipping is a hard-to-abate sector and to reach the IMO’s climate change goals, collaboration across the value chain is required. Hapag-Lloyd is a forward-leaning organisation and has a strong presence in the container shipping business. With strong commitment and ambition, the participation of Hapag-Lloyd as a strategic partner will allow both organisations to share knowledge, build on existing initiatives and provide additional resources for pilots and trials.”
Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd’s CEO Rolf Habben Jansen will be a member of the governing board of the Centre. “I am very honoured to be welcomed to the board of the GCMD,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, adding, “Sustainability is an essential part of Hapag-Lloyd’s corporate strategy, with decarbonisation playing a key role. We look forward to this partnership and to jointly making progress in decarbonising the maritime industry.”
