Singapore, Tianjin pen green and digital corridor agreement

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Singapore – Tianjin Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.

Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive, MPA, and Wang Zhinan, Director General, Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, signed the MoU on 6 December 2023.

The agreement marks the first Green and Digital Shipping Corridor established between Singapore and China to support the decarbonisation, digitalisation, and growth of the maritime industry between Singapore and the Bohai Region.

The Singapore – Tianjin Green and Digital Shipping Corridor will serve as a testbed for both countries to pilot and trial digital solutions, alternative fuels, and technologies, and facilitate talent development to support the decarbonisation and digitalisation of shipping, reported the MPA.

Singapore and Tianjin will work with the research community, the institutes of higher learning, and industry stakeholders such as shipping lines, port operators, shipbuilders, classification societies, and bunker suppliers to enable more efficient port clearance. This will be achieved through digital exchanges.

Moreover, the organisations will work to encourage the offtake of zero or near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission fuels and adoption of new fuel technologies.

In October 2023, the MPA issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) requesting financial institutions to submit solutions to expedite the adoption of electric harbour crafts.

More recently, the port authority together with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced a Partnership Strategy for a green and digital maritime corridor across the Pacific Ocean.