South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean has signed a five-year strategic partnership agreement with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) marking a first shipbuilding pairing for the GCMD.
The two have agreed to advance maritime decarbonisation in the areas of alternative low and zero-carbon fuels, energy efficiency technologies and onboard carbon capture.
“This partnership also marks GCMD’s inaugural centre-level partnership with a South Korean shipbuilding entity,” the Singapore-based centre said.
The non-profit organisation said it and Hanwha Group-controlled Hanwha Ocean play complementary roles in addressing different parts of the value chain. This could be enabling ammonia as a marine fuel or further closing gaps in the OCC value chain.
The centre flagged up that Hanwha Ocean recently paired with group companies Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Power Systems to develop ammonia-powered vessels, while the GCMD completed two ammonia transfers to showcase breakbulk and mimic bunkering operations between vessels at anchorage in the Pilbara region.
“Hanwha Ocean will be among the ecosystem of partners in GCMD’s initiative to enable key ports for this purpose,” the centre said.
- Established: 1 August 2021
- Mission: to support the decarbonisation of the maritime industry by shaping standards, deploying solutions, financing projects and fostering collaboration across sectors
- Founded by: BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express and Seatrium
- Joined by strategic partners: BP, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK
- Project level partners: more than 100
- Receives funding from: the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore for qualifying research and development programmes and projects
The GCMD also highlighted that the Korean Register and the Marshall Islands Registry granted Hanwha Ocean an approval in principle for its onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) technology which is due to be installed on LNG carriers.
The centre recently released a report to assess the technical, operational and economic feasibility of installing a OCCS retrofit on board an MR tanker to reduce emissions.
GCMD chief executive Lynn Loo said the centre is looking forward to co-learning with Hanwha Ocean and leveraging the shipbuilder’s expertise in its pilots to operationalise solutions.
Hanwha Ocean chief technical officer Young Chang (James) Shon said: “The time for action is now, and we are fully committed to driving meaningful change. Embarking on this journey with GCMD excites us as we work together to realise a carbon-free future for shipping.”
