[ Image by Nick Youngson , CC BY-SA 3.0 ]
Le Havre’s Haropa Port and Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Group have signed an agreement to create the first green shipping corridor between France and China, reports the UK’s Seatrade Maritime News.
The deal, signed in Shanghai, involves Bureau Veritas, China Waterborne Transport Research Institute, MSC and TiL. It aligns with the IMO’s 2023 decarbonisation strategy, the Paris Agreement, the UN 2030 Agenda and the Clydebank Declaration.
China is Haropa’s largest trading partner, accounting for 30 per cent of its container traffic. Ningbo Zhoushan Port, the world’s biggest by cargo tonnage, represents 22 per cent of this volume.
The agreement covers shore-side electricity for vessels, electrification of terminals and port equipment, and supply chains for alternative fuels including LNG, bio-LNG, green ammonia and hydrogen.
Haropa Port CEO Benoit Rochet said the corridor would lay foundations for a decarbonised sea route and make the Seine Axis a benchmark hub for zero-emission vessels. Zhejiang Seaport Group chairman Tao Chengbo said Ningbo Zhoushan Port would actively participate in green corridor practices.
Bureau Veritas executive Matthieu de Tugny said the company would provide technical support, certification and innovative solutions to advance the corridor from initiative to implementation.
