On March 20, China’s Ministry of Transport set up Ship Energy Efficiency Centre in Shanghai, a unified agency responsible for the management of carbon emissions from Chinese ships, to push forward the development of green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry and achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
The Ship Energy Efficiency Center will be overseen by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration. Its construction and development will ensure the orderly advancement of China’s ship energy efficiency management work, promote the green, low-carbon and intelligent transformation and upgrading of the shipping industry, and will further enhance the level of Shanghai’s shipping service industry and contribute to the construction of the international shipping center.
Vice Minister of Transportation Fu Xuyin and Vice Mayor of Shanghai Zhang Xiaohong attended the event and delivered speeches. On the same day, the Implementation Guidelines for Carbon Intensity Management Compliance of Chinese Ships on International Voyages and the Working Guidelines for the Action Plan for Rectification of Energy Efficiency Management of Ships were released for the first time. The guidelines will provide practical guidance and services for China’s shipping enterprises and ships to fully fulfill the requirements of international conventions, effectively implement the International Maritime Organization’s greenhouse gas emission reduction measures, improve the level of energy efficiency of ships, and help China’s shipping industry develop in a green and low-carbon transformation.
It is reported that in order to achieve the strategic goal of greenhouse gas emission reduction in international shipping, the IMO has adopted the “Carbon Intensity Rules for International Shipping”, which requires international ships to prepare “Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans”, collect and report data on energy consumption, calculate the operational carbon intensity indexes and assess the annual operational carbon intensity level.
On December 22, 2022, China’s approximately 1,000 ships of 5,000 gross tons and above of Chinese nationality on international voyages will begin to fully implement the requirements of the International Convention. Through the carbon intensity management of international navigation ships, the current situation of energy consumption of China’s ships can be mapped out, and targeted guidance can be provided to China’s shipping enterprises to actively take measures to reduce energy consumption of ships, such as technology, operation and the use of alternative fuels. The first operational carbon intensity rating will be completed by the end of May this year.
Meanwhile, the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Center of Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration is responsible for collecting, reporting and checking the energy consumption data of China’s ships of 400 gross tons and above, so as to actively and steadily promote China’s shipping industry to achieve the goal of the dual-carbon strategy, and to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry to provide a data base and an important reference.