In collaboration with five Greek shipping companies, Lloyd’s Register (LR), through the Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, is proceeding with the creation of a global non-profit Emission Reduction Center (M-ERC) based in Athens, which will focus on improving the energy efficiency of the existing fleet, highlighting at the same time the importance of Greece as a global shipping center.
The M-ERC Center aims to eliminate barriers arising from technical difficulties, hindering investment and obstructing the search and delivery of solutions that will reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the existing global fleet by offering a flexible framework of trust and cooperation with all the involved actors of the maritime supply chain.
The Center will use applied research and innovative tools to address uncertainty, remove barriers to the adoption of available and new technological solutions that will promote the energy transition of shipping. The M-ERC will contribute to the optimization of operational benefits through the identification and resolution of commercial difficulties faced by the actors involved.
Furthermore, the M-ERC will play an important role in properly preparing the existing fleet for the energy transition as well as ensuring that the human resources have the necessary training and skills. These goals will be achieved through research and collaboration with shipyards, marine equipment manufacturers, in conjunction with the Center’s wider interaction with ports, seafarers’ Unions, so as to ensure the strengthening of the skills of personnel at sea and on land.
Through the cooperation of the LR Maritime Decarbonisation Center and the founding members – Capital Group, Navios Maritime Partners, Neda Maritime Agency, Star Bulk and Thenamaris – the Center intends to attract international and regional funding for the implementation of actions, programs and initiatives to achieve the goals it has set. It is expected that more shipping companies will join this initiative in the near future.
