India has been selected as pioneer lead country for International Maritime Organization (IMO) Green Voyage2050 Project, with the objective to assist developing countries in their efforts to reduce Green House Gases (GHG) emissions from ships.
The Following projects were selected:
- Fitment of waste heat recovery system on a bulk carrier: Ambuja Cements Limited.
- Greening of inland ferries: Directorate of Inland Water Transport (IWT) Assam/ Assam IWT Development Society.
- Greening of inland ferries: Kochi Water Metro Ltd.
- Greening of passenger wooden ferries :Mumbai Port Authority
- Electric hybrid tugs: Ocean Sparkle Ltd.
Due to the global nature of international shipping having diversity of stakeholders of all nationalities involved, emission from the maritime transport sector is addressed by the IMO through the International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). India is a signatory to this Convention.
The Government of India has implemented all MARPOL regulations pertaining to carbon emissions on Indian Ships. At present, the regulations mainly pertain to reduction of carbon emission through enhanced energy efficiency and achieving a progressively enhanced (yearly) carbon intensity reduction.
A National Centre of Excellence for Green Ports and Shipping (NCoEGPS) has been set up which is India’s first such Center of Excellence. In this regard, the Memorandum of Agreement was signed on November 18, 2022 between Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) along with Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla; Paradip Port Authority, Paradip; V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, Thoothukudi; Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi and The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI). NCoEGPS provides policy and regulatory support for developing regulatory framework and alternate technology adoption road map for Green Shipping to foster carbon neutrality and circular economy in the shipping sector in India. The NCoEGPS is housed at and led by TERI as a knowledge and implementation partner.
Some other steps undertaken as proactive measure to help those ships which are unable to meet even the present carbon intensity reductions are:-
- The Government of India has permitted use of sustainable bio fuels and its blends as fuels by Indian ships as a cost effective option.
- A digital module has been developed and is in operation to capture fuel consumption from each ship operations for each voyage that is at anchorage, port stay, sailing period etc., in order to ensure efficient operations.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a written reply to the Lok Sabha
