A top BHP executive says there is “no single solution” to pursue shipping decarbonisation.
Chief commercial officer Vandita Pant said there is “no silver bullet” and the issue of greenhouse gas emissions will have to be addressed using a “portfolio approach”.
She was speaking during a panel session on the first day of Singapore Maritime Week, which is being held in a hybrid format with a mix of physical and virtual events.
“As one of the largest dry bulker charterers in the world, we take the accountability for emission reduction and our footprint in the whole value chain very seriously,” she said.
“In September, we announced the world’s first charter award for newcastlemaxes which were LNG-fuelled with Eastern Pacific Shipping.”
The five vessels, which will carry iron ore between Western Australia and China, are scheduled to be delivered throughout 2022.
Pant said LNG is just “one part of the solution” and that BHP has “led the industry”.
“I am pleased that since then quite a few of our peers have done the same thing, and that is exactly the point,” she said.
“Someone needs to take the first step and then the whole ecosystem accelerates.”
First step
Pant also highlighted the recent bunkering trials in Singapore of biofuels on board the 81,300-dwt Kira Oldendorff (built 2020), which is on charter to BHP.
“There is a portfolio of solutions on decarbonisation across different horizons, some short-term, some long-term,” she said.
BHP would “try everything” to figure out what works and how to measure its effectiveness.
Pant said the next step for the mining giant will be trials of green ammonia and hydrogen.
Meanwhile, Singapore announced plans to establish a global maritime decarbonisation centre — an idea first touted by BW Group's Andreas Sohmen-Pao in February.
The plan is the first concrete initiative to emerge from the International Advisory Panel on Maritime Decarbonisation, set up last year by the Singapore Maritime Foundation.
The Maritime Port Authority (MPA) said the centre would enable a “cluster of like-minded stakeholders” to “coordinate, drive and catalyse maritime decarbonisation solutions”.
The MPA will launch a public consultation to develop the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050 by the end of this year.
It will chart strategies to mitigate Singapore’s maritime transport emissions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.
