The Sea Cargo Charter, a global framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of chartering activities, is to revise its reporting framework, aligning its trajectory with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) revised greenhouse gas strategy adopted in July and expanding its current scope to include shipowners.
With 37 signatories representing over 17% of total bulk cargo transported by sea annually, the framework, chaired by Trafigura’s Rasmus Bach Nielsen will line up with the IMO’s latest ambition to reach net-zero GHG emissions in the shipping sector by approximately 2050, featuring indicative checkpoints in 2030 and 2040 and employing a full lifecycle well-to-wake approach.
The move underscores the commitment to support charterers and shipowners throughout the transition process, offering data-driven insights on best practices and opportunities for emission reduction, Sea Cargo Charter said, adding that building on past efforts, signatories will continue to evaluate the necessity of an additional trajectory for consistent climate alignment reporting with a 1.5°C future.
In October, banking signatories to the Poseidon Principles, a global green ship finance framework, also announced their decision to align their reporting with the new climate goals agreed at MEPC80 in July.
In addition to aligning its trajectory, the Sea Cargo Charter is set to expand its current membership scope to include shipowners. The purpose is to increase transparency on emissions across the shipping ecosystem, with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions by providing shipowners with a solid and standardised methodology and structure for reporting and releasing emissions data related to their activities.
“The Sea Cargo Charter aligns shipping emissions reporting with the new IMO ambition and expands its scope, allowing all shipowners to report under the same framework if they so wish—further demonstrating the Charter’s proactive stance in fostering transparency and sustainability across the maritime industry,” said Rasmus Bach Nielsen, Sea Cargo Charter chair and head of fuel decarbonisation at commodities giant Trafigura. According to the reports published in splash247.com .
“Adopting IMO’s revised GHG strategy as well as opening the door to owners are two critical milestones for the Sea Cargo Charter as this will accelerate gaining traction within the industry,” said Eman Abdalla, global operations and supply chain director at Cargill Ocean Transportation, adding: “By increasing accessibility, improving the quality of data and encouraging the collaboration between charterers and shipowners, we expect a knock-on effect of pushing standards for monitoring emissions and facilitating well-informed decision-making.”
