SSI Impact: News from our journey to sustainable shipping.

Issue 04/2024

The ocean is critical in regulating our climate, which is facing unprecedented challenges. In 2023, record-breaking sea temperatures and heatwaves across nearly 30% of the ocean threatened ecosystems , triggering mass die-offs of marine species and highlighting the urgent need for action. The ocean is both the largest carbon sink and a biodiversity powerhouse . Its blue carbon ecosystems offer natural solutions to remove carbon from the atmosphere , simultaneously mitigating climate change while preserving vital biodiversity habitats.

Shipping has a crucial role to play in navigating a path towards a healthier planet. At COP 28, Equal Routes highlighted shipping’s role in the ‘Navigating the Future: Bridging Shipping, Biodiversity, and Decarbonization ’ report, showcasing how meeting biodiversity goals can support climate action. It emphasised the need to address triple planetary threats of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss in the context of shipping solutions and impacts.

With World Ocean Day just a week away, this edition of SSI Impact reflects on this year's theme: Awaken New Depths. As you read this edition, we encourage you to ponder the role and commitments you and your organisation can make to safeguard the oceans and establish a resilient and sustainable shipping industry.

SSI Impact focuses on updates from shipping’s journey to a sustainable shipping industry. Each newsletter will focus on one vision area of the Roadmap to a sustainable shipping industry . This issue focuses on Oceans. ?

OCEANS: Contribute to responsible ocean governance and the healthy use of marine resources

Ships of Opportunity

Sailing the seven seas, shipping cannot overlook its major stakeholder – the ocean. Reflecting how only 10% of the oceans have been explored, there is a significant marine data gap. The Back to Blue Initiative addresses this in their latest podcast , where they provide an overview of their Roadmap to close this gap. Fortunately, shipping can step in with ‘ships of opportunity’ that collect and share data with the scientific community. The World Ocean Council (WOC) Smart Ocean-Smart Industries program encourages collaboration between the maritime sector and the scientific community . They are currently running a survey for those who have used Crowdsourced Bathymetry (CSB) activities or are aware of these initiatives.

?Building business action for nature

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) announces that 230 companies and financial institutions will start nature-related reporting , based on the TNFD recommendations. Want to join them? Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) ’s standard, GRI 101: Biodiversity 2024, supports organisations in comprehensively disclosing their most significant biodiversity impacts throughout their value chain and operations.

At the start of the year, The Sustainable Shipping Initiative announced the launch of the State of Sustainable Shipping (SoSS) which will build on the Roadmap to a sustainable shipping industry by tracking and challenging progress across the vision areas. Oceans is our pilot vision area under this program. Want to learn more and get involved? Reach out Ram Ganesh Kamatham who is leading this project and fill in the SenseMaker survey to shape the updated Ocean vision area .

Efforts ramp up across the globe

Just this month, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea/Tribunal international du droit de la mer (ITLOS) clarified a state’s obligation under the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in respect to the impacts from anthropogenic climate change on the marine environment . The 169 state parties to the convention have an obligation to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution.

The European Commission set binding limits for underwater noise under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD ), which should be used by member states from October 2024 onwards. Across the Atlantic, the US Coastguard introduced a 4-year cetacean desk pilot program , hosted by Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), to safeguard endangered whales.?

Denmark has joined a growing list of countries as it bans ships from using open-loop scrubbers to reduce pollutants in their waterways . This comes as a study from Chalmers University of Technology highlights the socio-economic cost of over €680 million between 2014 and 2022 of scrubber water discharge pollution on the ecosystem in the Baltic Sea alone . Over 1,500 miles away, Turkey has increased its sea pollution fines .

Further reducing pollution, the International Maritime Organization has agreed on draft recommendations for the carriage of plastic pellets by the sea, along with draft guidelines for the cleaning up of plastic pellet spills from ships .

Sustainable Shipping Initiative news

As we close this newsletter, we would be remiss not to bring some attention to SSI. This month, we welcome Rio Tinto to our membership.

“The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) is thrilled that Rio Tinto is joining our membership ,” said Steven Jones MNM FRSA , SSI’s CEO, “Their longstanding commitment to a fatality and injury-free shipping industry, evident in their innovative Designated Owners & Operators (DOO) program, aligns perfectly with SSI’s goals. This program’s focus on fatality prevention, crew welfare, and environmental standards exemplifies the kind of collaborative action needed to achieve a more sustainable maritime industry. We’re confident Rio Tinto’s leadership and expertise will be instrumental in driving positive change across the sector.”

Stay tuned for more updates on the Roadmap to a sustainable shipping industry in our next edition of SSI Impact.