A new green corridor project is under development between South Africa and Europe that will help with the zero-emission shipping of iron ore.

Anglo American, Tata Steel, CMB, VUKA Marine, Freeport Saldanha, and ENGIE are joining hands in this project. In the last couple of years, maritime green corridors are gaining popularity as they provide an eco-friendly solution.

CMB CEO, Alexander Saverys said that they are proud to be part of this initiative, revealing that they have already "built various ship types that run on hydrogen and is building dry bulk vessels powered by ammonia" and now they are hoping that their track record of developing green ships will be a good addition to the "success of the consortium and accelerate the deployment of low carbon vessels on this important trade route," Splash247 reported.

South Africa has one of the best port connectivity in the continent and it has the highest volumes of trading valuable commodities. This new project will help South Africa to achieve its decarbonization ambitions and helps to gain national and international benefits.

Global Maritime Forum's CEO, Johannah Christensen also praised the new initiative and said, "It is fantastic to see this powerful industry consortium come together around a new green corridor with one side in South Africa, particularly as it sends a clear signal of industrial action as we go into negotiations at MEPC 80 in July," Offshore Energy reported.

Christensen further said that Global Maritime Forum is hoping that this new project "will lay bare a viable shipping decarbonization pathway towards real-world implementation" and help South Africa to generate sustainable growth and business opportunities in the future.

The UK-based mining company, Anglo American's CEO Peter Whitcutt shared that he is hopeful this new project is an important step towards wider industry decarbonization, noting that this initiative also aligns with their company's ambition "to reach carbon neutrality for our controlled ocean freight by 2040."

Moreover, Whitcutt praised the collaboration between South Africa and Europe, adding that "cross-industry collaboration is the key to shaping a sustainable maritime industry."

Chief Group Shipping at Tata Steel, Ranjan Sinha noted that they are also committed to zero carbon shipping and are more than willing to participate in South Africa- Europe green corridor for iron ore.

"We believe in just transition wherein the financial risk of a sustainable supply chain is spread across all stakeholders – the supplier, ports, vessel owners, and buyers," Sinha said. "The success of this corridor will likely accelerate the shipping industry's journey towards decarbonized ocean transportation."

Green shipping corridors are basically an alternative to petroleum-based transportation in the maritime industry.

Zero-emission shipping has been a big ambition for most countries and several private and government organizations are working towards making it a natural choice for ship owners by 2030.

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