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An initiative by the Global Maritime Forum is underway to develop Africa’s first maritime green corridor for iron ore shipping between South Africa and Europe.

"This ground breaking initiative is the first of its kind from Africa and represents an important step in the region’s involvement in shipping’s decarbonization," the company says in a press release on its website.

Maritime green corridors are routes between major port hubs where zero-emission solutions are supported and demonstrated.

The company statement indicates that the consortium has brought together iron ore miners, shippers, the steel industry, ship owners, free port operators, and energy suppliers to explore full-scope concepts for the South Africa-EU green corridor development. 

They will also look at bunkering and offtake arrangements, available green fuel supplies, and financial and business model alternatives.

GMF lists companies in the initiative, including Anglo American, Tata Steel, CMB, VUKA Marine, Freeport Saldanha, and ENGIE.

Beyond Africa, the initiative is the first green shipping corridor for steel ore after the Los Angeles–Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor launched in January 2022.

The Global Maritime Forum said that South Africa is well-placed to be a green maritime hub, as it has the highest volumes of maritime traffic in Africa outside of the Mediterranean region and ‘one of the best-connected port systems on the continent’.

In a statement, Global Maritime Forum’s CEO, Johannah Christensen, noted that the consortium signals industry action to cut shipping emissions.

“We hope this project will lay bare a viable shipping decarbonisation pathway towards real-world implementation, generating sustainable growth,” he said.

With a wave of energy transition blowing through major African mining zones, the association will sustain the greening momentum post-mining.

With featured associations and groups cutting across diverse maritime industry supply chain sections, Anglo-American CEO Peter Whitcutt believes it will propagate end-to-end efficiency.

“We are looking forward to joining other industry leaders in exploring pathways to zero-emission shipping of iron ore between South Africa, where our Kumba mines produce high-quality iron ore, and Europe, where many of our customers are located,” he stated.

Efforts to decarbonise mineral shipping in Africa have increased recently, with multinationals operating in the African mining space showing commitment to emission cuts.

Anglo-American, in January, loaded the first 190000dwt LNG dual-fuelled iron ore cargo carrier from Kumba Operations in South Africa to cut shipping emissions.

Maritime shipping is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in its Greenhouse Gas Strategy, targeting to halve these by 2050.

IMO seeks to revise this strategy and possibly initiate more urgent 2050 targets during the upcoming MEPC 80 meeting in July.

According to Andrew Mthembu, the Chairman of VUKA Marine, a South African bulk shipping company, “the concept could accelerate solutions that bring environmental priorities to the centre of route development.”

A 2022 report, ‘The-Next-Wave-Green-Corridors,’ co-developed by diverse climate action groups, underscores the relevance of green corridors beyond the environmental relevance.

“They include value-chain actors, provide offtake certainty for fuel producers, and generate strong demand signals for sector investments.”

More significantly, however, increasing action in maritime shipping is critical for the world as it will realise significant emission cuts.

A single voyage from Saldanha Bay in South Africa to Europe generates nearly 6000 tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to emissions from burning 72 tanker trucks of gasoline.

Sector inaction would see shipping emissions increase between 90% and 130% from 2008. This is because of accelerated action in other sectors, such as transport and mining.

Due to this significant carbon footprint maritime shipping has, green corridors – routes between major ports supporting zero emission solutions – are projected to downscale the impact.

The new initiative emanates from a 2022 report by P4G and Getting to Zero Coalition dubbed ‘Shipping’s Energy Transition: Strategic Opportunities in South Africa.’

The report expresses critical opportunities South Africa can leverage to establish itself as a fundamental player in zero-emission shipping.

Besides harbouring well-connected port systems in Africa, South Africa also handles the highest volumes of Maritime traffic on the continent after the Mediterranean region, according to the 2022 Lloyd Magazine listing.

Given the strategic positioning and present status of ports in Morocco and the Mediterranean region, South Africa – Europe green corridor could increase the prospects of similar initiatives.

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