Joint Statement of Intent
For the consideration of fellow maritime industry stakeholders:

We believe it is in our mutual interest to establish an alliance of cooperation aimed at increasing the economic and environmental sustainability of the shipping industry. The goal of this cooperative alliance will be to increase the present level of economic growth and environmental sustainability by reducing operational inefficiencies, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and reducing carbon emissions within the transportation supply chain. We believe that these efforts will help establish the foundation for a performance-based efficiency measurement for ships that allows beneficial cargo owners and other port customers to maximize shipping efficiencies.

The undersigned parties wish to note that:

– International shipping is an efficient way of transporting goods;
– Shipping contributes to carbon emissions and in order to limit climate change we need to mobilize carbon reduction and energy efficiency in every market segment;
– There is potential for shipping to become as much as 30% more energy efficient through current technologies and measures, and potentially even more;
– Increased efficiency should increase the economic viability and environmental sustainability of the shipping industry; and
– There are established tools available to help identify energy savings.

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree to:

– Join the call for ship-owners, operators, shippers, and charter parties - when entering our ports - to report voluntarily the vessel’s the World Ports Climate Initiative’s Environmental Ship Index (ESI);
– Implement commercial and/or operational incentives to encourage the use of above-average vessels in conjunction with existing or planned incentives to encourage the use of low NOx and CO2 and SOx emitting vessels (PM10 is indirectly included because of its strong relationship to SOx) in the form of reduced port fees or similar;
– Collect, maintain, and report ratings of vessels visiting the port on a routine basis; and
– Recognize and highlight the vessels that attain above-average ratings.

We believe these measures to be necessary to lay the foundation of an economically and environmentally sustainable industry in the long term, and will participate in a supportive and appropriate manner to help bring about the evolution necessary to do so.