The Sea Cargo Charter is a global framework for measuring and reporting how ship charterers’ activities align with society’s goals. This report marks the first time Signatories disclose the climate alignment of their activities, and the first disclosure of climate alignment using the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) as a metric.
Signatories to the Sea Cargo Charter recognize that their role in the industry affords them opportunities to promote responsible environmental stewardship and drive change throughout the maritime value chain. The Sea Cargo Charter provides them with the tools to foster collaboration with shipping business partners, gain insights that enhance strategic decision-making, and address the impacts of climate change.
In this report, 25 Signatories disclose the climate alignment of their overall chartering activity for 2021. Together, these 25 Signatories moved over 15% of total bulk cargo transported by sea in 2021. The results show that the activities of twelve Signatories were aligned with the IMO’s Initial GHG Strategy.
The simple average climate alignment score was 2.7%, representing the average of all of the reported scores calculated with each score being assigned equal weight. This means that on average, Signatories were 2.7% misaligned with the decarbonization trajectory in 2021. Scores ranged from -26.1% to 46.2%, and sixty percent had a score of +5% or less. A negative score implies alignment while a positive score denotes misalignment to the decarbonization trajectory.
Based on feedback from Signatories and a wider shipping stakeholder group, the SCC has motivated a step-change in attitudes towards sharing emissions and activity data between charterers and owners. Signatories reported 84% of their annual activity on average, being unable to obtain data from shipowners or operators for the remaining voyages. In the twelve months since the start of data collection, many Signatories now have a near complete overview of the carbon intensity of their activity which can help them make chartering decisions based on
environmental credentials.
Furthermore, this was the first opportunity to see how the Sea Cargo Charter methodology can be applied in practice with measured data, which has in turn exposed some areas that may require some development to ensure better accuracy. This is particularly relevant to liquefied gas carriers as well as chemical tankers for which alignment is subject to some methodological uncertainty, as explained in section 4 of this report. The Sea Cargo Charter remains committed to continuously improving the reporting methodology. This implies embracing new scientific evidence and revising the methodology as needed to ensure that the Sea Cargo Charter continues to be a salient tool for Signatories and a credible public disclosure initiative.
Download the report: Global Maritime Forum Annual Disclosure Report Sea Cargo Charter
