The Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) has become the latest member of the Blue Visby Consortium, a cross-industry project aimed at reducing shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions by tackling ‘sail fast, then wait’ practices that see ships sailing at speed across oceans before waiting at anchorage for extended periods.
Blue Visby combines a contractual framework and digital technology to allow members to collaboratively optimise arrival times for groups of vessels travelling to the same port, enabling them to reduce their speed and emissions without losing competitive advantage. DBJ is the first financial institution to join the consortium.
The number of members of the Blue Visby Consortium has more than doubled since the project was formally launched in July 2022, from 13 members originally to 31 today.
Co-ordinated by NAPA and law firm Stephenson Harwood, the project includes maritime stakeholders like BIMCO, Baltic Exchange, UK Hydrographic Office, shipowners MOL and Marubeni, grain exporter CBH, insurer Thomas Miller, the Port of Newcastle, Port Authority of New South Wales, and classification societies ClassNK and Bureau Veritas.
In August 2023, Marubeni and Blue Visby verified an average of 15% CO2 reduction on 68 gas and chemical tankers on 625 voyages and signed a letter of intent to proceed to a real-life prototype.
“The addition of a first bank is a major milestone for the Consortium, demonstrating the financial credibility of the project, and we look forward to the next steps, which will include more prototypes to bring this innovative solution to more shipping segments,” said Pekka Pakkanen, Executive Vice President for Shipping Solutions at NAPA.
“The success of Blue Visby shows in tangible terms what shipping can achieve when different stakeholders in shipping proactively agree to collaborate and share some of the risks and benefits of the decarbonisation transition. It also shows the central role of digital technology in bringing those innovative frameworks to life.”
“By tackling ‘sail fast then wait’, one of the biggest inefficiencies that still stands in the way of decarbonisation progress, we can make a significant difference on our industry’s carbon footprint today, reducing GHG emissions from voyages by around 15%.”
