FINLANDS SJÖFART ■ SUOMEN MERENKULKU 59 THE GLOBAL SEAFARER Helen Kelly: Last year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy which is widely considered to be very ambitious in its targets. Given that the shipping industry is sometimes known to be slow to adopt, are you confident to hit these targets? Arsenio Dominguez: The quick answer is yes. I’m very confident. And the reason why I say that is because all the years that we have been working to get to where we are right now: there’s a lot of investigations, a lot of analysis, a lot of information that has been put forward to the organisation through several meetings, in order to achieve the outcome, which is the 2023 IMO GHG strategy. There are challenges, we know that this is a transition, but we must contribute. This is not just IMO and shipping. This is a global solution. HK: What challenges do you foresee in meeting those ambitious goals? AD: The main challenge is that we don’t control all the factors that will play a part in decarbonisation. I’ll give you one example, which is the new alternative fuels that will be required. We don’t control the energy sector, we don’t regulate the energy sector, we need their support and their assistance. This is where the member states play a particular role in their national strategies to make sure that those fuels that we will be transporting for other sectors – that also need to decarbonise – are scaled up and at a price that is competitive to conventional fuels. Another challenge is that new technologies will be used alongside the new fuels, and we need to address the safety aspect, because that’s paramount for IMO. We were born as a safety organisation, and we need to remember that. So, the safety of the seafarers is the primary concern. In parallel, as we’ve been developing the environmental regulations, we are also carrying out the necessary analysis, research and development programmes, training in general, to get to the level where it is safe to move ahead. HK: One of the objectives of the GHG strategy is for the IMO to reduce emissions whilst promoting a just and equitable transition. What does that mean to you? AD: It means that we’re all part of the solution. And this is why, before we finalise the measures, we are carrying out an impact assessment on the fleet, on trade, on countries. Because we need to make sure that, as the statement of the UN, that we are leaving no one behind. For me it is the actions that we take to make sure that this is just an equitable transition. That countries are not going to be penalised, trade is not going to be penalised, and it’s not going to make things more difficult or expensive. We must all contribute to decarbonisation and support what is the global approach of sustainability of the planet and conservation of the planet. HK: How does that trickle down to the maritime workforce? What needs to happen to ensure, for them, it is a just and equitable transition? AD: Within the strategy, there’s a particular reference to seafarers and the support that they require. For me, it’s how we’re going to support that transition for them when it comes to the new skills, the new training requirements that they require, and how we can support that through our technical measures and our economic measures. We continue to carry out research and developments in relation to the training requirements for the seafarers to make sure that the technologies and the alternative fuels are safe. We’re not starting from zero, we have transported some of these raw materials and fuels as cargo. It is now about the handling, and of course the port operations in relation to the ship as well the ship to port interface. HK: The Maritime Just Transition Task Force report found that 800,000 seafarers will need to be retrained on new fuels by the mid-2030s to hit the net zero by 2050 scenario. It’s a huge undertaking within a relatively short period of time, so how can administrations and employers ensure that target is hit? AD: There are administrations that are already carrying out evaluations, assessment and training in this respect. There are manufacturers that are already carrying out their own development of the recorded training for the operation of new engines. Within the IMO, we’re also going into the requirements through the STCW convention review. So even though it’s a big number of seafarers that need to be retrained, we have the time, we have the opportunities, and of course with technological ” We were born as a safety organisation, and we need to remember that. So, the safety of the seafarers is the primary concern. ”
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