SINGAPORE - Two new members, Bureau Veritas and the Port of Rotterdam, have joined an international initiative supporting low-carbon shipping.

They are the latest additions to the IMO-Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project Global Industry Alliance (GIA), which now comprises a total of 16 industry players who have joined hands to collectively address barriers to the uptake and implementation of energy-efficient technologies and operational measures.

The signing ceremony of the two new members of the GIA took place on Monday (Sept 25) at the launch of the Future-Ready Shipping 2017 Conference at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, jointly organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Around 240 maritime leaders and professionals are expected to gather in Singapore to identify priority areas for international action and exchange best practices in maritime technology transfer and capacity building at the conference, which ends on Sept 26.

"No stakeholder alone can deal with the complexities the planet faces in addressing the challenge of climate change," said Dr Stefan Micallef, director of the marine environment division at the IMO .

"More than ever, we require collaborations at all levels. This conference is therefore very timely in looking into ongoing and future collaborations that can drive discussions towards identifying opportunities that can have a transformational impact on the shipping industry as it moves towards decarbonisation."

MPA chief executive Andrew Tan reiterated Singapore's commitment to the efforts of the IMO to promote greater understanding of energy efficient technologies for the shipping industry.

"As shipping is a global industry, close collaboration and dialogue amongst all stakeholders will help pave the way for the discussions ahead to tackle issues such as Greenhouse Gas emissions from international shipping. We will continue to support the efforts of the IMO in taking the lead on this."