The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has joined a number of other ports and cruise lines to explore the feasibility of the world’s first cruise-led “green corridor.”
The collaborative effort is aimed at exploring a green corridor that could accelerate the deployment of zero greenhouse gas emission ships and operations between Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington. Nearly 300 ships leave Seattle for Alaska in a six-month cruise season; in total Alaska hosts more than 600 cruise sailings per year.
The First Mover Commitment was announced during the International Association of Ports and Harbors World Ports Conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia.
First Mover partners will leverage and support each other’s decarbonization work already underway and bring those resources and technology advancements to this focused and coordinated effort.
“The Pacific Northwest is both an area of tremendous natural beauty, and an area of global leadership in advancing sustainable shipping,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. “We’ve been proud to work with regional partners on important cross-border efforts such as the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, to phase-out all port related emissions by 2050, and through the ECHO Program, to reduce the impacts of commercial shipping on endangered whales. We look forward to building on those efforts, in collaboration with our partners, customers and local stakeholders, by exploring the feasibility of a first-of-its-kind “green corridor” to advance cleaner, greener shipping at the Port of Vancouver and through this region.”
A green corridor is a maritime route where zero greenhouse gas emission solutions are demonstrated and supported. Green corridors—through collaboration across sectors—create the technological, economic, and regulatory feasibility needed for zero greenhouse gas emission ships to succeed.
“This opens a new chapter for the cruise industry and each of our brands,” said Jan Swartz, group president of Holland America Group. “Working together, we are pioneering a new frontier to help protect the environment as we continue our commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.”
