Kenyan University Tackles Energy Efficiency for IMO
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, has been selected to host the IMO’s African regional Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTCC) under an E.U.-funded project to promote ship energy-efficiency technologies and operations to reduce harmful emissions from ships.
The university will undertake the project in collaboration with Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Maritime Authority.
In December 2016, the IMO announced that Shanghai Maritime University in China will host MTCC-Asia, while the University of Trinidad and Tobago will host MTCC-Caribbean.
In the coming months two further MTCCs will be established in other target regions - Latin America and the Pacific – to form a global network of such centers.
The centers will deliver the agreed project milestones over a three-year period, making a significant contribution to the IMO’s continuing efforts to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the global energy-efficiency regulations for international shipping.
Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping are expected to increase but developing countries, which play a significant role in international shipping, often lack the means to improve energy efficiency in their shipping sectors. The project, formally entitled “Capacity Building for Climate Change Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry” will enable developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, in the target regions to effectively implement energy-efficiency measures through technical assistance, capacity building and promoting technical cooperation.
The centers will receive allocations from the €10 million ($10.8 million) European Union funding for the project. They will act as focal point for:
• improving capability in the region - by working with maritime administrations, port authorities, other relevant government departments and related shipping stakeholders to facilitate compliance with international regulations on energy efficiency for ships
• promoting the uptake of low-carbon technologies and operations in the maritime sector through pilot projects
• raising awareness about policies, strategies and measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas and other emissions from the maritime transport sector
• demonstrating a pilot-scale system for collecting data and reporting on ships’ fuel consumption to improve shipowners’ and maritime administrations’ understanding in this regard, and
• developing and implementing strategies to sustain the impact of their results and activities beyond the project time-line.