The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union (EU) have launched the Future-Ready Shipping in Africa project.
The initiative is designed to support the African continent's transition toward a sustainable, decarbonised, and digitally advanced maritime sector.
The project is backed by a €5 million pledge from the European Union, confirmed during a signing ceremony on November 26. The goal is to promote economic growth, environmental protection, and social development, with a specific focus on strengthening gender balance within the maritime sector.
The project's work is structured around four core objectives:
- Strengthening maritime governance. The project will provide technical assistance and facilitate consultations to help African countries align their national policies and laws with MARPOL Annexe VI requirements and IMO climate goals. This includes updating national legislation to meet current international standards.
- Advancing alternative fuel infrastructure. To accelerate the maritime decarbonisation transition, the project will conduct feasibility studies and develop "bankable" business cases for the establishment of bunkering facilities for alternative fuels and the creation of green corridor projects in selected African ports.
- Enhancing digitalisation and maritime single window (MSW) implementation. Efforts involve carrying out readiness assessments and developing national roadmaps for the MSW. The objective is to improve data interoperability, strengthen data security, and enhance regulatory compliance and environmental reporting efficiency.
- Upgrading maritime education and training. The initiative will focus on improving curricula to include training on alternative fuels, biodiversity protection, and digital technologies. This objective includes providing dedicated training and scholarships to equip a diverse workforce with the necessary new skills for the future maritime industry.
Five sub-Saharan African countries will be selected to benefit from the project through an open expression of interest process. The selection will be undertaken based on a range of considerations, including the availability of needs assessments, the need to avoid duplication of efforts, demonstrated political commitment to maritime decarbonisation, potential for alternative fuel production and trade facilitation as well as clearly identified needs for institutional strengthening. In addition, the educational component will leverage partnerships with regional maritime universities to enhance capacity-building and ensure sustained impact.
