The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has signed three partnership agreements with Saudi Arabia to support the preparation of a project that targets ship-based emissions.
The agreements, signed by IMO secretary general Kitack Lim and the kingdom’s minister of transport and logistic services, Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser, will see USD509,000 going to the three environmental initiatives: emission reduction, biofouling prevention, and tackling marine plastic litter.
Under the first agreement, around USD400,000 will be used to fund a 12-month preparatory phase of a new long-term IMO CARES (Coordinated Actions to Reduce Emissions from Shipping) initiative. The project aims to accelerate demonstration of green technologies and their deployment globally.
The second agreement sets out USD54,500 in funding for IMO’s ongoing GloFouling initiative. The money will go towards a female-only workshop on ship biofouling.
Under the third agreement, the IMO-Norway-Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) GloLitter Project, aimed at tackling marine plastic litter, will receive co-financing of USD54,5000. The GloLitter Project encourages twinning between countries to create a network for facilitation of knowledge dissemination about best practices to tackle marine plastic litter. The IMO said the additional funding will be used to strengthen this model.
