The Global MTTC Network (GMN) - Capacity Building for Climate Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry

Greenhouse gas emissions from maritime shipping industry are expected to increase globally. Developing countries, which play a significant role in international shipping, often lack the means to improve energy efficiency in their shipping sectors. The European Commission has recently signed an agreement with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to provide assistance to developing countries for reducing GHG and other emissions in their maritime shipping industry and promote energy efficiency within this sector.

This four-year project, 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 five target regions – Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, to effectively implement energy-efficiency and emissions reduction measures through technical assistance and capacity building. The project is supported by a €10 million funding contribution from the European Union Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), managed by the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission.

The heart of the project will be the establishment of five Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCCs), one in each target region, with seed funding support from the project. Once Operational the MTCCs will act as focal points to:

• improve 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;
• promote the uptake of low-carbon technologies and operations in the maritime sector through the implementation of pilot projects;
• raise awareness about policies, strategies and measures for the reduction of GHG and other emissions from the maritime transport sector;
• establish a pilot-scale system for data collection and reporting on ships’ fuel consumption to improve ship owners’ and maritime administrations’ understanding in this regard.

These MTCCs will have a strong regional dimension, becoming centres of excellence for promoting the uptake of low-carbon technologies and operations within the maritime transport sector. Each MTCC should be hosted by an existing entity with credible standing in the respective region. These host institutions (HIs) will be selected through an open process of competitive bidding against a set of criteria and project deliverables.

Following the call for Expressions of Interest issued by IMO on 15 April 2016, the IMO-European Union Project had received by the deadline of 17.30 p.m. BST on 15 May 2016, 43 Expressions of Interest, of which 14 have been shortlisted. These lists are also available to download from IMO's Project web-site.

MTCC Selection Process



Each MTCC will be hosted by an existing organization (or consortium of organizations) with credible standing in the region, considerable engagement with industry and government, a track record of regional outreach and the ability to provide the MTCC with in-kind hosting support such as office space, as well as related logistical support.



The selection process consists of three steps:   

1. Call for Expression of Interest (now closed);   

2. Call for full proposals; and

3. Due diligence missions to short-listed entities.

The five organizations whose bids are successful will go on to host MTCCs with initial funding support from the project. They will enter into a contract with IMO to deliver mutually agreed project milestones over a three-year period.

Contacts for the Project:

International Maritime Organisation

Tamar Barabadze

Project Manager

Subdivision for Implementation

Marine Environment Division

E-mail: tbarabad@imo.org

European Commission

Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development

Unit C6 - Sustainable Energy and Climate Change

E-mail: EuropeAid-C6-CLIMATE-MARITIME@ec.europa.eu | http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/

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About the project

Global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping rely heavily on improvements in energy efficiency and increased uptake of low-carbon technologies. Better energy efficiency means less fuel is used, and that means lower emissions.

Funded by the European Union (2016-2019) and implemented by the International Maritime Organization, the Global MTTC Network (GMN) – formally titled “Capacity Building for Climate Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry ” – initiative unites technology centres – Maritime Technologies Cooperation Centres (MTCCs) – in targeted regions (Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Latin America, Pacific) into a global network. Together, they are promoting technologies and operations to improve energy efficiency in the maritime sector and help navigate shipping into a low-carbon future.

Developing countries and, in particular, Least Developed Countries and Small Islands Developing States, will be the main beneficiaries of this ambitious initiative.

Building capacity

Carefully selected to become centers of excellence for their regions, the MTCCs focus on technical co-operation, capacity building and technology transfer.

Supported by IMO and EU, the MTCCs act as regional focal points for a wide range of activities to:

• improve compliance with existing and future international energy-efficiency regulations
• help participating countries develop national energy-efficiency policies and measures for their maritime sectors
• promote uptake of low-carbon technologies and operations in maritime transport
• establish voluntary pilot data-collection and reporting systems to feed back into the global regulatory process.

Partnership and outreach

The MTCCs are partnering with forward-thinking academic institutions, commercial and shipping companies, government departments and authorities as well as other UN bodies with a climate-change mandate to pursue these far-reaching objectives.

The GMN also supports innovation with outreach. The outcomes of the various project activities will be widely shared and publicised, to magnify their effectiveness and add further value for all stakeholders.

How to participate

Estimates say ships’ energy consumption and CO₂ emissions could be reduced by up to 75% by applying operational measures and implementing existing technologies. The GMN is on the cutting edge of climate-change mitigation – and, at the same time, opening up a world of opportunities for those who participate in it. If you’d like to be part of this innovative and ambitious project, contact your regional MTCC (link to http://gmn.imo.org/mtcc/) or the GMN (link to http://gmn.imo.org/contact-us/) project team to find out more.