FIRST ACTUAL USE OF BLOCKCHAIN

First kilo of blockchain tracked gold shipped from Burkina Faso on Minexx platform
MINING.com Editor | December 17, 2021

Artisanal mining in Burkina Faso. Image from Minexx.

Minexx has exported the first kilo of gold tracked through its blockchain platform from Burkina Faso, bringing better transparency to the supply chain.


The company deploys its platform to secure the mineral supply chain for miners, smelters, traders, tech companies and governments and brings compliance and transparency which enables local banks, logistics providers and buyers to engage with the sector.

Burkina Faso, in West Africa, produces 34 tonnes of artisanal gold per year, but only 300kg was formally exported in 2019 due to a lack of traceability and lower export taxes in neighbouring countries.

The Burkina Faso government has now lowered the taxes when exporting through L’Agence Nationale d’Encadrement des Exploitations Minières Artisanales et Semi-artisanales (ANEEMAS), the government body for artisanal and small-scale production.

Image from Minexx

Minexx has been working with local traders, NGO partners and ANEEMAS to drive production via a traceable route to market. During this export the different batches from different sources were tracked on the Minexx platform, along with information obtained through due diligence and associated reports from site visits.

Last year Minexx, in a world first, exported minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo processing $250,000 of digital, blockchain certified payments.

While gold is best known for either investment or for jewellery, it is also a very efficient conductor and can be found in smartphones and televisions.

In terms of the distribution of gold demand in 2020, 8% was for technology.

“If we are going to achieve net zero we are going to require even more minerals and this is going to have an impact on countries around the world, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa,” Marcus Scaramanga, Minexx CEO said in a media release.

“It is more important than ever that we move with pace, leveraging technology to provide solutions to the challenges the world faces and to play our role in delivering benefits to all in the supply chain – from the artisanal miners through to the consumer. This breakthrough in Burkina Faso is another important step in this journey.”

Researchers Use Carbon-Air Battery in Breakthrough for Next-Generation Storage Systems

The system comprises a solid-oxide fuel and electrolysis cell, where carbon generated via electrolysis of CO2 is oxidised with air to produce energy.

By Edited by Gadgets 360 Newsdesk | Updated: 18 December 2021 

Photo Credit: Journal of Power Sources/ Tokyo Tech
The research published in the Journal of Power Sources

HIGHLIGHTS

Adverse environmental conditions impact wind and solar energy storage

Hydrogen batteries have poor efficiency, need massive space to build

The proposed system uses carbon generated via electrolysis of CO2 


The power sector is undergoing a rapid change globally as the world shifts to renewable energy and cuts down on using fossil fuels. However, a big roadblock to generating electricity from wind and solar energy is their intermittent nature due to unfavourable environmental conditions. To address this problem, storage was found in hydrogen batteries. But these, too, suffered from poor efficiency and required massive space to build, which made them complex for thermal management. Now, researchers at a Japanese institute say they have found a way to make renewable energy more efficient.

The alternative system proposed by the researchers from Tokyo Tech uses carbon, instead of hydrogen, as an energy source. It is called “carbon/air secondary battery (CASB)” and comprises a solid-oxide fuel and electrolysis cell (SOFC/ECs) where carbon generated via electrolysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) is oxidised with air to produce energy. The SOFC/ECs can be supplied with compressed liquefied CO2 to make up the energy storage system.

In their research published in the Journal of Power Sources, the researchers said the CASB system combines CO2 electrolysis for C charging and power generation of carbon fuel cells.

They said they have demonstrated for the first time repetitive power generation (10 charge-discharge cycles) with Boudouard equilibrium without degradation. The CASB system was able to utilise most of the carbon deposited on the electrode for energy generation, achieving maximum Coulombic efficiency of 84 percent, charge-discharge efficiency of 38 percent, and power density of 80 mW cm−2 at 800 degrees Celcius and 100 mA cm−2.

This suggested that the test of CASB system suffered no degradation of the fuel electrode. The charge-discharge cycle is an indicator of battery performance.

“Similar to a battery, the CASB is charged using the energy generated by the renewable sources to reduce CO2 to C. During the subsequent discharge phase, the C is oxidised to generate energy,” Prof. Manabu Ihara from Tokyo Tech told in a statement.

The research holds great promise for accelerating the world towards renewable energy.

50 years ago, scientists were genetically modifying mosquitoes

Excerpt from the December 18, 1971 issue of Science News

Disease-spreading mosquitoes thrive in wet environments. Fifty years ago, scientists sought a new way to wipe out the pests: genetic engineering.
ESTHER KOK / EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES PLUS

By Maria Temming
DECEMBER 18, 2021 AT 8:00 AM


Sterility gene for mosquito control — Science News, December 18, 1971

Scientists are working hard to find a substitute for DDT in the control of malaria vector mosquitoes.… Two experiments with mosquitoes breeding in old tires in New Delhi point to an answer: a gene for sterility that would be passed to offspring.
Update

Today, scientists are testing a variety of pesticide-free ways to control mosquito populations that spread malaria, Zika, dengue and yellow fever. One approach involves infecting male bloodsuckers with a strain of Wolbachia bacteria (SN: 6/10/17, p. 10). When the infected males mate with females, their offspring die before hatching. Another method tweaks mosquito DNA so that males pass on a daughter-killing trait and all female offspring die, shrinking populations over time. The mosquitoes, bred by the England-based biotech company Oxitec, took their first U.S. flight in May following a years-long debate about the safety of such organisms.

COLD WAR 1.5 REDUX

Inside the CSIS probe that identified a Canadian mole who spied for Moscow

Jim Bronskill
The Canadian PressStaff
Sunday, December 19, 2021 

A sign for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service building is shown in Ottawa on May 14, 2013. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)

OTTAWA -- An investigation by Canada's spy service concluded that money, ego and career frustrations were the likely reasons a veteran RCMP officer passed highly sensitive secrets to Russian intelligence for years, newly disclosed records reveal.

Molehunters determined in the mid-1980s that Gilles Germain Brunet was an agent of the Soviet KGB from the late 1960s well into the 1970s, a Cold War spy saga detailed in documents released to The Canadian Press by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service through the Access to Information Act.

Brunet's betrayal has long been the subject of whispers, chronicled in news articles and books since at least the early 1990s. But until now Canadian intelligence officials have not publicly confirmed his exploits, nor divulged details of the probe that left them convinced he was a mole.

The hard-drinking, high-living Brunet died of an apparent heart attack at age 49 on April 9, 1984, just as investigators were closing in.

The Canadian Press complained to the federal information commissioner's office in 2015 after CSIS initially declined to release the Brunet records under the access law. Six years later, the intelligence service agreed to disclose hundreds of pages, though some of the documents are heavily censored.

A top secret CSIS report sent by hand in November 1987 to John Tait, then deputy solicitor general, says the probe was triggered by an August 1982 tip to the RCMP Security Service, the forerunner of CSIS, that a member had been recruited by the KGB.

An RCMP review of operational case files involving the Soviets from 1967 to 1973 did not yield any leads that might identify the agent. An examination of hundreds of personnel files and interviews with members also turned up nothing concrete.

Even so, Brunet was considered a "prime suspect," says the CSIS report. "As a result, the in-depth investigation was carried out as much with the intent to prove his innocence as it was to determine the identity of the recruited KGB agent within the Service."

Brunet joined the RCMP in 1955 after a stint in the military. He left the force and worked for an insurance company for a couple of years, but returned and spent much of the 1960s in Ottawa with the Security Service. His father, Josaphat Brunet, had led the RCMP's security branch for a time in the 1950s.

The younger Brunet did well in a Russian language course in 1967. But he had marital problems and ran up debt. In 1968 he transferred to Montreal, continuing to work on security files. He was dismissed from the force in 1973 for refusing to break ties with someone alleged to have underworld connections.

Brunet went into the private security business and later sold prearranged funeral packages.

He was considered intelligent, aggressive and ambitious but also "avaricious, vindictive and devoid of morals," the internal records say. "When it suited his purposes, he was extremely outgoing and gregarious. He played 'hard' and was a heavy drinker."


By December 1983, one security investigator digging into Brunet's past believed the Mounties had their man.

First, no Soviet case of which Brunet was aware ever came to a successful conclusion, even though there were operational successes in other areas of the country during the period in question.

Second, in each case the molehunters were able to document, "operations died immediately upon Brunet learning of them," says the investigator's memo.

"It appears that not only was Brunet compromised, but that he was so committed that he gave his Soviet handlers everything he got his hands on."

Subsequent investigations included numerous interviews with active and retired members of the Security Service as well as acquaintances and contacts.

Several sources who spoke to officers were not surprised that Brunet -- now given the code name Notebook -- was a top suspect, as they said he not only had a grudge against the RCMP but also "lacked character and his loyalty was questionable," says the CSIS report.

Investigators highlighted two key incidents that emerged from their queries.

An envelope with CAD$960 in crisp $20 bills had been discovered in the glove compartment of Brunet's car in 1968, a time when he was having financial difficulties and his annual salary was less than $10,000. There was no satisfactory explanation.

A former employee of a bar at Ottawa's Skyline Hotel who was asked to look at photographs left investigators convinced that Brunet had met there more than once with an individual of concern whose name has been excised from the CSIS records. All signs point to this being Brunet's KGB liaison.

By February 1984, the sleuths had found Brunet's current address in Montreal near Mount Royal, obtaining aerial photographs of the area and noting his home was within sight of the Soviet consulate.

The RCMP tailed Brunet for several days in early April 1984, clandestinely observing his visits to the dry cleaners, a grocery store and, on the day before his death, a pizzeria.

His grave marker at a Montreal cemetery depicts a beach scene in Acapulco, Mexico -- a favourite destination -- and a martini glass.

The year Brunet died, the newly created CSIS, a civilian agency, took over intelligence duties from the RCMP Security Service, disbanded after a string of scandals that prompted a commission of inquiry.

CSIS pushed on with the Brunet probe, advanced by additional information received in 1985 or early 1986. Although details were stripped from the records, this tip -- like the one in 1982 -- is believed to have come from a Soviet defector.

Investigators sifted through the evidence and interviewed more people, apparently not ruling out other suspects. The spy service executed warrants to obtain extensive records detailing the banking transactions of Brunet, now assigned the new code name Coach.

The 1987 CSIS report to Tait plainly states the spy service "is satisfied" that Brunet was the agent recruited by Soviet intelligence.

CSIS also concluded that Brunet's contact with former colleagues had meant his "services for the KGB did not end with his dismissal from the Security Service in 1973."

In August 1986, CSIS began assessing the damage caused by Brunet.

A paper prepared for a 1998 conference by Peter Marwitz, a retired member of the Security Service and CSIS, suggested Brunet had revealed the location of listening devices planted at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa and betrayed the activities of a Canadian military attache stationed in Moscow. Brunet reaped a total of more than $700,000 from the KGB, the paper said.

At the time, a CSIS spokeswoman called Marwitz's research "speculation."

A number of the investigators who worked on the Brunet case have died or do not want to discuss the file.

The CSIS report to Tait says that only Brunet could reveal his true motivation, but suggests it was a combination of financial gain, ego, career frustrations and the mole's opinion "that the Security Service was too small a pawn in a large game."

Brunet was constantly reminded that his father reached high levels within the RCMP and felt his own progress was stalled due to lack of recognition of his expertise, the report adds.

Although Brunet's dealings with the KGB went undetected during his time with the RCMP, the force did hunt for a suspected mole, prompting the departure of civilian counter-intelligence official Leslie James Bennett. In 1993, the federal government exonerated Bennett, who had moved to Australia, and paid him compensation.

The CSIS records say in hindsight it might be argued that suspicions of Brunet's treachery "should have been aroused to a marked degree" earlier since he had emerged in 1978 as a prime suspect in an internal probe concerning leaks of classified information from the Security Service.

But it seems Brunet was a puzzle. One memo sums him up as "a very private person," noting even those who worked and socialized with him for years "claim that they do not know him."

CSIS spokesman John Townsend said he could not elaborate on the records released through Access to Information.

"This case, however, is a clear example of how Canada has historically been targeted by hostile threat actors and yet another example of the risks associated with the insider threat," he said. "Canada clearly was and remains an attractive target for espionage."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2021.

World's 'largest undeveloped, permitted' diamond project 'off to the races,' Sask. mining firm chairman says

A photo shows a bulk sample plant under construction in Fort à la Corne. 

(Star Diamond Corporation)

Lisa Risom
Video Journalist

 CTV News Prince Albert
Published Dec. 17, 2021 


PRINCE ALBERT -

The head of Star Diamond Corporation says a new agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc could mean there's a bring future ahead for a proposed diamond mine in northern Saskatchewan.

"Last week, Rio Tinto and Star Diamond agreed to resolve our differences and move forward with developing the project so there’s no more lawsuits and we’re off to the races,” said Star Diamond’s independent chairman Ewan Mason.

The two firms have entered into a new joint venture agreement that settles all disputes over the development of a proposed diamond mine project in Fort à la Corne, Saskatchewan.

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Under the agreement all expenditures incurred at the property known as the Star-Orion South Diamond Project in Fort à la Corne forest between Nov. 9, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2021 are now the sole responsibility of Rio Tinto Exploration Canada.

Once a decision has been made to develop a mine, Star Diamond will have six months to begin its contribution to the capital costs and expenditures to build the mine.

“The deal de-risks the project for Star Diamond shareholders, so we are not required to contribute another penny to the mine development,” said Mason.

Under the new joint venture agreement, the participating interests in the projects will be split with 75 percent interest allocated to Riot Tinto and 25 percent to Star Diamond.

In the previous agreement, RTEC had a 60 percent interest and Star Diamond had a 40 percent interest.

“We have the largest undeveloped, permitted diamond project in the world. And our economic assessments have shown that over the next 30 or 40 years this project could cash flow $25 to $30 billion dollars,” Mason said.

Mason said environmental approvals for the project have been obtained from provincial and federal governments. He says a feasibility study is the next step.

Mason predicts there could be five to six mining sites within the Fort à la Corne claim.

“This is a great treasure for the people of Saskatchewan and all of our stakeholders.” Mason said.

The Star-Orion South Diamond Project is located in the Fort à la Corne provincial forest about 200 km northeast of Saskatoon.

 

ABS Approves 3D-Printed Parts After Six Month Trial on U.S. Tanker

Polar Endeavour tested three 3D printed parts in six months of service (ConocoPhillips)

PUBLISHED NOV 24, 2021 3:33 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

A series of 3D-printed mechanical parts used aboard an in-service oil tanker have been validated in good working condition at the end of a six-month trial. According to ABS, which participated in the project along with ConocoPhillips Polar Tankers, Sembcorp Marine Ltd, and 3D Metalforge, the project marks a milestone for the technology that could revolutionize how parts are made and supplied to ships in need of repairs.

The test project began in February 2021 with the fabrication and lab-testing of mechanical parts for use aboard the U.S.-flagged crude oil tanker Polar Endeavor. Built in 2001, the 141,740 dwt tanker was outfitted with a gear set and gear shaft for boiler fuel supply pump, flexible coupling used on a marine sanitation devices pump, and an ejector nozzle for a fresh water generator, all produced using additive manufacturing (AM) commonly known as 3D-printing. 

After six months in operation, all the parts were retrieved and inspected by the vessel’s crew, followed by a remote survey by ABS that confirmed their good condition. ABS has now approved these spare parts after successful onboard testing on the tanker.

“We are delighted with the performance of the parts and the successful completion of the project,” said Patrick Ryan, Senior Vice President, Global Engineering and Technology for ABS. “It’s an important step forward for a technology that certainly has a significant role to play in the future of the marine industry. ABS is committed to ensuring these types of parts are introduced without compromising safety.”

According to ABS, the success of the trial and subsequent approval means 3D-printing can be used for products and components. The technology can permit parts to be fabricated locally or potentially on board ships and offshore assets. The result could be shrinking the supply chain and lead times for specialized and complex parts, introducing new efficiencies driven by design innovation, reduced manufacturing time, and improvements in parts availability.

“The superior performance of these parts in service is a testament to the rigorous engineering, manufacturing, and post-production testing put in place by the team involved with this venture,” said Robert Noyer, Engineering Superintendent for ConocoPhillips Polar Tankers which supplied the ship for the test. "We look forward to future opportunities to support our vessels with this technology.”

Traditional parts used in shipbuilding and repair are manufactured with casting or forging techniques. For this project, the consortium utilized AM to fabricate three types of parts that meet or may even exceed conventionally manufactured products in terms of quality. 3D-printing fabricated the parts by adding material layer by layer. 

The industry has been experimenting with applications for the technology over the past few years. In February 2021, the largest metal propeller produced by 3D-printing was certified by BV while other applications have included manufacturing equipment to be tested in port operations. 

The stalled energy transition

 December 16, 2021

 CMA CGM

Showered with cash like never before, what is it that containership owners know that the rest of us have yet to work out?

Newbuild prices are considerably elevated and most of the shipowning community cannot, hand on heart, say with any conviction that they know what the fuel of the future is. And yet our boxship friends have piled in with more orders for new ships than ever before. Granted many of these new ships are alternatively fuelled – for which read LNG bar a handful of Maersk methanol dual-fuellers – but really we are still so far away from being able to order tomorrow’s ships with any confidence. Where will the green methanol come from? Where will all the green hydrogen come from? Fortunately, the dry cargo owners are sensible and are holding back so we can see a healthy demand-supply relationship in the dry cargo area for a few years ahead.

 

What is it that containership owners know that the rest of us have yet to work out?

Shipping is obliged to become green but cannot do it on its own. The world seems to not be joining the dots – demanding zero emissions without establishing the requisite infrastructure.

Of course, the regulatory tardiness does not help. I am very worried about EEXI and CII rules coming in. This bodged legislation will not necessarily put us on the green path we need to be on fast. It will, however, make older ships go so slow, potentially great news for owners as rates will rally.

It’s not just shipping that has struggled to keep a resolute green path in 2021. The global energy transition has stalled this year – witness the extraordinary growth in coal use this year, in no small part due to high gas prices.

One final point relating to finance. You might have read recently about the big drop in syndicated marine loans this year. While this is a clear trend, don’t think for a moment that this translates into the finance taps being turned off for shipowners. There is still a massive inflow of capital from every other source. Whatever project you look at these days, four or five bids come from non-banking sources. Shipping is attractive again and there will not be a lack of funding anytime soon.

This article first appeared in the latest issue of Maritime CEO magazine, published this week. Splash readers can read the full magazine for free by clicking here.

 

Successful CO2 Capture Tests Using Scrubber Fitted on Cargo Ship

Langh Tech tested carbon capture using the scrbbers fitted on a Langh cargo ship (Langh Shipping)

PUBLISHED DEC 16, 2021 8:16 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Finland’s Langh Tech has become the latest company to report successful early trials of carbon capture and storage on a vessel in normal operations. Seen as a potential technology to address the shipping industry’s need for systems to help existing ships meet the goals for decarbonization, explorations are just beginning on the requirements to make CCS possible at sea.

“Langh Tech conducted several preliminary tests of capturing CO2 emitted by a vessel’s main engine by the means of using an existing closed-loop SOx scrubber system,” the company said in detailing the project. “Langh Tech is also researching methods of extracting the captured CO2 from the process water and looking for ways to store and/or utilize the captured CO2 efficiently both onboard vessels and upon possible discharge to shore.”

The company which designs and manufactures exhaust scrubbers reports the tests were carried about aboard one of its sister companies, Langh Shipping’s vessels utilizing the existing Langh Tech hybrid scrubber installed on board. Langh Tech’s closed-loop scrubbers were installed in 2013 and 2014 on Langh Ship’s five cargo vessels which sail on the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, stopping at major northern European ports.

In the tests, additional alkali was added to the scrubber closed-loop process water to provoke a reaction between the alkali and CO2, effectively capturing the CO2 from the exhaust gas into the process water. Langh says the setup of tests was limited by the capacity of the existing alkali pump, but positive results were observed even with only a slight increase in the alkali dosing. At a main engine load of approximately 85 percent, a 5 percent increase in alkali dosing (over normal level) was able to reduce the measured CO2 emission by 3.3 percent. At 40 percent main engine load, a CO2 emission reduction of nearly 7 percent was observed.

During the tests, the alkali consumption remained at “a reasonable level, and the effect of this on the operating expenses of the vessel would remain feasible,” reports Langh. “Results of the tests are regarded as a tentative proof of concept and additional tests with further increased alkali feed shall be conducted to verify this.”

The company believes that the CO2 capture feature could be applied to any Langh Tech closed-loop or hybrid scrubber systems with relatively low cost impact, and requires only minor changes to the existing scrubber system. The process could be performed with readily available alkali products such as NaOH and MgOH2, which are both already being used in many SOx scrubber processes.

 CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Icelandic prosecutors raid Eimskip offices in ship scrapping probe

 December 20, 2021

(TOMMOROWS NEWS TODAY)

 

Eimskip


The Icelandic district prosecutor has been granted permission to raid the offices of shipping company Eimskip in order to conduct an inquiry into possible legal irregularities involving the sale of two scrapped ships to India.

The prosecutor has requested specific documents relating to the sale of the 1,465 teu pair Goðafoss and Laxfoss in 2019, which the Environment Agency of Iceland reported to the district prosecutor in 2020. Eimskip said through Nasdaq Iceland that no individuals have legal status in the matter.

The case revolves around the scrapping of the 1995-built ships, which were sold to cash buyer GMS and then offloaded to the Malwi Ship Breaking and Gohilwad Ship Breaking yards on India’s west coast.

The investigation relates to whether the country’s Act. No. 55/2003 on the treatment of waste and subsequent regulations have been infringed. Since 2018, European legislation has outright banned the demolition of ships over 500 gross tons anywhere except for licensed recycling sites, and similar restrictions have been in effect in Iceland since a mere year ago.

“It is impossible for the company to estimate possible financial effects as the Act contains sanctions provisions without stating any specific amounts. The only amount referenced in the Act relates to the Icelandic Environmental Agency’s authority to apply administrative fines towards legal entities amounting up to ISK 25m ($192,435).”

Eimskip said earlier that it believes that it complied with laws and regulations in the sales process. “Eimskip takes the matter seriously as the company, its management, and employees place great emphasis on social responsibility in their work and have long paid attention to environmental issues in their operations.”

Adis Ajdin is an experienced news reporter with a backgroud in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.

 

Insurers Adopt Poseidon Principles for Decarbonization Transparency

PUBLISHED DEC 15, 2021 2:26 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

In an effort to keep the focus on the shipping industry’s progress towards decarbonization, six of the leading insurance companies for the maritime industry are launching an initiative designed to encourage the industry and provide a further level of transparency on carbon initiatives. Called the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance, it represents the second expansion of the Poseidon Principles launched in 2019 that enlisted maritime financing and financial institutions in addressing global environmental issues.

Launched in Europe today under the auspices of the Global Maritime Forum, an international not-for-profit organization committed to promoting sustainability in global seaborne trade, the committee that developed the new charter says that the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance are a framework to quantitatively assess and disclose the climate alignment of marine insurers’ underwriting portfolios. In addition to the leading insurers and related organizations, members from the shipping community, including A.P. Moller-Maersk and Star Bulk as well as Lloyd’s Register, participated in the effort.

“We are pleased to see leading marine insurers join forces with signatories to the Poseidon Principles and the Sea Cargo Charter in establishing a framework to quantitively assess and disclose the climate alignment of their underwriting portfolios, and raising the bar for everyone by doing so relative to the goal of full decarbonization of international shipping,” said Johannah Christensen, CEO at Global Maritime Forum in support of the new initiative. “Alongside other stakeholders in the maritime value chain, the insurance industry has the influence and responsibility to drive progress.”

After the financial industry launched the Poseidon Principles, charterers followed suit with their initiative inspired by the same guidelines. Announced in October 2020, seventeen of the leading charterers committed to transparency showing the alignment of their efforts with the shipping industry’s decarbonization. The Sea Cargo Charter set a benchmark for responsible shipping and transparent climate reporting is seen as a tool to use charters to drive the shipping industry’s decarbonization progress.

Signatories to the new Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance, which include as founders Swiss Re, Gard, Hellenic Hull Management, SCOR, Victor International, and Norwegian Hull Club, commit to assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of their hull and machinery portfolios. Under the new principles, they will benchmark their portfolios against two trajectories. One is linked to a 50 percent reduction of annual CO2 emissions by 2050 compared to 2008 and the other is linked to a 100 percent reduction of emissions by 2050. 

“As risk managers, insurers and investors, the insurance industry has a key role in supporting the transition to a net-zero economy. The Poseidon Principles will serve our institutions as well as our clients to quantitatively assess and disclose the climate alignment of their underwriting portfolios and thus improve decision-making at a strategic level and shape a sustainable future for all. The disclosure framework provided by the Poseidon Principles will enable us to credibly report our progress towards net-zero insurance using granular marine data,” said Patrizia Kern, Marine Head at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and Chair of the drafting committee for the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance. 

The Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance is also the first sector-specific methodology to emerge in support of the UN lead Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) which was launched in the summer of 2021. Eight of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers established the alliance where members commit to transitioning their underwriting portfolios to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

The group plans to continue to expand the framework to further support a zero-emissions future for the shipping industry. They said they planned to add a third trajectory to the principles to align the full decarbonization trajectory with zero-lifecycle GHG emissions to meet the ambition of net-zero commitments such as the NZIA. In addition to the six founding members, brokers and other key stakeholders in marine insurance are committing to supporting the principles as affiliate members and aligning with the goal of decarbonizing international shipping by 2050. Affiliate members supporting the principles are Willis Towers Watson, Cefor, and EF Marine, and additional marine insurers are expected to join in the future.