Indus Valley Times

Three Major Ports, Paradip Port, Deendayal Port & V. O. Chidambaranar Port will be developed as Hydrogen Hubs: Sonowal

NEW DELHI, FEB. 21: The consultative committee for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW)had a discussion on ‘Green Port and Green Shipping’ today in Mumbai. During this meeting  Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister, MoPSW; Shantanu Thakur, MoS, MoPSW; Arvind G.  Sawant, MP, South Mumbai; Manoj Kotak, MP, Mumbai North East; Geetha Viswanath Vanga , MP, Kakinada; Sudhansh Pant,  Secretary, MoPSW; Rajiv Jalota, Chairman, Mumbai Port, Sanjay Sethi, Chairman, JNPA; Madhu S Nair,  Chairman, CSL; Captain Binesh Kumar Tyagi, Chairman, SCI; Dr George Yesu Vedha Victor, MD, DCI; Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary, MoPSW; Sushil Kumar Singh, JS, Ports, MoPSW shared their views.

Under the Green Shipping and Green Shipping initiative of MIV 2030 major ports have implemented and initiated various activities that would help in reducing the GHG (Green House Gases) emissions from the Port and Shipping sector and help in achieving the targets set by the Government for making the maritime sector green and sustainable.

Activities like Shore-to-Ship power, use and promotion of electrically powered Port equipments, use of alternate fuels like LNG/CNG, Storage and bunkering facilities for environment friendly fuels like LNG, CNG, Hydrogen, Ammonia etc., transition towards renewable sources of energy including Solar Power, Wind Power, Tidal power etc. have already been initiated at many of the Major Ports of the country.

Sarbananda Sonowal said ‘‘The Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways intends to increase the share of renewable energy to 60% of the total power demand of each of its major Ports from a present share of less than 10%.The ports have also aimed to reduce Carbon emissions, per ton of cargo handled, by 30% by the year 2030. The Maritime Vision Document-2030, released by Prime Minister, is a 10 Year blueprint on India’s vision of a sustainable Maritime sector and vibrant blue economy’’.

Shri Sonowal said as envisaged in the National Hydrogen Mission, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has identified and nominated Paradip Port, Deendayal Port and V.O. Chidambarar Port for developing them as Hydrogen Hubs, capable of handling, storage and generation of green hydrogen by the year 2030.

Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways has undertaken green port initiatives in the major ports so that their environmental performance can be improved.  The green port initiatives include acquisition of equipments for monitoring environmental pollution, acquisition of dust suppression systems, setting up of STP’s garbage disposal system for ports and ships, developing shore reception facility for wastes from ships, setting up projects for energy generation from renewable energy sources, providing shore power to ships at berths, creating Oil Spill Response (Tier-1) capabilities at all ports, taking actions to improve harbour water quality, inclusion of sustainable practices in terminal design, development and operation, increasing green cover within port premises etc.

In order to enhance the share of Green Shipping, various projects are being implemented by Cochin Shipyard Ltd., India’s largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility. These include green urban mobility solutions like Hybrid Electric Ferries, autonomous Zero-emission vessels, pilot project on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Ferry, Electric Catamaran Water Taxi, Hybrid Electric Ro-Ro, Hybrid LNG-Electric Inland Cargo Carrier, Hybrid Tugs, etc. The pace at which the Green initiatives are undertaken by the 12 major ports will surely bring a green revolution in the sector making the ports cleaner and greener, which is also a key component of ‘Blue Economy’, creating environmental benefits and balancing the investments and cash flow.