The Northwest Seaport Alliance announced its newest decarbonization
effort as part of the Green Shipping Challenge at the 27th Conference of
the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the marine cargo partnership
between the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Seattle, announced its
partnership with the Republic of Korea, the Busan Port Authority, and
the United States Government to study the feasibility of creating a
green cargo shipping corridor between the NWSA and the Busan Port
Authority’s cargo gateways.

The Green Shipping Challenge is a new initiative by the United States
and Norway to highlight global actions and concrete steps being taken to
decarbonize the international shipping industry. As part of this launch,
the U.S. State Department invited the NWSA to partner on a feasibility
study of a potential green corridor between Seattle-Tacoma and Busan,
South Korea. Over the next year, this study will include experts from
three U.S. national labs, the Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero
Carbon Shipping, and staff from the two cargo gateways exploring the
creation this green corridor, including potential sources of alternative
ship fuels, and existing and potential future fueling infrastructure.

Commissioner Sam Cho traveled to the convention to announce the NWSA’s
participation in the Green Shipping Challenge Announcement and advocate
for further decarbonization efforts across the maritime industry.
Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed will join the second half of the conference
to continue these efforts and discuss the green corridor in greater
detail.

“It was an honor to announce the NWSA’s participation in the Green
Shipping Challenge alongside world leaders and U.S. Special Presidential
Envoy for Climate John Kerry,” said NWSA Managing Member Sam Cho.
“Ports operate in a global network and partnerships, such as the one
between The Northwest Seaport Alliance and the Busan Port Authority,
will be critical to driving decarbonization efforts across the globe.”

Other world leaders in attendance at the Green Shipping Challenge
Initiative launch included the Prime Ministers of Norway, Spain and
Special Climate Envoys from South Korea, France, United Kingdom,
Germany, Netherlands, Canada, and Singapore among many others.

The Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma and the NWSA have made the voluntary
commitment to reduce maritime emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner as
part of The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy. The three ports are
actively investing in decarbonization efforts including adding shore
power capability at all international container terminals, operating
zero-emission cargo handling equipment, and transitioning the drayage
fleet serving our north and south harbors to zero-emission trucks.

“The establishment of a green shipping corridor aligns well with our
commitment to the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy. We are well on our
way to decarbonizing operations in our harbors and are excited about the
partnership with the Busan Port Authority and the potential to reduce
our emission impact globally,” stated NWSA Managing Member Deanna
Keller.

The United States Department of State invited port leaders to attend COP
27 and promote its recent work related to reducing emissions that lead
to climate change. The U.S. Department of State defines “green
corridors” as “maritime routes that showcase low- and zero-emission
lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to achieve zero
greenhouse gas emissions across all aspects of the corridor in support
of sector-wide decarbonization no later than 2050.”