GCMD, Gard partner to de-risk uptake of decarbonisation technologies

Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Norway-based marine insurer Gard have signed an impact partnership agreement, committing to a five-year collaboration to accelerate decarbonisation of the maritime industry.

"As an impact partner of GCMD, Gard will assess and quantify the risks inherent in GCMD's pilots and trials and provide hull and machinery (H&M) and protection and indemnity (P&I) insurances for the projects," says a release from GCMD.

With decarbonisation, shipowners will have to venture into new waters testing low-carbon fuels and new technologies, which could expose them to new operational risks, the release added. "Gard will help assess these risks and provide the insurance needed to test, and eventually scale up these technologies. In addition to providing insurance coverage, Gard will also provide legal and risk advisory services, as well as financial contributions towards GCMD's pooled funds for pilots and trials."

The GCMD–Gard partnership represents a major step towards de-risking end-to-end pilots, lowering barriers of adoption, and eventually enabling the deployment of low-carbon solutions such as green marine fuels, the release said.

"As a leading marine insurer, we want to support the industry in the journey towards decarbonisation," says Rolf Thore Roppestad, CEO, Gard. "We all have our role to play in this transition, and ours is to provide the support and risk mitigation needed to make it happen. We want to support our members and clients as they test and implement new technologies, and look forward to working together with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation in this regard."

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO, GCMD, adds: "With Gard joining GCMD as an impact partner, we can together provide greater clarity to the maritime industry on the use of green fuels and emerging decarbonisation technologies from an insurance perspective. As the uptake of low/zero carbon fuels begins to take off, insurers are faced with the need to reinvent operating models and offer new products to clients. The GCMD–Gard partnership aims to have the legal and operational risks of GCMD's pilots and trials assessed and insured, and to demonstrate how decarbonisation technologies can be de-risked commercially."