Minister of Transport announces a Memorandum of Understanding for West Green Shipping Corridor

December 6, 2023                    Ottawa, Ontario                    Transport Canada

Canadians across the country rely on marine shipping to deliver products in an affordable, safe, and efficient way. By building shipping corridors with cleaner, more sustainable practices, we not only help grow a strong economy and get people the goods they need, we help keep our water and air clean.

Today, on the margins of COP28, the Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez announced that Canada has signed the Memorandum of Understanding to pursue the establishment of a green shipping corridor between Canada’s West Coast and ports in the United Arab Emirates, Korea and Japan.

The West Green Shipping Corridor will feature:

• A unique geographical location—it is the shortest route from North America to Asia;
• State-of-the-art low carbon technologies: Carbon Neutral Transload Centre and net-zero container;
• State-of-the-art sprinter ships (ships that are faster, smaller and designed to only make round trips between two ports) using the most innovative zero emission technologies (e.g., clean fuels, new hull designs, and advanced logistics and efficiencies); and,
• The distribution, use, and export of clean fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, or methanol—all produced in Canada.

This Memorandum of Understanding showcases the power of partnerships across the marine sector. Partners include Indigenous groups, governments, shippers, ship builders, ports and terminal operators, clean fuel producers and clean tech companies. All parties have agreed to work together to develop this corridor, which is the shortest route between North America and Asia. This partnership takes advantage of world-leading, clean technologies already in use or planned in every port.

For Canada, this Memorandum of Understanding builds on the significant action taken over the past few years. The Canadian Green Shipping Corridors Framework, released last year, helps guide Canadian organizations and industry in creating green shipping corridors. The Green Shipping Corridor Program, launched on December 1, 2023, will invest in the development of these corridors —particularly on Canada’s East and West coasts, the Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Green shipping corridors will play a vital role in reducing emissions from the entire range of marine shipping activities. They will encourage:

• innovative ship technology;
• clean marine fuels; and
• the use of clean electricity and other low-carbon technologies in port operations.

By working together to build clean, sustainable routes for shipping, we support our businesses and middle-class workers, and help protect our environment.