120 Nonprofit organisation World Ocean Council (WOC) was established to bring together multi-sector stakeholders to drive sustainable ocean development and environmental stewardship, particularly focused on corporate ocean responsibility for a sustainable and regenerative blue economy. In keeping with this aim, the WOC joined forces with several partners to launch a new initiative in December 2024: the Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Green Shipping. Financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, the CoE has been launched under the GREEN MARINE MED project and will live on after the project ends in October 2025. It aims to revolutionise green shipping across the Mediterranean and lay the foundation for tackling critical challenges facing the global maritime industry. Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy, managing director of WOC, explains how it will achieve this goal. What is the CoE on Green Shipping and who is involved in the project? As part of its overarching goal and objective setting, the WOC has set plans in motion to develop a new CoE annually over the next two to three years. At the same time, WOC is actively collaborating with both the port and city of Barcelona to promote the Spanish city, Catalunya and the broader regions as a global hub for the blue economy. As part of these efforts, we launched the CoE on Mediterranean Green Shipping, which is spearheaded by the WOC in collaboration with Centro Tecnologico Naval y del Mar, Port of Barcelona and Barcelona Activa. We have also partnered with local entities and a broad base of regional stakeholders from Mediterranean countries including Italy, France, Morocco, Israel and Turkey. The CoE serves as a dynamic coalition focusing on pioneering resilient marine and maritime practices, starting in the Mediterranean. What is the main goal of the CoE and why did you choose to start it in the Mediterranean? The centre aims to promote innovative and sustainable maritime practices, unite key stakeholders from diverse sectors and catalyse advancements in “ Global collaboration enriches our perspective and enhances the scalability of our solutions” INTERVIEW Collaborating for cleaner oceans Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy of the World Ocean Council explains to Rebecca Gibson how its new Centre of Excellence on Green Shipping will empower the global maritime industry to tackle critical environmental and safety challenges Photo: portebarcelona.cat Barcelona has a well-established port, cruise and wider maritime infrastructure, making it the ideal base for the CoE on Mediterranean Green Shipping
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