IMO has delivered the first in a series of tailor-made workshops to help Least Developed Countries  and Small Island Developing States implement IMO’s GHG Strategy and address other GHG-related issues specific to their regions . The five-day online course was organized as part of a four-year training programme funded by the Republic of Korea  and implemented by IMO.

The IMO-RoK GHG SMART training workshop (held 24-28 January) allowed more than 20 participants to learn and network with each other using an interactive platform that also supported the delivery of live lectures from international experts in the field of maritime decarbonization.

Although future courses will be tailor-made to suit the learning needs of participants, the first training workshop has been developed based on previous consultations with LDCs and SIDS and comprises six learning modules which will be followed by a field visit to the Republic of Korea:

• Module 1: International Regulatory Framework
• Module 2: Global Efforts, IMO GHG Strategy and related MARPOL Annex VI Regulations
• Module 3: Development of NAP and awareness raising on Impact Assessments.
• Module 4: Shipping and Ports Decarbonization
• Module 5: Shipping and Ports Alternative Fuels
• Module 6: Climate Finance and Maritime Decarbonization
• Module 7: Industrial Visits and Work Placement

The first GHG-SMART workshop was attended by participants from Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Comoros, Dominica, Jamaica, Liberia, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Vanuatu, alongside representatives from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority (KOMSA).

The industrial visit and work placement planned for the first delivery of the training course has been delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This field visit will allow participants to gain a practical understanding of how port officials are meeting IMO GHG emission reduction targets and undertake more tailor-made, in person assignments as per their Trainee Structured Training Plans (TSTPs).

IMO’s Department for Partnerships and Projects (DPP) is working directly with LDCs and SIDS to organize further GHG SMART workshops in the near future.