maritime : Towards a green shipping corridor between China and France

The signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding between HAROPA PORT, the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, Bureau Veritas, China Waterborne Transport Research Institute, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and Terminal Investment Limited - TiL, formalizes the creation of a green maritime corridor between China and France.
Through this joint initiative, the are affirming their ambition to decarbonize one of the world's major trade routes.

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©HAROPA PORT

A strategic partnership...

China is HAROPA PORT's main trading partner, with 30% of container traffic, 22% of which transits through the port of Ningbo. The intensity of trade between the two ports makes this green maritime corridor a strategic lever for the decarbonization of maritime transport.

The cooperation initiative, which began in Ningbo in May 2025, was formalized on October 19, 2025, with the official signing of the protocol at the North Bund Forum in Shanghai.

This signing demonstrates the international mobilization of ports, shipping companies, and terminal operators in favor of the sector's energy transition.

... based on structural initiatives

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) provides for several concrete initiatives:

  •  the deployment of shore power electricity to a ship at berth,
  •  the ongoing greening of port terminals and equipment,
  •  the implementation of alternative fuel supply chains (LNG, bio-LNG, e-methanol, green ammonia, green hydrogen),
  •  the development of low-carbon modal shift in the hinterland, particularly via river and rail transport,
  •  the implementation of CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage) trials on board in the mid-term.

With this new commitment, HAROPA PORT confirms its ambition to structure international green corridors, in line with the initiatives already underway in Europe, and to play a leading role in the decarbonisation of the world's major shipping routes.