(NEWS) WMU Contributes to Advancing a Sustainable Shipping Industry through Go LNG Project

February

2017

WMU Contributes to Advancing a Sustainable Shipping Industry through Go LNG Project

On 26 January, President Doumbia-Henry welcomed the Go LNG project partners to WMU for a strategic partner meeting. In response to the ever-changing situation on the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market, the GoLNG project focuses on the development of demand and accessibility of LNG in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). The project activities are aimed at the implementation of the EU Clean Fuel Strategy and the EU Directive on Deployment of Alternative Fuel Infrastructure in order to establish a strategic approach for the development of LNG infrastructure and promote its usage in the transport industry.

The project consortium consists of 18 partners from 6 different countries and gathers all major LNG stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) representing academia, industry, business clusters and municipalities. WMU’s participation in the Go LNG project demonstrates a continued, strong commitment of the University to the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

The project falls within the Baltic Sea Interreg cooperation and is funded by the EU Regional Development Fund. WMU’s role in the project is to provide scientific input to project deliverables as well as lead the activities that will result in a Blue Transport Corridor Strategy for the BSR. The strategy will propose how the region could broaden the LNG value chain by incorporating other modalities and industry, and guide stakeholders with technical and legal information. Among other aims, an overall goal of the project is to establish a regional LNG business cluster and competence centre. More information about the Go LNG project can be found at www.golng.eu.

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My research explored the theoretical foundations of governance, placing a particular emphasis on maritime governance. Going beyond mere theoretical frameworks, the study conducted a comprehensive examination of a crucial aspect within maritime governance—specifically, the implementation of International Maritime Organization (IMO) instruments, exploring the contextual factors that affect the implementation process. Applying the grounded theory methodology, the research aimed to understand these theoretical underpinnings, as well as firmly anchor insights in the practical context of maritime governance; unveiling the intricacies and challenges associated with the effective implementation of IMO instruments in the maritime domain. The selection of this topic was motivated by a personal interest that was cultivated during my Master’s studies in maritime law and policy. Furthermore, it was driven by the recognition of a scarcity of scientific research on this specific topic. This gap in the existing body of knowledge served as a catalyst for my exploration, underscoring the significance of contributing valuable insights to an area of maritime governance that has been relatively underrepresented in scholarly research.

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