Singapore-based Global Center for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and Norway-based maritime insurer Gard have signed an impact partnership agreement, committing to a five-year partnership to accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime industry.

"As GCMD's impact partner, Gard will assess and quantify the risks inherent in GCMD's pilots and trials and will provide hull and machinery (H&M) and protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance for the projects," says a release from GCMD.

With decarbonization, shipowners will have to venture into new waters to test low-carbon fuels and new technologies, which could expose them to new operational risks, the release said. “Gard will help assess these risks and provide the insurance needed to test and ultimately scale these technologies. In addition to providing insurance coverage, Gard will also provide legal and risk advisory services, as well as financial contributions to GCMD's pooled funds for pilots and trials."

The GCMD-Gard partnership is an important step toward reducing risk from end-to-end pilots, lowering adoption barriers and ultimately enabling the deployment of low-carbon solutions such as green marine fuels, the release said. .

“As a leading marine insurer, we want to support the industry on its way to a low-carbon economy,” said Rolf Thore Roppestad, CEO of Gard. “We all have our part to play in this transition, and it is our job to provide the support and mitigation necessary to make this happen. We want to support our members and customers as they test and deploy new technologies, and we look forward to working with the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonisation in this regard.”

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD, added: "With Gard joining GCMD as an impact partner, together we can bring greater clarity to the marine industry on the use of green fuels and emerging decarbonisation technologies from an insurance perspective. /zero carbon fuels are taking off insurers are faced with the need to reinvent business models and offer new products to customers. The GCMD-Gard partnership aims to have the legal and operational risks of GCMD's pilots and trials assessed and insured , and to show how decarbonisation technologies can be made commercially risk-free."