Berge Bulk CEO James Marshall in the war against climate change: ‘I only got two tools.’

‘I want to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible and capture the remaining carbon.’

For CEO and Founder of Berge Bulk, James Marshall, the road to zero emission is simple – and very difficult.

Berge Bulk is one of the world’s leading independent dry bulk owners, with a strong commitment to innovative growth and development.

The company started in 2007 with 12 vessels and two employees. Today they are 130 people in the office and 2000 seafarers operating more than 80 vessels, carrying 70 million tonnes of cargo a year.

“We have always focused on safe business. Over the years, we have also driven efficiency and sustainability strongly, said Marshal at SNIC 2022.

Efficiency, development and carbon are capturing.

He disclosed his 4-point strategy of attack in the war against climate change:

Making the ships more efficient. Improve hulls, cleaning, painting, and bigger, more efficient ships. Has resulted in a 50% net effect reduction in emissions compared to 2007—both on new ships and older ships.
New technology. Invested in several start-ups. Things like rotor wings, wind wings, solar, new paint, and route optimization are getting better with real-time data.
New fuels. Also focused on new fuels and committed to having a zero-emission vessel by 2030. Still, cognizant of the difficulty and cost of new fuels.
Carbon capturing. Focus on new technology for carbon captioning at Sea.
‘But I also believe in carbon capturing on shore. I have committed to being net zero by 2025. It is impossible unless I capture carbon somewhere. Hence, I have committed to planting twenty-five million trees as a way of capturing carbon. For instance, our project in Mozambique, where we are planting 7 million trees, is tangible; you see the trees growing, and it is sucking carbon dioxide out. The project also provides work to women in the area and is recovering the marine ecosystems, all tangible benefits.

‘I know carbon capturing is controversial. But I keep it simple – I want to reduce emissions, and I want to capture where ever I can.’

NBAS, Innovation Norway, and The Norwegian Embassy hosted SNIC 2022 at hotel Conrad in Singapore on 18 November 2022, with an in-person audience of 240 PAX.

We are unpacking and sharing the learnings from SNIC 2022 in the remainder of 2022.

Thanks to our partners and sponsors supporting SNIC!

If you want to be engaged in SNIC 2023 and Team Norway’s other activities in 2023, please contact us at admin@nbas.org.sg. Team Norway will host an industry workshop on decarbonisation (28 April) and the party Norway Night (26 April) during Singapore Maritime Week. Furthermore, we will host SNIC 2023, on 28 and 29 September, and the Norwegian Seafood Dinner on 29 September. In addition, we will host a series of relevant industry events, addressing the most pressing challenges for the industry and exploring solutions. We will release the event calendar shortly.