UpbeatA shipping cleanup for six countries: IMO and ASEAN launch Blue Solutions for cleaner ports
The ships that carry Southeast Asia's trade are getting a cleaner brief. The International Maritime Organization has launched Blue Solutions, a project to cut shipping's footprint across six countries — Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam — unveiled at the 51st ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group meeting in Phnom Penh on 20–21 October. Implemented with PEMSEA, the partnership for East Asian seas, and funded by Germany's International Climate Initiative with an initial €5.9 million (about $6.6 million) for the first phase, the project runs to January 2031 and focuses on practical change: electrifying ports and vessels, cleaner technologies, and smarter operations. It slots into the IMO's Technical Co-operation Framework for 2026–27 and ASEAN's Transport Sectoral Plan for 2026–2030 — regional plumbing, in other words, for regional seas.
SDG 13 · Climate action — Mechanism: institutional program