The global effort to significantly lower the amount of man-made carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has seen a lot of government-backed collaborative efforts in recent years. In the shipping maritime and ocean spaces this has been somewhat fragmented, with different international agencies taking on different responsibilities.
The UN’s shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, recently announced an internal reform that has led to the creation of a new partnerships and projects department that will see it reach out to both industry and international funding mechanism and agencies to expand this effort. Head of the new department is Jose Matheickal who’s job will be, among other things, to keep an eye on research and development of innovative ideas that can help wean large ships off CO2 emitting fuels. In his first interview since the IMO announced this significant new strategy to increase its collaborative work, Jose Matheickal talks to Fathom World’s Craig Eason on how he sees funding and ideas coming together.