Summary
Details
- Global
The Sea Cargo Charter is open to companies involved in the chartering of ships, particularly in dry bulk and tanker shipping markets. Eligible participants include:
- Cargo owners and commodity traders that charter vessels
- Charterers and sub-charterers in a charterparty chain
- Shipowners with commercial control of vessels
- Disponent owners operating chartered ships
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Background
The Sea Cargo Charter (SCC) is a voluntary industry framework designed to align maritime cargo chartering activities with global climate goals. It was officially launched in October 2020 and developed through collaboration among shipping companies, commodity traders, and maritime stakeholders, with support from organizations such as the Global Maritime Forum and Smart Freight Centre.
The initiative was created to address the role of cargo owners and charterers in shipping decarbonization. While shipowners operate vessels, charterers influence vessel selection and operational decisions through chartering contracts. The Sea Cargo Charter provides a standardized methodology for assessing the emissions intensity of chartering activities and comparing it with climate trajectories consistent with the ambitions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including the goal of achieving net-zero emissions from international shipping around 2050.
The Charter is administered by the Sea Cargo Charter Association, whose members are the companies that have signed the Charter. The association manages governance, reporting frameworks, and the ongoing development of the initiative.
Reporting requirements for signatories
Signatories are required to calculate and report the climate alignment of their chartering activities using the Charter’s methodology. The main reporting expectations include:
Annual emissions-intensity calculation for chartered shipping activities.
Comparison with decarbonization trajectories consistent with IMO climate targets.
Collection of operational data such as fuel consumption and vessel activity from shipowners or service providers.
Publication of climate alignment scores in annual disclosure reports and corporate sustainability reports.
Use of standardized technical guidance to ensure consistent methodologies across participants.
The framework focuses primarily on climate alignment and greenhouse-gas emissions intensity, although the scope may expand to include other environmental considerations over time.
Enforcement and verification
The Sea Cargo Charter does not impose legal penalties. Instead, compliance is maintained through contractual mechanisms and transparency:
Signatories commit to incorporating the Sea Cargo Charter clause into chartering contracts.
Annual reporting results are made public, creating transparency and enabling comparisons across companies.
Standardized methodologies and data requirements provide consistency and reduce the risk of inaccurate reporting.
Because participation is voluntary, the primary incentives for compliance are industry accountability, reputational considerations, and alignment with climate commitments.
Current status
Since its launch in 2020, the Sea Cargo Charter has expanded to include major companies from the commodities, energy, and shipping sectors. The framework continues to evolve to remain consistent with updated IMO decarbonization targets and industry practices. Recent updates to the Sea Cargo Charter framework expanded its scope to allow shipowners to monitor and report emissions under the same methodology used by charterers. The initiative has also introduced a standardized JSON schema for exchanging voyage-level emissions data between carriers and charterers, enabling more consistent and automated data sharing across the reporting process.
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