MERC has announced two major new partners, connecting the MERC Community with global organisations that promote maritime sustainably and maritime electrification.
In February 2026 the Maritime Emissions Reduction Coalition program was setup as its own not-for-profit company, MERC Asia-Pacific Ltd (MERC). The change was intended to provide greater financial stability for MERC and make it easier to collaborate with international networks and programs.
This transition has paid dividends for MERC members through two new partnerships.
Green Marine has joined MERC as a partner, and recognised MERC as a Green Marine association member. Green Marine is an international voluntary certification program that offers an off-the-shelf environmental management program for many maritime businesses. In Australia, they count Port Authority of NSW and Manly Fast Ferry (part of the NRMA) as members. Founded in North America, Green Marine International (GMI) has over 550 members worldwide.
“Green Marine was one of the first organisations we contacted about partnering with when we started MERC, and it is fantastic to see we are now able to work together,” said Angus McDonald, MERC CEO. “Organisations that are committed to sustainability find Green Marine a tremendous help, and those that want to innovate will find the MERC Community the right ecosystem to be a part of.”
“Partnering with like-minded and committed organisations like MERC is part of our founding tenets. When tackling such shared, urgent, and critical needs as decarbonization, we must work in concert to make best use of our resources,” added David Bolduc, GMI President & CEO.
The Maritime Battery Forum (MBF) have joined MERC as a partner, and MERC has become an event partner with them. The MBF is the leading international advocate for maritime electrification and focuses on ensuring battery adoption is safe and can enable emissions reduction. It is a forum open to everyone who wants to collaborate on sharing knowledge and information about maritime battery technology. The MERC Community gains an important ally in promoting safe port and maritime electrification and will collaborate on events on these themes.
“Globally, no one is doing more to promote maritime electrification than the Maritime Battery Forum. Their electric vessel data is what lies behind DNV’s Veracity data platform, and nearly every port and maritime electrification leader in the industry is with them,” said Angus McDonald. “We hope that through this partnership with MBF we can see more recognition for Aussie and Kiwi innovators in this space.”
“We are delighted to partner with MERC at a time when collaboration across regions is becoming increasingly important to accelerate maritime decarbonisation,” said Denise Ho, Director Southeast Asia for MBF. “By connecting MERC’s growing ecosystem with Maritime Battery Forum’s global network, we hope to support and see the increase in scalable adoption of battery technologies, while strengthening collaboration with Europe and contributing to the growing momentum in Southeast Asia.”
About MERC
MERC Asia-Pacific Ltd (MERC) is a not-for-profit established to promote maritime decarbonisation and sustainability. MERC’s purpose is to promote progress in the maritime sector towards enhancing the natural environment by firstly, adopting, and secondly, pursuing, Real Zero and Nature Positive goals, achieving this by acting as the orchestrator of a regional innovation ecosystem focused on these goals. MERC has 37 participating organisations from across the industry and is continually adding more members.
About Green Marine
A voluntary, sustainability initiative by and for the maritime industry, Green Marine aims to guide its participants toward environmental excellence. The certification program addresses issues specific to maritime transportation, such as air emissions, water and soil quality, the protection of biodiversity, and community relations.
About Maritime Battery Forum
The Maritime Battery Forum (MBF) was founded with the aim of promoting new and efficient energy storage technologies in the maritime industry. With over 90 members in 3 continents, the MBF works to disseminate information, facilitate discussion about and review new technology which is complementary to battery technology-based solutions or in one way or the other play an important role towards a zero-emission vision.
