Green and Sustainable Maritime Shipping for Climate Change and Disaster Mitigation

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Amer Garatli
Fathi Al-Saleem
Monique Wheeler

Abstract

Climate change implications have various domains of effects, each with a varying degree of significance and onset. The intensifying pattern of extreme weather temperatures, hurricanes, flooding, drought, and forest fires has arisen credible concerns to the field of Disaster Management. As impacts continue to increase in severity and frequency, the level of upkeep is becoming more challenging and increasingly overwhelming. All prescribed natural events have a track record of thousands of years which renders the distinguishing factors to be pattern-based in a comparative-based analysis. It has been scientifically debated that emissions of Green House Gases (GHG) contribute negatively to increasing atmospheric temperatures which correspond to a diverse range of consequences. Herewith, measures to reduce GHG emissions and capture atmospheric can be directly correlated to reduce climate change which subsequently leads to disaster mitigation. A common pitfall to accelerated change is the inadvertent consequences due to technological limitations or other overlooked effects.


Exploitation of these inadvertencies encourages technical development as well as deters initiatives away from iatrogenics. Herewith, the value of this crossover research is mutually constructive to all fields by way of symbiosis.


Decarbonizing maritime shipping lie at a unique interposition between prescribed domains of relevance.


This relationship is further validated by the reversal of concept known as balancing loop complex. The International Maritime Organization’s goal of absolute-zero emissions is an auspicious point of GHG neutrality where irreducible emissions are neutralized via natural, industrial, and/or socioeconomic solutions. This ambitions outlook is constrained by limitations and insufficiencies in technology, business drivers and incentives, and regulatory enablement. Sustainable financing as a growing incentive combines three success elements predominantly known as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). A successful achievement of this interwoven scope has direct and indirect feeds to the overarching climate strategy sat forth by the United Nations. Such strategy encompasses various climate-change initiatives categorized in 17 clusters known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Author Biographies

Amer Garatli, International Maritime Industries

Amer is a multidisciplinary professional with a working experience of 15 years spanning instructional, planning, operational, and management capacities. He started his career with Saudi Aramco’s Fire Protection Department fulfilling various roles and assignments before transitioning into International Maritime Industries (IMI), a mega shipyard start-up project. Since joining IMI in 2019, he led a number of initiatives from strategy planning, to mobilization and execution.

Amer holds 3 undergraduate degrees in the fields of Fire Protection Technology, Emergency Management, and Fire Science Administration as well as Emergency Medicine training. This research served as his capstone assignment for a Master of Professional Studies in Emergency and Disaster Management from Georgetown University.

Amer holds interests in the fields of endurance sports, high-performance management, self-development, psychology, philosophy, metaphysics, and complex systems science.

Fathi Al-Saleem, Saudi Aramco

In this capacity, Fathi Al-Saleem is a member of the Board of Managers at International Maritime Industries (IMI).

Since IMI’s inception in December, 2017 to December 2021, Fathi was assigned as a CEO and has set a course by assembling the team, establishing the corporate culture and growing the company so it can effectively deliver against IMI’s business objectives.

Previously, Fathi led the multi-company JV project team during the feasibility and commercial development stages as Saudi Aramco’s JV Project Development Director.

With more than 23 years’ experience at Saudi Aramco, Fathi has led high performing teams spanning business development, corporate planning, and investment analysis for upstream and downstream facilities. In 2014, he led the corporate portfolio analysis and decision support function at Saudi Aramco responsible for corporate decision support, enterprise risk management, portfolio analysis, and economic evaluation guidelines. From 2010-2014, Fathi was responsible for capital planning and evaluation for upstream and downstream investments.

Fathi earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals and a master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Portland.

 

About International Maritime Industries (IMI)

 Located at Ras Al-Khair on Saudi Arabia’s eastern seaboard, International Maritime Industries (IMI) will be the region’s largest maritime facility, offering a globally unique product range. IMI aspires to be a world-leading ‘Shipyard of the Future’, an advanced and sustainable maritime hub providing ship and rig companies with state-of-the-art infrastructure, products and high-quality solutions. IMI is a Saudi Aramco sponsored joint venture (JV) with partners Hyundai Heavy Industries, Bahri and Lamprell.

Monique Wheeler, Georgetown University

In this role, she conducted national-level assessments of Partner Nations in Europe and Asia working with the United States Government. These initiatives led to changing disaster response policies and procedures. Her career has spanned strategic, operational, and advisory roles for the United States Interagency, United Nations, World Bank, and non-Governmental organizations. She has taught disaster management and humanitarian assistance to Department of Defense servicemen and women and has assisted in the training of international response functions of the United States Government such as bilateral and multilateral disaster preparedness and disaster response engagements at the strategic level in Mongolia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Republic of Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, and Guam.

Monique also created disaster management and humanitarian assistance curriculum for two regional peacekeeping training centers in East and West Africa. She has worked in the Pentagon writing policy, implemented preparedness/mitigation programs for FEMA, and created community programs for the National Preparedness Training Center. Currently, Monique is a consultant for FEMA working at the lead writer for the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Doctrine and developing FEMA EMI courses on exercise and evaluation.

Monique is an adjunct with Georgetown University for four years in both the Masters and Executive Masters in Emergency and Disaster Management. 

She is currently working on her doctorate at Georgetown University, focusing on the ongoing climate crisis and the effects on environmental refugees. She has an M.S. in Civil & Environmental Engineering and a Masters in Urban & Regional Planning, along with Graduate Certificates in Global Health and in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance. Her Bachelor's is in Political Science and also in Conflict Resolution.

She is trained by the United Nations, Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, FEMA, and USAID/OFDA.