KCC enters collaboration with HUB Ocean to map direct impact on marine ecosystems
Image: MV Baffin in Kwinana, Australia - August 2025
Oslo, 25 September 2025: Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA (“KCC”) and HUB Ocean have entered into a collaboration on the Ocean Sensitive Areas (“OSA”) initiative to assess how KCC’s shipping operations may directly affect marine ecosystems. The project will aggregate historical trading routes with speed data, and global biodiversity maps, on the Ocean Data Platform by HUB Ocean.
The partnership represents an important step in KCC’s ambition to better understand and manage its biodiversity footprint, and to help shape science-based approaches for environmentally responsible shipping.
Developed by HUB Ocean, the OSA initiative provides a harmonized, global view of marine biodiversity and habitat sensitivity. Rather than focusing only on formally protected areas, OSA integrates multiple data layers on species, ecosystems, and habitats to identify zones that are ecologically significant or vulnerable. When combined with KCC’s sailing data, this allows the project to pinpoint where operations intersect with sensitive marine areas and explore how routing decisions, vessel speed management, and new technologies can help reduce those impacts.
The collaboration will also explore how ecological insight can support KCC’s internal decision-making and external reporting. The aim is to increase transparency on nature-related risks and opportunities, while identifying practical measures such as reducing underwater noise and optimizing routing decisions that can benefit climate, biodiversity, and business performance.
Engebret Dahm, CEO of KCC, comments: “We are pleased to partner with HUB Ocean on the OSA initiative as we explore new avenues that can contribute to improving shipping’s environmental footprint beyond decarbonization. The initiative, alongside others, will give us the opportunity to test new approaches and improve data accessibility in ways that can benefit the wider industry.”
Kimberly Mathisen, CEO of HUB Ocean comments: “We applaud the forward-leaning efforts of KCC in going beyond decarbonization to better understand their biodiversity footprint. Through the Ocean Sensitive Areas initiative on our Ocean Data Platform, HUB Ocean and KCC are working together to unlock new ecological insights from data and translate them into actions that inform decisions across all operational levels."
About Klaveness Combination Carriers ASA
KCC is the world leader in combination carriers, owning and operating eight CABU and eight CLEANBU combination carriers with three CABU vessels under construction for delivery in 2026. KCC’s combination carriers are built for transportation of both wet and dry bulk cargoes, being operated in trades where the vessels efficiently combine dry and wet cargoes with minimum ballast. Through their high utilization and efficiency, with minimal time in ballast, the vessels emit up to 40% less CO2 per transported ton compared to standard tanker and dry bulk vessels in current and targeted combination trading patterns.
About HUB Ocean
HUB Ocean is an independent nonprofit foundation, dedicated to unlocking the power of data to protect and restore ocean health. The organization has built the performant geospatial and cloud-based Ocean Data Platform, giving scientists, experts, and organizations seamless access to fit-for-purpose ocean data from both public and private sources.
Through an intuitive workspace, flexible API, and Python SDK, HUB Ocean enables advanced analysis, planning, and decision-making to improve ocean management and ultimately ocean health. Built for interoperability and speed, the platform is designed to connect a federated ocean data ecosystem and accelerate collective action for a sustainable ocean.