The maritime industry is changing and transitioning to meet the global targets for decarbonisation. This page provides an overview and helps you navigate a changing landscape, reports grad.
Industry initiatives
There are several industry initiatives aiming to support and enable maritime decarbonisation:
- The Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance (PPMI) is a global framework for measuring and publicly reporting the climate alignment of insurers’ hull and machinery (H&M) portfolios. It entered into force in April 2022, and Gard is a Signatory and founding member to the principles. For more information about the practical implications, read this article or review our general guidance to our Members and clients.
- The Sea Cargo Charter (SCC) is another framework that enables shipowners, charterers and cargo owners to align their activities and promote shipping’s green transition. Similar to the Poseidon Principles, signatories commit to assessing their climate alignment, and the SCC publishes a report disclosing the climate alignment scores of its members.
- The Getting to Zero Coalition is a partnership between the Global Maritime Forum, the Friends of Ocean action, and the World Economic Forum. It brings together decision-makers from across the shipping value chain with key stakeholders from the energy sector and from governments. Gard is a member of the coalition, as are many of our members and clients.
- The Green Shipping Corridors is another key initiative (related to the Getting to Zero Coalition) where the objective is to have zero-emission vessels operating the major deep-sea trade routes across the globe. The goal is that by 2030, these routes will be supported by the necessary net-zero bunkering and supporting infrastructure and that by 2045, every ship operating on these routes will be using zero-emission fuels.
Regulatory changes and emissions trading
Climate change and decarbonisation are triggering several policy changes and in the coming years, we will see a complex and challenging regulatory framework emerge. These are some of the key issues the maritime industry will need to follow up on:
- Emission trading schemes (ETS) are one of the policy tools increasingly being used to curb global carbon emissions in a cost-efficient way, and existing schemes, both in the EU and in other areas, are currently being expanded to cover also shipping. The EU Commission has announced that shipping will become part of the EU ETS from 2023/2024.
- The IMO has also implemented a number of measures to steer the industry towards decarbonisation, including the Energy Efficient Design Index (EEDI) and regulations for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx). In 2021, the IMO also adopted changes to the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and to the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). These changes are expected to enter into force in November 2022, and the requirements for EEXI and CII certification will come into effect from January 2023. Regulatory hurdles relating to biofuels, and the steps recently taken by the IMO to solve this issue.
Legal and contractual issues
A changing regulatory landscape also means that contracts and charterparties will have to be reviewed. Below are some of the issues to be aware of:
- With the changes to the IMO’s Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI), are charterparties flexible enough for the transition phase? How should parties approach the new time charterparties which they are entering into to cater for the vessel’s EEXI compliance?
- Haris Zografakis, Partner at Stephenson Harwood LLP, argues that we need a new contractual structure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in shipping. “It is short-sighted to approach maritime decarbonisation as a mere regulatory compliance exercise,” he says. “We need to rethink the contractual architecture of the entire edifice of international maritime trade”.
Fuels of the future
To reach the goals of decarbonisation, shipping and the entire transport sector will have to start transitioning to new and alternative fuels. Some of them are already in use, others are primarily in pilot or testing mode. Most likely, there will not be one single ‘fuel of the future’, but rather several – leaving the industry with complex and challenging decisions to take in the years ahead.
Below is an overview of some of the issues to be aware of, as well as a summary of industry guidelines for each alternative fuel.
- Ammonia is expected to play an important role in decarbonizing shipping. Apart from being a potential zero-carbon fuel (green/blue ammonia), it is also cheaper than batteries and easier to store than for instance hydrogen or LNG. However, significant investments will be needed, both in renewable energy production and in bunkering infrastructure for it to become a viable alternative to fossil fuels. There are also safety concerns relating to its toxicity and corrosive nature.
- Hydrogen, if produced using renewable energy, does not result in any carbon emissions, making it one of the cleanest alternative fuel options. While fuel cells are considered the key technology for hydrogen, other applications are also being studied such as internal combustion engines that have promising marine applications. The main challenges include explosivity, costs, and the lack of supply infrastructure.
- Biofuels can also play a significant role in maritime decarbonisation – although it may not be the zero-emission solution in the longer term. Biofuels have low sulfur and carbon emissions, but on the other hand, NOx emissions can be higher than with fossil diesel oils. Moreover, the maritime industry still has limited experience with handling and applying biofuels as part of their fuel supply. Regulatory hurdles relating to biofuels, and the steps recently taken by the IMO to clear these issues.
- Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is widely considered the leading “bridge fuel” to other alternative fuel options. DNV predicts that by 2050, more than 40 percent of marine fuels will be LNG. However, LNG is not without its disadvantages. It is carbon-based and if not managed correctly, it can result in leakage of methane which is itself a greenhouse gas. Being highly flammable, LNG could represent an increased threat to safety.
- Methanol is also considered to be a viable alternative fuel. Currently produced using natural gas, its temperature makes storage and handling much simpler than with other alternative fuels. However, due to methane emissions during production and combustion, methanol may not be a net-zero option in the longer run.
- Batteries, or electrically operated vessels, are also going to be part of the ‘green technology mix’ going forward. The world’s first fully battery-operated container vessel designed for autonomous operation – batteries will play a key part in decarbonizing the maritime industry.
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Source: grad
