Operational & Technical Solutions Can Promote Maritime Decarbonization – CleanTechnica

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Once upon a time, the maritime industry thought that, in order to shrink environmental degradation, reducing air pollutants like sulfur oxides was quite satisfactory. A lot has changed with maritime decarbonization since then.

Today the industry focuses on adopting comprehensive strategies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Digital ship technologies are improving vessel performance and voyage optimization. Integration and communication between ships, shore offices, and ports is enabling increased fleet utilization and improving GHG management and reporting.

Of course, challenges go side-by-side with opportunities for net zero goals within the maritime industry. Appreciating the critical and often underappreciated role of the human element within maritime decarbonization is gaining momentum.

US Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan Announced

On December 11, President Biden announced a US Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan that builds on the US National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. The maritime decarbonization plan provides near- and long-term strategies for decarbonizing the maritime sector and identifies key actions that the federal government and private sector can take to overcome barriers to the deployment of net-zero solutions.

With the overall goal to fully decarbonize the US maritime sector to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, the plan includes all segments of the maritime sector. Since two thirds of the energy used to produce propulsion is lost, that means ocean-going vessels like bulk carriers and containerships, commercial harbor craft, coast-wise vessels and inland waterway vessels like tow and tugs, ferries and offshore supply vessels, and recreational boats will all fall under the Plan.

GHG emissions from maritime shipping account for 3% of total global emissions and are projected to increase rapidly over the coming years, up to 17% by 2050. Nearly all — 90% –of goods travel by ship in the US and around the world.

Human-Centered Focus will Require Deep Analysis and Training

Edmund Hughes, director of Green Marine Associates Ltd, wrote recently in The Maritime Executive that the success of maritime decarbonization efforts depends not just on fuels, innovative energy systems, and technological solutions “but also on the actions of shore staff and seafarers.” That’s because these industry professionals do much more than operate new systems.

“They are the key enablers of the industry’s sustainable future. Their decisions, from route planning to fuel management, determine whether advanced technologies achieve their full potential or fall short.”

Hughes continues that the path to maritime decarbonization hinges on “unprecedented collaboration” so that sharing information across industry actors enhances risk management and informs investment decisions. Such a human-centric approach is a systemic rethinking and asks the maritime industry to revisit many of its past practices. A fundamental shift in systems-based approach would have several new components, according to Hughes.

• Initial training: Basic operational competencies would only serve as a starting point. Staff would also take a deep dive into the systems they have to manage and energy efficiency principles.
• Additional training: Shore teams need advanced skills to analyze complex performance data and optimize vessel operations, while seafarers require knowledge to align everyday practices with emissions goals.
• Cultural shift: The industry needs to establish a culture where environmental protection becomes as integral to operations as safety awareness.

The introduction of regional regulations, such as the EU’s maritime requirements, could affect up to 30% of the global fleet. A growing recognition of the difficulties involved with balancing regulatory compliance with operational realities hovers over the maritime industry. Dedicated leadership must guide the industry toward this transformation. Hughes argues that maritime executives must:

• champion an organizational ethos that integrates environmental considerations into decision-making;
• incentivize energy-efficient practices;
• foster collaboration between ship and shore teams; and,
• embed environmental performance as a core metric of operational excellence.

Recent Moves toward Maritime Decarbonization

Today the maritime industry is at the onset of a “once-in-a century energy transition” as it looks for ways to decarbonize rapidly through electrification and low-carbon fuels, optimization tools, and efficiency technologies, according to the US Department of Energy. Maritime decarbonization wasn’t always so clear-cut and visionary.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships. It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic. The destination and way points for shipping’s energy transition are set by the IMO goals: a 20% emissions reduction by 2030, a 70% reduction by 2040, and full-scale decarbonization by or around 2050, all compared with 2008 levels.

A handful of tools introduced in 2013 helped the industry to reimagine energy efficiency as they shifted focus to GHG emissions reduction for the sector using alternative fuels and innovative technologies.

• The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) provided a new-building standard, assuring that ship designs achieve a certain level of efficiency and decrease carbon emissions. That same
• The Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) was introduced as s a structured, practical tool for helping shipowners to manage their environmental performance and improve operational efficiency. The SEEMP consists of three parts: ship management plan to improve energy efficiency, ship fuel oil consumption data collection plan, and ship operational carbon intensity plan.
• Operational performance measures like the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) came next. The CII is a measure for a ship’s energy efficiency and is given in grams of CO2 emitted per cargo-carrying capacity and nautical mile.

Maritime transport activities also produce criteria pollutants, accounting for 9% of sulfur oxides (SOx) and 18% of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions annually. Due to the natural confluence of activities from vessels, trucks, cargo-handling equipment, and railcars in the seaport complex, these areas often experience higher concentrations of GHG emissions.

Since January 2024, all IMO member states are required to use a single, centralized digital platform or “Maritime Single Window” (MSW) to collect and exchange information with ships when they call at ports. This streamlines procedures to clear the arrival, stay, and departure of ships and greatly enhance the efficiency of shipping worldwide. Fuel wasted by ships awaiting berth availability will be avoided with the MSW and increase efficiencies that ground sustainability efforts. In addition, public authorities will have to combine or coordinate the electronic transmission of the data to ensure that information is submitted or provided only once and re-used to the maximum extent possible.

No matter how clever the idea about maritime decarbonization, the reality is that energy-efficiency measures are essential for achieving fuel and emissions reductions to come close to meeting original IMO 2030 targets and ensure profitability into the 2030’s and 2040’s, according to the maritime industry testing, certification, and technical services advisor DNV.