Following a lengthy process, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) member states finally agreed in April to require international shipping to decarbonize and at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The agreement includes strengthening
design requirements for each ship type, a relative reduction of 40
percent in CO2 emissions by 2030, and at least 50 percent reduction by
2050, and subsequently a path toward a complete phase-out.
Although the members agreed on the
goals, concerns were raised over the lack of any clear plan of action to
deliver the emissions reductions.
Kirsi Tikka, Executive Vice President, Senior Maritime Advisor, at the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), in
an interview with World Maritime News said that collaboration by all
stakeholders as well as sufficient investment in technology development
are needed.
“To meet the targets established in
the initial IMO strategy for GHG reduction will require considerable
development time and financial investment that may not deliver returns
in the short term.”
Since the experiences of early adopters
of technology in complying with environmental regulations have not
always been positive, the industry “is unlikely to adopt new GHG
reduction technologies until there is a full proof of functionality and
ideally a cost/benefit analysis.”
Tikka continued that financing the R&D needed to deliver on the schedule established by the IMO strategy “will be a challenge for the industry – something of which the IMO is well aware.”
WMN: Would you agree that the compromise on the 50 percent reduction was the best the IMO could do for the moment?
Tikka: Given the apparently high degree of disagreement on strategy between member states going into the meeting it was a very positive result for the IMO, the industry and potentially, the environment. By agreeing to establish a global target for CO2 emissions reductions, the IMO has produced a result in line with the Paris Accords and has sent a clear message that eliminates the need for regional target setting.
Shipowners will start to collect
emissions data according to the IMO Data Collection System in January
2019 and this data will provide the foundation for IMO discussions on
the final shape of the GHG strategy from 2023, Tikka continued.
Despite the headlines concerning 50% reductions of 2008 levels by 2050, the targets for the greenhouse gas reduction “are
not finalized and IMO will use the output from the IMO DCS and the
fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study (in 2020) to further refine the
targets.”
In the meantime, shipowners are probably
more focussed on the implications of 2020 in terms of fuel strategy and
operational profile, Tikka said.
“The IMO GHG agreement raises a lot
of questions, to which there are for the moment, few answers: what kind
of technology will be available? What fuel strategy – conventional or
alternative – should they choose and what propulsion system will offer
the best option?”
WMN: What is your take on the
available solutions on the market? What is the way forward: alternative
fuels, scrubbers or maybe innovative ship designs?
Tikka: I agree that there is a need for significant system and service development to transfer some of today’s promising technology into solutions that can be implemented and applied. These include fuel cell and battery technology, wind and solar power assistance and new fuels such as Gas-To-Liquids, methanol from biomass and other biofuels, but few are ready to go on the kind of scale needed to meet the GHG targets.
Vessel designs have already been
optimized for economic efficiency in recent years and a step change in
efficiency would require a radically different approach to design and/or
use of materials. Since it is not feasible to replace the world fleet
by 2030, we will need other fuel and operational measures such as
optimizing speed for on-time arrival at port, to supplement any advances
in design.
Speaking on the impact of CO2 reduction decision on ship speeds, Tikka informed that vessel speed has “a significant impact on required power and therefore on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.”
As a result, ships in sectors that typically operate at higher speed “are
likely to work at lower operational speeds in future. And maybe more
importantly these speeds will need to be optimized for the most
efficient utilization of the vessel in the logistics chain rather than
the traditional approach of specifying the speed in the charter party.”
Tikka said that addressing the CO2 requirements “will certainly take a holistic approach across the industry.”
The leveraging of more real-time and
accurate vessel performance data will form an integral aspect of
achieving these improved efficiencies. Digital technology and improved
connectivity will offer tools not only for reporting and improving
vessel performance but also for optimizing the wider logistics chain,
Tikka concluded.
World Maritime News Staff
