INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR VESSEL PERFORMANCE OPTIMISATION

The maritime industry is facing enormous pressure to reduce GHG emissions from shipping, which per 2023 amount to 3% of global GHG emissions, and if left unchecked, are estimated to reach 17% of global GHG by 2050. In 2018, global shipping emissions represented 1 076 million tonnes of CO2, and were responsible for around 2.9% of global emissions caused by human activities. (ref https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/transport/reducing-emissions-shipping-sector_en) In Norway specifically, the maritime sector contributes to 6% of total GHG emissions. As a response, international regulatory bodies have imposed demanding measures on the maritime sector. Specifically, starting January 1st 2023, it became mandatory for all ships above 400 GT to measure their energy efficiency and report their annual Operational Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). The CII regulation by IMO specifies a target CII with an annual reduction of 2%. At the European level, from the 1st of January 2024, the EU will extend the Emission Trading System (ETS) to include shipping, which regulates ship operators to pay for GHG emissions during voyages to, from and between the European Economic Area (EEA) ports. The EU ETS means that vessel operators would need to surrender 40% of their regulated emissions in 2024, 70% in 2025, and 100% in 2026, which would impose significant costs to vessels operating to, from and between ports in the EEA. In 2025, FuelEU Maritime will come into effect introducing increasingly stringent limits on the CO2 intensity of the energy used by vessels. At the national level, in May 2022, the Norwegian maritime sector committed to the Green Shipping Challenge set jointly by the Norwegian and the US Governments, aimed at reducing GHG emissions from shipping by 50% by 2030. All these top-down government directives send a clear message that the shipping companies need to urgently invest in decarbonising their operations to remain viable.