The maritime sector's push towards net-zero emissions suffered a "small setback" at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting last October, but the industry needs a "pragmatic" approach given the current geopolitical climate, IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said at the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW) conference this week.
The focus on decarbonisation "is not diminished", said Dominguez, adding that research and investment into decarbonising the sector is still ongoing. Freedom of navigation and the safety of crew remains top of mind for the maritime industry, and the IMO has proposed an evacuation framework for affected vessels in the Mideast Gulf.
The sector is keeping close watch on the 84th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) that will be held in London next week, and key shipping groups have expressed support for the IMO's greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction ambitions ahead of the session.
The US-Iran war foregrounds the energy trilemma between energy security, affordability, and sustainability, said SMW panellists, noting the maritime sector needs to balance all three components for a resilient transition to greener fuels, particularly as the shipping sector is "pulled in many directions" given short-term supply shocks and regional regulations.
Recent supply shocks have shown countries need to diversify their economy and source for alternative fuel options, said Dominguez. But panellists emphasised that cost barriers have slowed the shift to greener fuels, since affordability requires scale and investment.
One of the things that would drive the scale-up and investment in greener fuels is the certainty of regulations, said Stefan Nysjo, head of power supply at Finnish engine manufacturer Wartsila Marine Power.
Supportive policies are "important when you're entering a market where there is no market", said ExxonMobil Asia Pacific chairman and managing director Geraldine Chin. A carbon accounting system underpinned by transparency is the way forward, said Chin, stressing that carbon intensity systems must be implemented on a total life cycle basis, and gradually such that it doesn't shock the market.
Decarbonisation solutions "must be economic" and the market must depend on new technologies that would support the uptake of alternative fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol, she said.
But several panellists noted that businesses are not waiting for regulations to be fixed before deciding what to do in terms of decarbonisation. We have to look at "what are the options today… and not in 20 years", said Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) head of maritime policy and government affairs Marie-Caroline Laurent. MSC had chosen the LNG pathway with the hope of progressing to bio-methane and e-methane in the future, although they are not closed to other fuel options.
"The choice was a very practical one," said Laurent.
Maersk has committed to low-carbon fuel options, with methanol being one of them, said its management and technology Leonardo Sonzio. The Danish container liner has net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2040, with intermediate targets by 2030.
Smaller shipping firms may not have the luxury of choosing several fuel pathways, said shipping firm CMB.Tech's chief executive Alexander Saverys. Decarbonisation can only pick up when the cost of alternative fuels becomes "cheap compared to diesel", said Saverys, adding that CMB.Tech had chosen the ammonia pathway given its usage in other industrial sectors.
Economist Martin Stopford said a lot of the "low hanging fruits" have been picked in the past 50 years, driven by demand for energy from crude, and the "move to a new era" of cleaner fuels would require higher costs, deeper knowledge and further efforts in development.
