It is a well-known reality that the shipping industry is at a crossroads. With the fast pace of decarbonisation regulations, from the International Maritime Organization to the EU Emissions Trading System, FuelEU Maritime, and more in the works, there is no room to slow down.
Yet, for many ship owners and operators, the path to meaningful emissions reduction is not straightforward. There remains uncertainty about which fuels will win, about the capital expenditure involved, and about whether the technology available today is genuinely ready for deployment at scale.
This uncertainty is understandable. The alternative fuels landscape is genuinely complex. Methanol, ammonia, biofuels, LNG all carry their own promises and pitfalls, their own infrastructure challenges as well as varying timelines for commercial maturity.
Industry analysis from Clarksons suggests that roughly two-thirds of the existing global fleet will not undergo major retrofits for next generation fuels, primarily because of vessel age and the economics of large-scale conversion.
For these ships, which represent the majority of the world’s commercial fleet, the question of decarbonisation deserves a solution...
Has biofuel’s moment in shipping finally arrived?
