Don’t sail faster, sail better

Now we know for certain that not all risks are created equal, the shipping industry faces a fundamental question; how does it make the necessary changes to be sustainable and profitable in a fundamentally changed world?

The answer is (at least) twofold since new ships will be able to progressively adopt efficiency focussed technologies and new fuels, while the existing fleet has a far greater challenge.

In particular, the EEXI concept (essentially applying the EEDI phase 2 standard to existing ships) submitted to IMO and already gaining support, could create a significant gap between those existing vessels which are able to comply and be competitive and those which are forced out of the market.

In any event, the industry that emerges over the next decade will have to accept that it cannot act simply for short term motivations but instead for longer term goals. It’s a big ask, but to survive in a form that any current practitioner would recognise requires a refocusing of priorities.

Most obviously, the concept of just in time (JIT) shipping is one of the most promising solutions to emissions reductions and greater efficiency. But despite its quantified benefits – advocates contend that it would lessen impact on the environment and reduce costs – the multiple operational and contractual barriers to overcome mean it has yet to be widely adopted by shipping or port sectors.

But achieving JIT also requires the vessel to adopt optimised ship routing to reduce time spent waiting for berths or cargo and maximize utilization of ports while reducing costs. This requires adapting the freight contract to allow the ship to reduce its speed on passage to meet the scheduled arrival time.

Read the full article here.