The maritime industry is not currently on track to meet the IMO ambition for a 50 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, even under favorable assumptions, according to a new study released by think tank Nordic West Office. The study suggests that this target could eventually be achieved on the industry’s current trajectory, but it is likely to take several more decades than desired.

The 80-page study drew on input from well-placed participants, including Hapag-Lloyd, Carnival and the World Ocean Council. Using three global decarbonization scenarios developed by Shell as a starting point, the authors examined in precise detail how the industry – in all its moving parts – might be expected to transition to green fuels over time. The answer suggests that substantially more action and more cooperation will be required under all three scenarios, including the most optimistic option.

“The main conclusion of our project was rather sad and it was that even in the best possible scenario, we will not reach the ambitions of the IMO . . . to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2050,” said Dr. Risto Penttilä, head of Nordic West Office, at a panel discussion at the UN Ocean Conference. “There’s hope we can still meet . . . both Paris [Agreement] and IMO 2018, but it needs a lot of work.”

To change this trajectory and accelerate the process, the study’s primary suggestion is to tackle decarbonization comprehensively and collaboratively – drawing in regulators, shippers, shipowners, investors, fuel suppliers, ports and other stakeholders to prevent “gaps” in the industry-wide effort. Providing all actors with a clear “zero by 2050” goal at IMO – along with predictable market-based mechanisms for carbon pricing – could help kick-start that effort.

The biggest bottleneck identified in the study is the need to build a supply chain for green fuels, which will require massive investment. However, the study identified dozens of further “enablers” that will need to be developed, depending on the specific vessel and application – like JIT arrival, improved routing, wind-assisted propulsion and much more.

The industry’s progress will be influenced by the pace of global decarbonization overall, which will be driven in part by geopolitics. The most optimistic scenario in the study relies on an environment of international cooperation, openness and collaboration on climate solutions; the least optimistic of the three envisions a fragmented international landscape with reduced trade and cooperation, which “will not bring about a lot of clean developments by the end of the decade,” the authors predicted.

“The current geopolitical trend that puts focus on food and security concerns does not favor decarbonization and will not bring shipping anywhere close to its ambitions. Getting closer to the ambitions requires even stronger decarbonization efforts than those currently envisaged,” the authors cautioned.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/study-shipping-is-set-to-miss-the-imo-2050-target

Vehicles carrier Lider Bulut (IMO 9198719) (Equasis and Marine Traffic name, Roro Feeder 1, AIS name report, Lider Bulut) developed a heavy starboard list and requested assistance when it was near Tuapse Port, Black Sea, Russia, during the evening of June 18. It was understood to have anchored on arrival from Samsun Turkey earlier in the day but to have developed a list – reportedly because of faulty ballasting – a few hours later. It heaved anchor and moved inshore. As of early June 19th the ship’s AIS was still on. The vessel was later confirmed by Russian Maritime Agency RosMoRechFlot to have been intentionally grounded, with water ingress. An SAR was underway and the ship was fenced off by several boom layers. There were 28 crew on board.

2000-built, Cyprus-flagged, 15,224 gt RoRo Feeder 1 is owned by Ugland Castor Car Carrier I AS care of Matrix ShipManagement Ltd of Limassol, Cyprus.

Two people on chemical/oil products tanker Nord Magic (IMO 9392793) which was anchored at Chittagong Anchorage, termed by the operator as “riding personnel”, died during the night of June 17th while checking empty cargo tank, according to local sources. They were taken to hospital but declared dead on arrival. The tanker arrived at Chittagong on June 15th after offloading cargo of soybean oil. There were 25 crew on board, mainly Indian nationals.

Norden said that “the two people who have very sadly passed away are not NSSM crew, they are riding personnel. The cause of the sad incident is still unknown.”

2009-built, Denmark-flagged, 29,266 gt Nord Magic is owned by Norden Asset Management AS of Hellerup, Denmark. It is managed by Norient Product Pool APS of Hellerup, Denmark. ISM manager is Norden Synergy Ship Management AS of Hellerup, Denmark. It is entered with North of England Club on behalf of Norden Asset Management AS. As of June 20th it was at anchor off Chittagong.

Fishing vessel Aleksandr Shalin (IMO 8832978) was in collision with fishing vessel Zaliv Petra (IMO 9130822) on June 16th in the Sea of Okhotsk, about 100nm southeast of Magadan. The Zaliv Petra was damaged at the hull on the starboard side aft. The vessel remained seaworthy and headed to the port of Busan for repairs. The Aleksandr Shalin suffered minor damage to the bow.

1990-built, Russia-flagged, 862 gt Aleksandr Shalin is owned and managed by Mag-Sea International of Magadan, Russia. As of June 19th the vessel was underway off Vladivostok, Russia.

1995-built, Russia-flagged, 748 gt Zaliv Petra is owned and managed by Sevrybflot LLC of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia. As of June 18th it was underway off Busan, South Korea.

Passenger ship Aegean Odyssey (IMO 7225910) was asked to leave the port of Nice a few hours after its arrival on June 16th following complaints from residents about the fumes it was emitting. Following a decision taken by the harbour master’s office, the vessel, carrying 300 passengers, sailed within the hour, just before midnight. The decision by the harbour master’s office and with the backing of the municipal authorities was taken under port police law. Local residents had begun complaining around 19:00 local time following the release of smoke and the noise made by its engines. The maritime agent Medov France, based in Marseilles, in charge of the stopovers of the ship on behalf of a charter company, asked for explanations from the port authorities on this decision, indicating in particular that it harmed the “reputation” of the company. The ship arrived on June 17th in the port of Toulon.

1973-built, Panama-flagged, 12,094 gt Aegean Odyssey is owned by Aegean Odyssey Maritime Pan of Piraeus, Greece. It is managed by Aegean Experience Maritime Lib of Piraeus, Greece. It is entered with American Club on behalf of Aegean OdysseyMaritime Co SA. As of June 20th it was at Marseille Port.

Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) lodged a complaint to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over the seizure of its tanker in Greek waters

hief Executive of Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) announced the strong protest of the country to the International Maritime Organization following the seizure of Iranian oil tanker by the Greek government.

While protesting against the illegal seizure of Iranian oil tanker by Greece which was done with the support of US government, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Ali Akbar Safaei said that the Greek government’s illegal action against Iranian ship is contrary to the goals and positions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as an international maritime authority.

Speaking with the Secretary-General of the IMO Kitack Lim, Safaei emphasized that this is not the first time that Iranian merchant ships and oil tankers have been directly or indirectly seized by the United States.

In recent years, a number of Iranian tankers have been seized by the United States and subsequently, Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, lodged its complaint to the Legal Division of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), he continued.

Stating that the US actions are against the security in the seas as well as safe passage, the deputy roads minister stipulated, “Our ships and sailors have been under constant threat following harsh US sanctions. Therefore, we hope that IMO will pay special attention to this issue.”

As Iranian ship had requested emergency assistance from the Greek authorities, they, with the support of the United States, have seized the Iranian merchant and cargo ship and unloaded its cargo, he said, adding that such move is considered ‘an act of piracy’.

IMO Secretary-General, for his part, said that members of the International Maritime Organization are aware of Iran’s concern and protest against the recent events and “We are opposed to any discrimination or attack on maritime safety and security.”

Kitack Lim stated that he will bring up the issue in the upcoming meeting of IMO Assembly to find a solution.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has urged further financial support for a UN-coordinated operational plan to address the threat of a major oil spill from the FSO Safer, moored off Yemen, after a pledging event in The Hague saw donors pledging $33 million in new funding.

“In the face of an impending environmental disaster, we must do all we can to prevent it. We must act now,” Secretary-General Lim said. “The time is now. The risks are high. We must act to avert disaster.”

IMO has been supporting contingency planning efforts in the region to prepare for a possible spill from FSO SAFER and to limit the impacts should one occur. An oil spill from FSO Safer would be a humanitarian and environmental disaster, with huge economic impacts for the shipping and maritime industry throughout the region.

The plan to mitigate the risk by transferring the oil to a safe temporary vessel needs financial resources, Lim said.

There is now $40 million available for the operation, which includes previously committed funds. The decaying floating storage and offloading unit is moored off the coast of Yemen and holds around a million barrels of oil. It could break apart or explode at any time.

The pledging event, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands and the United Nations, marked the start in the effort to raise the $144 million that the full plan requires, including $80 million for the emergency operation to transfer the oil to a safe temporary vessel. Also critical to the plan’s success is the installation of a long-term replacement capacity.

At the spring meetings of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), we prepared international regulation, standardisation and guidelines. Global regulation ensures that ships, their systems and responsibilities are subject to the same requirements everywhere. By promoting digitalisation and automation, Finland strives for efficiency, safety and sustainability. In this way, we promote sustainable business and service development.

Automation can be used in shipping to improve the wellbeing and occupational safety of crew, among other things. Partial automation or remote performance of lookout tasks would allow for more flexible resting periods. The most dangerous work situations can be reduced, for example, by means of autonomous rescue vessels or remote pilotage.

Finland supports global electronic data exchange

At the meeting of the Facilitation Committee (FAL) in May, amendments were adopted, which require public authorities to have a system for the electronic transmission of the data required during a port call, to ensure that information only needs to be submitted once.  In addition, rules on health safety were adopted based on lessons learned from the pandemic. The amendments are due to enter into force on 1 January 2024.

The Committee also decided to extend the IMO Compendium with five new data sets on ship reporting systems, ship and company certificates and port state control inspections. The Committee decided to prioritise passenger data and the electronic or ocean bill of lading in its continued drafting. The bill of lading is a key document for merchant shipping and logistics chains. Finland supports the maintenance of the Compendium in 2023.

The harmonisation of data aims at interoperability of systems. By providing the information in digital format through interfaces only once, we enhance the exchange of information and transports. The main benefits are achieved at system level, so the exchange of port information and reporting formalities are an important part of the work of the IMO. By utilising data, consignments can be optimised, for example, by sharing route, time and cargo information, as well as by using AI-based applications.

Roadmap for automation guidelines and regulation

The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has decided to prepare guidelines on maritime automation in accordance with a common roadmap with the ultimate goal of binding legislation. The guidelines will initially cover cargo ships and will subsequently be assessed for application to passenger ships. Finland supports technology neutrality, that is, a balanced approach to the use of different technologies, in the preparation of regulation.

The roadmap contains not only the key themes identified in the inventory of regulatory barriers, but also possible new themes. In our opinion, these themes should include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other principles enabling trust in automation.

The aim is for the guidelines to support the preparation of binding regulations on automation. Application developers must design their systems in such a way that they can be approved for use as reliable and the authority can verify that they are compliant and safe. Simulation and experiments are key tools in this work. The authorities, for their part, develop risk assessment, which requires that they receive sufficient information about, for example, automation experiments. Cooperation between business and public authorities is very important.

The Maritime Safety Committee’s automation roadmap supports Finland’s view on the progress of automation. It is not yet time to decide whether a vessel can be completely unmanned. First, solutions and equipment that support safe decision-making must be made available. Drawing the line between what new legislation is needed and what existing legislation is applicable is still ongoing. We need a debate on what a Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS) is from the point of view of IMO legislation.

The work of the Maritime Safety Committee will continue in the correspondence group, in which we need the views of industry and other authorities on the needs and objectives of the guidelines. The most challenging issues will be dealt with in cooperation by the Maritime Safety Committee, the Facilitation Committee and the Legal Committee (LEG), as the cross-cutting issues concern conventions for which they are all responsible. Important issues are related, for example, to the roles and responsibilities of the shipmaster, crew and other stakeholders, starting with the question of whether a vessel may be controlled from outside the vessel. In Finland legislation already allows, for example, remote maintenance.

Possible national introduction before international regulation

The guidelines may be used in national waters, where applicable, even before the entry into force of binding international legislation. We are currently carrying out a preliminary study of the needs and possibilities for amending national legislation if necessary. Opportunities could be offered in the coming years by, for example, an autonomous tug, a cable ferry, a taxi boat, remote pilotage or a road ferry on which experiments have already been carried out. Finnish expertise is also of a high standard in port automation.

Nationally, work will continue in the direction indicated by the resolution on promoting automation in the transport sector, which includes the maritime sector. We warmly welcome all interested parties to participate in the development work.