Connect with us

Environment

SMTC 2021: Political will and time the missing components from shipping’s transition away from fossil fuels

Dr Tristan Smith, Lead Author for IMO’s 3rd and Author of the 4th Greenhouse Gas Study, shares his thoughts on alternative marine fuels with Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times.
Admin

Published

5 years ago

on

Dr Tristan Smith

The following interview arranged by Informa Connect is part of pre-event coverage for the upcoming Singapore Maritime Technology Conference 2021 (SMTC 2021), where Manifold Times is an official media partner. Readers can find out more about the virtual event by clicking on the link here. 

The only obstacles in the path of shipping’s transition away from fossil fuels now rests in the hands of governments and time, according to the Lead Author of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s 3rd and Author of the 4th Greenhouse Gas Study.

Dr Tristan Smith, a Reader at University College London, shared his thoughts in a recent interview with Singapore bunkering publication Manifold Times when asked of the challenges for alternative bunker fuels to be successfully used by the shipping industry.

“There is no technical challenge that we are aware of that makes a number of candidate fuels impossible to use. The only missing components for shipping’s transition away from fossil fuel use is political will and time,” he states.

“The two are in competition – the longer it takes for political will to formulate, the less time there will be for shipping’s transition.”

According to Dr Smith, who is also Head – Maritime Workstream at World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), climate change is already occurring with devastating impacts – where vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh and other island nations are expected to be lost over the coming three decades of the economic life of today’s newbuildings.

“The political will is growing but insufficiently fast to leave sectors like shipping enough time to change as smoothly as would be desirable,” he notes.

“The consequence of political will growing too slowly is that it is then more likely that collective failure and indecision by governments at venues like the IMO will mean shipping has only a very short period (e.g. a decade) to transition from fossil fuels to a completely new energy system.

“Predicated on the fact that in any analysis to achieve the IMO’s 2050 goals, a significant move away from fossil fuel use needs to start before the end of this decade and see very rapid growth of zero carbon energy/fuel use during the 2030s.

“This urgency will be required if no significant progress has been made by the end of this decade, or alternatively we will all experience much more significant, deeper, and longer lasting climate related impacts and damage to ecosystems and society.”

Dr Smith believes that without policy that can stimulate the deployment and of shipping’s zero carbon energy/fuels by the middle of this decade, we will make it more difficult for companies to adapt to new business models, energy products, operations and skills.

“Significant turbulence and disruption will likely result and many companies will be likely to foreclose,” he expects.

“This is all avoidable, it just requires engagement in the issue and encouragement of governments and IMO to place avoidance of dangerous climate change at the heart of their decision making process.”

Dr Smith, meanwhile, forecasts hydrogen-based material to be the bunker fuel of the future due to its benefits.

“There are a number of candidate fuels which on paper can have zero GHG emissions. But I think shipping’s solution will be a fuel which is sustainable (in all senses of the word) and scalable (e.g. able to be produced in the volumes required to get to 2-300 million tonnes of fuel oil equivalent as per today’s consumption),” he notes.

“The scalability and sustainability requirements make it very challenging, if not impossible, for any fuel with carbon to be competitive to those fuels which are derived more directly from hydrogen production e.g. hydrogen, or the simpler synthesised products like ammonia.

“Fuels like methanol require a source of carbon which can either be a biomass derived source of carbon, or it will have to be ‘sucked’ from the atmosphere. If it is just CO2 captured from a point source, then either it won’t be sustainable (e.g. it will come from a fossil combustion process), or it won’t be scalable.

“And if the CO2 has to be extracted from the atmosphere, it is difficult at this point in time to see that that could be cost-competitive to other processes/fuels.”

Moving forward, though regulation for shipping GHG emissions is currently focused on tank-to-wake emissions calculations (EEDI, EEXI, CII) Dr Smith believes using a well-to-wake approach to measure emissions to be more prudent in the long term.

This is because taking a well-to-wake perspective to calculate emissions enables maritime firms to communicate to clients, financiers, and stakeholders how risks associated with climate change are being managed.

Further, it allows firms to be ready for when regulation and market forces increasingly come in to control emissions on a lifecycle / well-to-wake basis.

“For the longer term all the fuels that shipping will need to move towards as it moves away from using fossil fuels, can have significant upstream GHG emissions,” explains Dr Smith.

“It remains unclear as to whether it will be IMO that regulates to control upstream emissions, national governments, the market or all of these actors, but this will be necessary because in many cases the lower cost fuels are those with the highest upstream emissions which make regulation on operational emissions alone very unlikely to result in addressing the fundamental problem – which is the continued increase in CO2 (and other GHG) emissions in the atmosphere.”

Note: Dr Tristan Smith is a panellist at the Industry Think Tank: Longer Term GHG Implications and Exploring Game Changing Technologies that would Address Emission Targets virtual roundtable scheduled to take place on Tuesday (20 April) at 18:25 – 19:10 SGT as part of SMTC 2021.

 

Photo credit: University College London
Published: 16 April, 2021Dr

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

LNG Bunkering

MOL and Seaspan sign annual LNG bunkering deal for car carriers in Port of Vancouver

MOL says North America is one of the key trade lanes for car carriers, and with recent delivery of new LNG-fuelled vessels, securing a stable LNG fuel supply in the area has become increasingly important.
Admin

Published

2 weeks ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

MOL and Seaspan sign annual LNG bunkering deal for car carriers in Port of Vancouver

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) on Thursday  (21 May) announced that MOL and Seaspan Energy have signed the first annual contract for LNG bunkering for car carriers at the Port of Vancouver, Canada. 

On 29 April, MOL completed the first LNG bunkering under this contract. Since completing the first LNG bunkering on the West Coast of North America on 1 March 2025 – the first by a Japanese shipping company – MOL has conducted several additional LNG bunkering operations in the region. 

North America is one of the key trade lanes for car carriers, and with the recent delivery of new LNG-fuelled vessels, securing a stable LNG fuel supply in the area has become increasingly important. This contract underscores the company’s commitment to establishing a stable and seamless regional LNG fuel procurement framework.

Seaspan expanded its LNG bunkering capabilities in 2026 from Vancouver to Long Beach, California, and continues to proactively support the growth of a clean marine supply chain.

Seaspan Energy President Harly Penner, said: “The relationship between Seaspan Energy and MOL is highly valued. MOL was the first car carrier operator to receive LNG bunkering services in the Port of Vancouver, and we are proud to continue supporting their operations in Vancouver through this annual LNG bunkering agreement. 

“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing lower-emission marine transportation and supporting the industry’s transition toward net-zero GHG emissions.”

Marine Fuel GX Division General Manager Daisuke Fujihashi, said: “We are very pleased to further strengthen our partnership with Seaspan Energy through this contract for LNG fuel procurement. 

“Looking ahead, we will continue to deepen our collaboration with Seaspan Energy in the field of clean fuels, including bio LNG, and remain committed to offering our customers more pathways toward cleaner supply chains.”

 

Photo credit: MOL
Published: 22 May, 2026

Continue Reading

Ammonia

MMMCZCS: MAGPIE Project confirms operational feasibility of ammonia bunkering

MAGPIE consortium completed a successful ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering simulation in Rotterdam on 12 April, proving that ammonia can be bunkered safely within an operating port.
Admin

Published

2 weeks ago

on

May 22, 2026

By

MMMCZCS: MAGPIE Project confirms operational feasibility of ammonia bunkering

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) on Thursday (21 May) said a new demonstration project in the Port of Rotterdam showed that ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering can be carried out safely within an active port environment. 

The demonstration is part of the EU-funded MAGPIE (sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs) project, and the report is now available, providing concrete learnings that industry can use to guide future ammonia bunkering and accelerate global port permitting.

The shipping sector must transition away from fossil fuels to meet climate targets. Ammonia is considered a promising alternative fuel, but its specific hazards pose significant safety, operational, and regulatory challenges. Without competent operators, fit-for-purpose equipment and robust safety and regulatory frameworks, ammonia bunkering cannot take place safely in ports.

Within the MAGPIE project, a full-scale simulation of a ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering operation was conducted in the Port of Rotterdam on 12 April 2025. The demonstration showed that ammonia bunkering within port limits is operationally feasible when carefully planned and executed within a robust safety and regulatory framework.

The learnings from the demonstration have now been consolidated by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and project partners in a comprehensive ammonia bunkering demonstration report. This publication provides the industry with practical lessons and a validated port safety framework and tools that other ports can use as a blueprint for ammonia bunkering.

A key outcome of the project is the validation of the Port of Rotterdam’s port safety framework for ammonia as a fuel, as well as the International Association of Ports and Harbours’ (IAPH) Port Readiness Tool. The results demonstrate that these frameworks are fit-for-purpose instruments for ports considering the introduction of new alternative fuels.

“The project delivers practical learnings, validation sheets and recommendations that can be used by ports globally to build confidence in ammonia bunkering and to inform future port permitting and regulatory processes. The results support the EU’s ambition for green ports and the safe deployment of alternative fuels in the maritime sector,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

“The energy transition requires new, integrated value chains. This ammonia bunker pilot is an important step in developing a complete value chain for alternative fuels, from import to application in shipping. Together with our partners, we demonstrate that innovation, safety, and scalability can go hand in hand. Rotterdam plays a connecting role as an energy and logistics hub for Northwest Europe,” said Boudewijn Siemons, CEO, Port of Rotterdam.

The learnings from MAGPIE contribute to a broader effort to accelerate sustainable, smart and multimodal port systems and results will be shared with the wider industry to support the global transition of the shipping sector.

Note: The report titled ‘Ammonia Bunkering Demonstration Report’ can be found here. 

 

Photo credit: Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping
Published: 22 May, 2026

Continue Reading

Environment

OliOil selects Elomatic as partner for autonomous oil spill response container design

A unique feature of the solution is that the container can be placed on both oil-carrying vessels and in ports, enabling rapid response capability.
Admin

Published

3 weeks ago

on

May 15, 2026

By

OliOil selects Elomatic as partner for autonomous oil spill response container design

Finnish startup OliOil recently said it is developing an oil spill response container that enables advanced prevention of oil spread immediately after an incident occurs. 

Elomatic will design the system to meet performance and operational reliability requirements under challenging conditions.

The collaboration between Elomatic and OliOil focuses on developing the oil spill response container technology from pilot phase toward industrial manufacturing. 

In the preliminary design phase, the aim is to create a concept for a functional system where containerized boats deploy autonomously during an oil spill, using AI and robotics to position containment booms.

OliOil’s oil spill response container was created from a LUT University research project focused on Baltic Sea protection. 

What makes the solution advanced is that the container can be placed on both oil-carrying vessels and in ports, enabling rapid response capability. Boom deployment is the critical first step in any spill response, preventing the oil’s spread and enabling efficient oil recovery with specialized collection equipment.

Elomatic’s scope covers container design, boat hoisting systems, electrification, and ventilation. The team is also defining the boats’ technical specifications and designing their propulsion systems.

“Elomatic’s expertise in both industry and marine technology is valuable. It’s also important to us that Elomatic has experience in commercializing innovations in addition to engineering expertise,” said Kristian Laiho, Chair of the Board at OliOil.

“It’s great to work with a company bringing new solutions to environmental challenges. Utilizing our broad expertise in OliOil’s product development and commercialization is meaningful to us,” said Karoliina Joensuu, Head of Industry Business Unit at Elomatic.

 

Photo credit: OliOil
Published: 15 May, 2026

Continue Reading

Trending