The maritime industry is under mounting pressure to decarbonise and to transform into a form of green transport in order to reach carbon zero by 2050.

Responsible for transporting 90% of global trade, the shipping industry accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or 300 million tons CO₂. While there are global uncertainties related to trade, shipping volumes are poised to increase by an average of 1.3 percent each year until 2050.

While alternative fuels, such as renewable e-fuels, biofuels and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage, hold significant promise, their widespread adoption is in its infancy, underscored by the fact that 98.8% of the maritime fleet is still sailing fossil fuels.

There is a silver lining. UNCTAD reports that 21% of vessels on order will operate on cleaner alternatives like liquefied natural gas, methanol and hybrid technologies.

And over in Singapore, the republic is all geared up to build a sustainable Maritime Singapore. The Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint: Working Towards 2050 spells out the strategies to fulfil its commitments under the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and the IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.

Speaking to SeaVoices, Ho Hiang Kwee, Senior Adjunct Fellow at the MPA, noted that the Blueprint identified seven focus areas for Singapore’s maritime decarbonisation efforts seeking to achieve net zero emissions by or around mid-century.

He explains, “While some of the specific targets are for domestic emissions from the maritime sector, for example those related to the ports and terminals and domestic harbour craft, there are also plans that will have significant decarbonisation benefits for the global shipping industry; to develop future marine fuels, bunkering standards and infrastructure; enhance R&D; promote green financing and strengthen carbon accounting and reporting.”

Mr Ho underscores that in the frontline of the maritime industry’s sustainability efforts are the seafarers.

“Seafarers have to complement the work of regulators, planners, designers, shore management and others in the transformation of the maritime industry towards decarbonisation and sustainability. Their hands-on skills and knowledge will enable new technologies to be properly designed and adapted to seagoing vessels in a decarbonising and decarbonised shipping industry.”

Though there is a lack of certainty surrounding future clean fuel choices for shipping, he points out that new training requirements for seafarers to support the transition to green transport can and must take place. Globally, skills training is starting on a number of fronts.

He outlines four broad strokes in upskilling the seafarer:

1. Enhance broad knowledge on decarbonisation and sustainability (including life cycle assessment and emissions accounting), and acquire specific training, knowledge and skills related to carriage, use of new alternative fuels and related systems, especially those with new challenges resulting from safety, toxicity, need for new engines, bunkering, storage and supply technologies etc.
2. Acquire necessary knowledge and understanding of new regulations and adherence to requirements for different aspects and needs of decarbonisation measures and technologies.
3. Enhance digital skills as digitalisation and smart technologies will be critical to seafarer’s ability to operate and manage vessels with technologies introduced to enhance energy efficiency/conservation and emissions reduction. 
4. Recognise that some roles/functions of seafaring may eventually be automated or de-emphasised. The seafarer will have to be a more knowledgeable, “smarter” worker in order to stay relevant and reap benefits of being part of a progressive and skilled workforce manning modern, clean and safe vessels that are key to broader decarbonisation and sustainability efforts that are occurring globally and across all economic sectors.

To support the maritime workforce as shipping transitions towards a green transport future, Wavelink Maritime Institute (WMI), the maritime training arm of SMOU, has ramped up its seafarer training offerings specifically related to decarbonisation. WMI has invited Mr Ho to conduct “Maritime Sustainability Series: Alternative Fuels and Technologies for Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency”.

On the topic of emerging trends and developments in maritime sustainability for 2024, Mr Ho points out that “short-term measures will continue to be pursued, including an increase in ‘non-traditional’ measures to enhance ship efficiency and reduce fuel consumption”. He adds,

“Mid and long-term measures will also start to crystallise and accelerate, for example, the use of low emissions alternative fuels, like LNG, biofuels, ammonia, methanol and electricity, and their associated technologies such as retrofitted and new engines/power plants and auxiliary systems, and new bunkering infrastructure.

Investments in developing green shipping corridors, and in technology development (e.g. related to new fuels and their safety) will increase.

Ports and terminals will pursue decarbonisation efforts both to reduce emissions from their own operations (e.g. port equipment, vehicles, and buildings) as well as that of the ships they are serving (e.g. by providing shore power for battery electric vessels, and for cold-ironing).”

The key to achieving net zero emissions, Mr Ho states, would be the adoption of very low and zero emissions fuels, evaluated on a ‘well-to-wake’ life cycle approach which looks at the stages from extraction/cultivation, processing and refining, transport and distribution and combustion/conversion to assess the GHG intensity. 

He cites the example of transportation and distribution of hydrogen. “If one were to transport a fuel, like hydrogen, one needs to either compress it or liquefy it or sometimes convert it into a hydrogen carrier. All these different ways to transport hydrogen can result in very different emissions associated with transport and distribution as well.”

“Looking at the whole life cycle makes the difference,” he quips.