The global shipping industry is preparing for a transformation towards net zero emissions that will affect the entire industry, from supply chains and business models to ships, ports and the maritime workforce.
A new regulation on bunker fuels and net zero emissions for ships was approved by the IMO in April and is expected to be adopted in October. Calls for investment in decarbonisation are growing louder.
"Regulation alone cannot do the job. We need technological development and alternative fuels (...) And that can only happen in one way: with investment," said IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez, speaking at the Blue Economy Financing Forum in Monaco on 8 June.
This includes investing in increasing the production of alternative fuels in quantities large enough to replace the 350 million tonnes of fuel oil currently burned by ships each year.
Port infrastructures and bunkering operations will also need to be improved to provide clean energy to ships when they call at ports around the world.
"This is a complete transformation of commercial shipping. It will take ecosystems to do it together," Christine Cabau-Woehrel, Executive Vice President of shipping and logistics company CMA CGM, said at the same event. It will be a long and difficult journey, but we want to be at the forefront.
Pioneers are already taking action. According to the World Shipping Council, at least 200 ocean liners (container ships) that can run on zero or near-zero emission fuels are already operating, while around 80 per cent of all new container and car carrier orders will have the same hybrid capability.
"The liner shipping industry has already invested $150 billion in decarbonisation. This is unprecedented in the industry," said Joe Kramek, President of the World Shipping Council. "But we need bunkering (...) it is a tremendous investment opportunity.
The new set of rules, known as the ‘IMO Net Zero Emissions Framework’, takes a two-pronged approach: a global fuel standard that limits the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of marine fuels and a pricing mechanism for GHG emissions from ships.
The regulation sends a clear demand signal to fuel producers, while rewarding ‘early adopters’, i.e. shipping companies that take the risk of adopting low- and zero-emission solutions at an early stage, and can thus share their experience and knowledge with others.
The IMO´s Net Zero Emissions Framework builds on previous IMO measures to enhance energy-efficient ship design, operational improvements and carbon intensity classifications. They will be reviewed every five years and emission limits will be tightened over time.
Mr Dominguez stressed that these standards are mandatory and must apply to all seagoing ships trading internationally, irrespective of their flag.
This will have an impact on training, as almost half a million seafarers will have to update their skills by 2030, and safety measures will have to be thoroughly updated to ensure that fuels are used safely and efficiently.
Dominguez urged the international community to focus on concrete actions and implementation of the various global commitments already agreed.
"It is time to move from declarations and commitments to action. This is what we have been doing at IMO for more than a decade. It is what we will demonstrate again in October, and we will not stop there," said Secretary General Dominguez.
He added: "Decarbonisation has a cost. We have already spent money on polluting the environment. It is time for all of us to invest in cleaning it up and making it sustainable for future generations".
For more information on IMO´s activities at the UN Ocean Conference, please visit: IMO at the UN Ocean Conference 2025
News and image obtained: "Organización Marítima Internacional"
https://www.imo.org/es/MediaCentre/Paginas/WhatsNew-2269.aspx
