Decarbonising shipping
THE ocean is a vehicle for keeping life moving, whether it be through the abundant food and natural resources it offers, or as a mammoth bridge that connects all continents.
While air travel is considerably faster than maritime, it is still the most viable when it comes to transporting heavy duty goods.
Fiji is one of the countries in the Pacific that relies heavily on transnational shipping to keep the movement of imported and exported goods on the go.
About 1346 vessels in the country are dedicated towards passenger service, while 1014 are registered as fishing vessels.
As such, it is vital for both the private and public sector to look for ways to keep the shipping industry sustainable and viable for the future.
And this was why major players discussed at length the way forward – during the session “Decarbonising Shipping: A Pathway to Achieve the Paris Climate Goals and Promote Sustainable Blue and Green Economies”, a side event at the recent Our Ocean Conference in Panama.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who also spoke during the panel, said there was scope for Fiji as a country to develop its traditional shipbuilding sector to provide a sustainable alternative to fuel-operated vessels.
Ocean and movement
About 90 per cent of traded goods are carried over the ocean, and shipping represented 2.9 per cent of total greenhouse emissions in the world, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found.
And as demand for global freight increases, OECD has predicted that maritime trade volumes are likely to triple by 2050.
According to International Maritime Organization Secretary General Kitack Lim, maritime transport was the most economical and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation for large volumes of cargo.
“As we continue on shipping’s journey towards sustainability, shipping must embrace decarbonisation, alongside digitalisation and innovative technology – all the while ensuring the human element is kept front and centre of the technological transition,” he said.
“As the whole world unites to fight climate change, the biggest challenge facing shipping is reducing its Greenhouse Gas emissions. The next five months are crucial to ensure that IMO showcases its global leadership towards efforts to decarbonise shipping.
“We must lead the way and provide a global framework for the maritime industry to strive for green shipping and at the same time, we must ensure we leave no one behind.”
Mr Lim said IMO member states were actively engaged in the process of upgrading the initial IMO strategy on reduction of greenhouse emissions from ships with its adoption scheduled for July this year.
He said this revised strategy outlined technical and economic measures that would allow for stakeholders to invest in future fuels and ship related technologies which would in turn work towards decarbonising shipping.
“I see great opportunities for many countries to be part of the new green future that will see low and zero-carbon fuels being produced and supplied globally, but also from retrofitting ships and digitalising port operations.
“Knowledge sharing is critical to the attainment of our common objectives.
“We can all learn from each other. And IMO is ready to support this process.”
Fiji’s perspective on a Green Shipping Future
Following talks with stakeholders, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he was very impressed with what was said during the conferences, however, not much change had been reflected in Fiji.
He said shipping was a very important sector for Fiji. However, the issue in the Pacific was that PICs were “users, not makers”.
“A lot of all these developments have to be taken out to the islands and outer islands in rural areas in Fiji through this environmentally friendly transportation, whether they be road transport or sea transport,” he said.
“Government has got to be very strict on our legislation. Whether people comply or not is another issue. There was legislation by the Government encouraged by IMO on the use of old ships that are mothballed in the Northern Hemisphere.
“They were mothballed because they had been used for the number of years they were designed to serve for, so when those are mothballed, they go into wreck yards.
“We buy them because they are the cheapest Fiji operators can afford, so we bring them to Fiji and because of their argument that fuel costs too much, the fares are very high so they become almost unaffordable for the rural users.
“So it’s a vicious cycle. To buy it cheap, it becomes too expensive to run, with demand, very high fares so people don’t travel on them.
“The profitability of those things goes down and they are stuck. They want to make a profit, so they look for other ways of getting their money back. But if we were to get fuel efficient, or energy efficient ships that are affordable, we solve many problems.”
Mr Rabuka said such social problems of transportation costs and environmental problems of not using too much fossil fuel for transportation could be solved through the introduction of ecofriendly and sustainable vessels.
Private sector players
Maersk is perhaps one of the biggest names in the shipping industry, and it is one of the companies moving into methanol-operated vessels.
President of Maersk Central America and the Caribbean Antonio Dominguez said for many companies, it was a “chicken and egg” dilemma.
“Should we wait for the fuel to be developed before ordering the vessels, we don’t want the vessels because there is no fuel so we thought for our customers, we need action, they need leaders to lead the way,” he said.
He said they had decided to not purchase any new vessels in 2018, as they wished to research and understand how a newer, sustainable fuel source could be sourced.
“We ordered nine vessels first and now 18 methanol vessels. One is coming out this year. This also ensures we open a new market for production of methanol.
“We have already signed an agreement with seven companies because we need 45,000 tonnes of methanol per vessel.
“We constantly talk to our customers, and out of our biggest 200,189 are ready to demand that companies serving them must have a green policy.
“Maersk is also planning to decarbonise our entire network by 2040.
“We are beyond just ships: we have airplanes, 500 warehouses around the world, trucks and railway so this entire network will be decarbonised.”