Shipping decarbonization to entail new training
SEAFARERS across the world are set to receive additional training by the mid-2030s in response to the shipping industry’s efforts to decarbonize vessels.
The Shipping Decarbonization Action Plan was launched at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) by United Nations organizations, ship owners and unions in Egypt on Nov. 9, 2022.
This is in response to findings from new research that 3 percent of global emissions come from the shipping industry. The plan proposed that shipping needs to transition away from conventional fuels towards alternative low and zero-carbon fuels and technologies to meet the world’s target of keeping global warming to 1.5 C or less by 2050.
This model cautions that as many as 800,000 seafarers will require additional training.
The emission reduction scenarios assessed in the research highlight an immediate need to start putting the training infrastructure in place, to ensure hundreds of thousands of the world’s nearly 2 million seafarers are upskilled and empowered
through the transition.
“These scenarios require some form of retraining the workforce. The good news is that seafarers are prepared and willing to be part of this transition. But [the] crew want to know that the fuels they are handling are indeed safe and that we as an industry have the training pathways established to upgrade their skills,” said Stephen Cotton, secretary general of the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
Findings also suggest that a lack of certainty on alternative fuel options is having knock-on effects on seafarer training, as the global maritime community works toward
a clearer decarbonization pathway in a post-fossil fuel era.
The research was conducted by leading maritime consultancy Det Norske Veritas and commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force Secretariat. It was formed to ensure that shipping’s response to the climate emergency puts seafarers and communities at the heart of the solution.
In response to the training challenge, the Action Plan makes recommendations for industry, governments, seafarer unions and academia (including training providers) to strengthen global training standards, ensure a health and safety first
approach, and establish advisory national maritime skills councils.
“There is an urgent need to establish the infrastructure and training required to prepare our seafaring workforce, both in developed and developing countries, to help meet our decarbonization objectives,” said Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping. “This should be done as of today so they are ready and able to meet the challenges that new green fuels and propulsion technologies will pose and mitigate any potential health and safety risks for ships, communities, the environment, and seafarers themselves.”