Page 47 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - MARTIOS 2023

ENVIRONMENT & SHIPPING

Dr Alexandra Ebbinghaus, for example, short-sea shipping. There are a lot of do, but they will have to pay for it. But what about cus-
General Manager for Decarbonisation, electrification initiatives which, however, cannot be tomers? What do they want? Are they willing to pay
Shell Marine,
applied in deep-sea shipping. Looking at the technol- extra to contribute to decarbonisation? There are a lot
in discussion with Giannis Theodoropoulos ogy available today that can be installed on a vessel, of things shipowners can do to reduce their fuel costs
options include dual-fuel engines capable of running and improve fuel consumption. On the one hand, we
on methanol, LNG, and fuel oil. But the ability to have low-carbon and alternative fuels like biofuels,
use hydrogen and ammonia is not realistic yet due to but these will be significantly more expensive than
limitations. There are a lot of challenges associated fossil fuels. So, who pays for this price difference? Why
with various safety aspects, so I would say these are should shipowners bear the extra cost? Do they have
Ö As a fleet operator and supplier of future options. The longer-term challenges are how the support of their customers? All these questions
marine fuels, lubricants, and services, to get low-carbon methanol at scale, how you get need to be resolved.
what initiatives has Shell taken to con- low-carbon methane or LNG, and how easy it is to use For shipowners, decarbonisation has two aspects. The
tribute to the decarbonisation of the liquefied hydrogen onboard. first is getting more support from the wider maritime
shipping industry? Instead, we need to consider what is possible today community, which must be willing to pay more for a
As fuel suppliers, we have been pioneers and inno- with the existing engines. Biofuels have great poten- greener shipping industry. The second is a clear signal
vators regarding LNG. We have been involved in tial as an alternative to fossil fuels. from the regulator that there will be a level playing
this field for a long time, so we base our current field. We need clear regulations that will accelerate
initiatives on the experience Shell has gained â From your collaborations with many sec- the decarbonisation of shipping and make it more
over time. Shell was one of the first LNG opera- tors of the shipping industry (tankers, competitive. Nobody can afford to bear the extra cost
tors in the 1960s, which means we have developed bulk carriers, containerships, etc.) so far, alone in the long term. Nobody in shipping has profit
invaluable experience in LNG as both a cargo and which sector do you think has more poten- margins that allow them to say ‘’I will pay for this’’. The
a fuel. From a fuel supplier point of view, LNG is an tial to improve its operational efficiency transition will be quite expensive. Shipping is one of
important part of our business. LNG is a fossil fuel via implementing new technologies and the transport modes, and if shipowners charge more
with fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, adopting new types of fuels in the short but nobody else does, why will customers want to pay
there are challenges ahead regarding LNG infra- term? Do you believe shipowners are will- more voluntarily? However, if a regulation determines
structure as it is not available everywhere. But it ing to make significant investments in this that all transport modes must do it, the transition will
follows the demand in the sense that the network direction at this point? be much smoother.
is expanding. For every new fuel arising, there is Looking at the reported EEXI data for new vessels, it’s
always a game of ‘’chicken and egg’’. LNG has interesting to see that the segment that consistently ç Do you believe the industry has all the
undoubtedly emerged as one of the critical fuels, excels is containerships. That means this specific necessary technological tools to achieve
and around 30% of new deadweight orders are segment is doing more or finding it easier to improve the IMO 2050 decarbonisation goals? Or
based on LNG’s capabilities. its efficiency. Although tankers and bulkers have tra- will we also need a new, stricter regula-
Regarding our chartering operations, we have ditionally operated very well from a design point of tory framework, such as slow steaming,
examined an enormous amount of data to see how view, that doesn’t mean they can’t do more. I find it etc., to push the sector towards achieving
striking that very few newbuilds have energy efficiency
vessels are operated. We have also launched sev-
its environmental goals?
WE NEED TO eral digital services to help operators improve their technology installed, such as air lubrication, draft trim As I previously explained, we need a stricter regulatory
vessels’ operational efficiency. Being both a fleet
framework for shipping to move forward. Shipping has
optimisation etc. I think there is a considerable scope
ACCELERATE operator and a supplier of marine fuels allows us for oil segments to improve. Some vessels historically never disputed that reducing the sulphur emissions in
to participate in the discussion. I see it because I
had it harder to improve, but we all need to look at marine fuels has benefits, especially for coastal com-
EFFORTS TO attend the International Maritime Organization. It’s how accurate the information on energy efficiency is. munities. But nobody was going to use low-sulphur
The Fourth IMO GHG report was excellent. Looking
oil before 1 January 2020, the compulsory date. So,
an entirely different discussion when representa-
MITIGATE GLOBAL tives of oil and gas companies sit together. There, at the data collected by the Sea Cargo Charter, an ini- the industry needs the constraints enforced by regu-
the questions and viewpoints are different. In that
tiative launched by the charterers. We are now in the
lations. The IMO ambition is to decarbonise shipping
WARMING way, we have the whole picture. process of getting actual data rather than modelling as soon as possible, and most countries support this
data. And that helps us understand where we are in vision. But what does that mean for the speed at which
á Considering the prices and medium terms of energy efficiency improvement. shipping is regulated? Now that short-term measures
to long-term availability of currently have been agreed upon, the IMO is proceeding with
available alternative marine fuels, ã What are the main barriers facing the the more intermediate and long-term measures. Part
which one do you believe will prevail in shipping industry today on the road to of its initial strategy will be to revise the target. Shell
the market? decarbonisation, and how can it overcome advocates for the IMO to raise the ambition level to
We believe that a mosaic of different fuels will them? net-zero emissions by 2050. The necessity to combat
prevail going forward. There is not going to be a Why does a company decarbonise? I don’t think you climate change becomes apparent when you look at
Dr Alexandra Ebbinghaus shares her thoughts on the replacement for fuel oil to a large extent. Ship- will find anyone who doesn’t care about the envi- the IPCC data. To mitigate/reverse global warming,
prospects of alternative marine fuels, the chal- ping is very diverse, composed of very different ronment; everyone wants to do something about it. we need to move faster. We need to see what is pos-
lenges shipping is facing on its journey towards segments. Each segment has very different ambi- Shipowners are quite pragmatic regarding business sible and set specific targets. Investments are also
decarbonisation, and the initiatives Shell has tak- tions. The thing is that none of these alterna- decisions that lead to their ships’ emissions reduction. essential; that is not a shipowner’s problem only. It is
en in this direction. tives is currently as competitive as fuel oil. Take, Therefore, decarbonisation is something they want to a challenge for all stakeholders in the supply chain.

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