Maritime action and investment must increase ‘in size and pace’ notes All Hands on Deck report

Action and investment in maritime decarbonisation must increase in both size and pace, according to the latest All Hands on Deck 2.0 report from Shell and Deloitte.

While some progress has been made towards decarbonisation, the need to go further and faster is underlined if the industry is to achieve Net Zero by 2050, the report found, especially as shipping volumes are expected to increase in tandem with the growth in global trade.

The first edition of the report, published in 2020, identified 12 tangible actions to decarbonise the industry. The latest publication includes an overview of progress across the marine sector, and makes six recommendations.

• Scale up pockets of demand creating clearer signals of demand through natural demand aggregation for low-carbon fuels and low-emission vessels
• Take a segment-specific approach identifying common characteristics of each segment to allow for the prioritisation and tailoring of solutions, starting with first movers
• Leverage local/regional regulation for momentum driving progress as a means of advancing near-term material impact on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the shipping sector, while anticipating that global regulation will need to quickly follow to achieve a level playing field for working towards a net-zero target
• Drive clarity on fuel pathways increasing demonstration projects and investment in these would support first-mover decision making for both fuel suppliers and shipowners – and should recognise the complementarity of different pathways.
• Adopt an integrated view on asset improvement recognising fleet composition is crucial in tackling the decarbonisation challenge and requires an integrated set of levers. These include efficiency measures, greater investment in dual-fuel-capable vessels, and increased modularity via retrofits – as well as sufficient newbuild and repair-yard capacity to undertake these changes.
• Activate the first green corridors taking the steps to operationalise the first green corridors offers a concrete proof point that can be scaled from inter-regional impact to an eventual global one.

Melissa Williams, President, Shell Marine, said change is often the only certainty we have in the shipping industry, but the continued urgency to decarbonise is one constant that remains.