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Digital Technologies Reshaping Shipping Industry

Posted on by David Priestman

The marine sector, traditionally reliant on human expertise and conventional methods, is currently undergoing a revolutionary transformation due to the rapid advancement of digital technologies, which could lead to autonomous shipping. Research shows that 78% of maritime professionals are open to technical innovations, seeing it as a positive influence, and 80% admit how important digital technology will be in achieving carbon emissions goals.

From artificial intelligence to automation, these innovations are not only optimising efficiency but also enhancing safety, sustainability, and profitability in an industry critical to global trade and environmental preservation.

Danny Peachey (pictured), Manager Great Yarmouth from HTL Group, a leading provider of hydraulic torque wrenches, explores five key digital trends that are revolutionising the marine sector and reshaping the way we navigate and manage the world’s oceans.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics

One of the most significant trends shaping the marine industry is the increasing adoption of AI and Big Data analytics. In fact, the Maritime AI market has seen an explosive expansion over the last year, nearly tripling in size, according to the new Thetius report commissioned by Lloyd’s Register. By analysing this data, AI systems can predict optimal routes and speeds, forecast maintenance needs, and reduce the likelihood of breakdowns. This proactive approach, called “predictive maintenance”, helps minimise vessel downtime. For example, the Danish company Maersk has implemented AI algorithms to predict machinery failures and optimise fuel usage, leading to substantial cost reductions.

The potential for AI goes beyond efficiency. Safety is a key benefit as AI-driven systems can monitor maritime conditions and forecast hazards such as piracy, extreme weather, or equipment failure, ensuring the safety of both ships and crews.

Autonomous Shipping and Robotics

Autonomous ships and robotics are redefining the future of the maritime sector. According to a study by Allied Market Research, the global market for autonomous ships is expected to reach £126,63 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% from 2020 to 2030.

Autonomous ships reduce the need for large crews, which lowers labour costs and the risk of human error. They are equipped with advanced sensors, GPS technology, and AI, enabling them to navigate oceans efficiently. For example, Yara Birkeland, the world’s first autonomous, zero-emission container vessel, successfully completed its maiden voyage in 2022. This vessel operates with minimal human oversight and relies on a combination of onboard AI and remote operations.

Robotics are also making waves in the industry. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and underwater drones are increasingly used for inspecting and repairing underwater infrastructure such as oil rigs and pipelines. These robots can perform tasks that would be dangerous or expensive for human divers, significantly reducing operational risks.

Blockchain Technology

The marine sector relies on complex supply chains, making Blockchain technology a game-changer. The global supply chain can involve multiple entities, ranging from shipping lines to customs authorities, creating opportunities for miscommunication, lost cargo, and fraud.

Blockchain’s decentralised, immutable ledger provides an unparalleled level of transparency, allowing all parties involved—shipowners, port authorities, customs agents, and freight companies—to have real-time access to data about cargo shipments and transactions

Furthermore, blockchain can facilitate the automation of contract execution through smart contracts, which automatically trigger payments, inspections, or approvals when certain conditions are met. By increasing trust and reducing delays, blockchain technology is helping the marine sector run more smoothly and cost-effectively.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Shipping

The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating an interconnected ecosystem in the marine industry, revolutionising everything from shipbuilding to operations and safety. By embedding sensors and communication devices into ships, engines, containers, and ports, IoT enables real-time monitoring of vessel conditions, cargo status, and environmental factors.

For instance, IoT can monitor a ship’s engine performance, detect wear and tear, and alert operators to potential mechanical failures before they become serious issues. It can also track cargo conditions—such as temperature, humidity, or pressure—ensuring that perishable goods like food or pharmaceuticals are transported safely and efficiently.

Danny Peachey, HTL Group

IoT is also revolutionising ports. Smart Ports use IoT systems to automate loading and unloading processes, manage energy consumption, and reduce bottlenecks. Ports such as Hamburg and Rotterdam are already implementing smart solutions that reduce port congestion and improve the flow of goods.

Sustainability and Green Shipping

As concerns over climate change grow, the marine sector is embracing sustainability and green shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set ambitious targets to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050.

Digital technologies, such as AI and IoT, play a vital role in helping the industry meet these targets. For example, AI tools can optimise fuel consumption by adjusting ship speeds and routes based on real-time data. Moreover, the use of digital twin technology—a virtual replica of a physical ship—enables companies to simulate different designs and operational conditions, identifying the most energy-efficient options before they are implemented.

Low-carbon fuels, electric propulsion systems, and onboard energy management systems are increasingly being adopted, and digital platforms are being used to track carbon emissions, making compliance with environmental regulations easier and more transparent.

The marine industry is undergoing a significant digital transformation, driven by advances in AI, robotics, blockchain, IoT, and sustainability initiatives. These technologies are not only improving operational efficiency and safety but also helping the industry reduce its environmental impact. As these trends continue to evolve, the marine sector is set to become more agile, cost-effective, and sustainable, positioning itself for future growth in an increasingly digital world.

Alternative Fuel Developments

Posted on by David Priestman

For distribution operations on sea or land, by far the biggest daily cost is fuel. Added to this is the pressure to go green for very many reasons, writes Richard Shepherd-Barron.

The use of alternative fuels to fossil-derived products across a wide range of logistics applications continues to increase as companies move forward into more environmentally friendly operations with zero or low emissions – electricity, hydrogen, compressed natural gas (biomethane) or methanol.

Now that many retailers have rigorous sustainability policies, this means that they will be seeking out and then favouring ‘green’ partner companies over their less sustainable competitors. An example this is the introduction by Maersk of the fifth ship in a series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery from last Autumn through 2025. The ‘Alexandra Maersk’ (pictured) – 47,700 tonnes and 16,592 TEU – was named in a ceremony at Felixstowe last October. These new methanol-enabled ships are at the core of Maersk’s ambitious decarbonation plans as low emission methanol can reduce the greenhouse gas (GHGH) emissions by 65 to 90 per cent.

A major user of Maersk’s services is the well-known British and international retailer Primark, which employs more than 80,000 people across 17 countries. Their CEO, Paul Marchant, said during the naming ceremony: “We’re committed to reducing the impact we have on the environment across our entire operation, including our supply chain. Through our partnership with Maersk we’ve started to introduce green fuel alternatives when shipping our products by using Maersk’s ECO Delivery Ocean product and replacing fossil fuels with green fuel alternatives, we’re reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our ocean shipping.”

On a rather different scale, Carisbrooke Shipping, based in the Isle of Wight and Rotterdam, operate 26 vessels between 5,000 and 17,000 tonnes in European waters. Natalia Walker of Carisbrooke explained: “We’re part of a consortium, led by Carnot Ltd, which has been awarded £2.3 million to deploy its 70% efficient 50kW marine hydrogen engine to provide auxiliary power on a general cargo vessel. The project will explore how hydrogen can be used to generate electrical power on board cargo vessels. The demonstrator vessel – the ‘Kathy C’ (4,151 tonnes) – is a UK-flagged general cargo vessel designed to carry multiple types of dry cargo from grain to aggregates and is scheduled to undergo real-world testing this year.”

The Carnot 50-kW engine is a precursor to 200 to 400kW auxiliary engines, and eventually to 1 top 10MW main engines. The hydrogen fuel is supplied by Compass Syngas Solutions, based in Deeside, Wales, who secured almost £4 million in government funding to make its biomass and waste-to-hydrogen plants even greener by using carbon capture from its hydrogen production from waste wood and other selected non-recyclable materials.

Electric Vans

On land, many developments are taking place, very much dependent on operating requirements: Vauxhall has started customer trials with its Vivaro hydrogen van, involving some of the UK’S largest fleets. James Taylor, Vauxhall’s MD, said: “As the UK’s best-selling electric van manufacturer for the past three years, we’re already leading the way in electrifying Britain’s businesses.” To emphasise this, Royal Mail have just taken delivery of their 6,000th electric vehicle.

Marks and Spencer have introduced 85 lower emission vehicles to its fleet. Five of these are battery electric Renault 42-tonne units which will deliver to 30 M&S across London and the South East. In addition, 80 new trucks, fuelled by compressed natural gas (biomethane), will join the fleet, 50 of these being operated by Gist in its food supply chain system. Julian Bailey, Head of Group Transport at M&S, commented: “Adapting our logistics network is vital in achieving our Plan A Net Zero ambition. We’re committed to reducing carbon emissions from our transport.”

In Germany, Nippon Gas and the Hoyer Group have introduced the first hydrogen-powered truck to transport dry ice. The truck has short refuelling times and a long range, which is exactly where a battery electric truck reaches its limits. Watch this space for more fuel innovation.

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Shipping Finance Closer to Net Zero Alignment

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Continued growth of climate transparency from financial institutions show that the global finance portfolio for shipping has moved closer to alignment with ambitious decarbonisation trajectories set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), aiming to remove emissions from international shipping by 2050.

The new insights are revealed in The Poseidon Principles’ fifth Annual Disclosure Report, which showcases the climate alignment of 35 major financial institutions across 13 countries, representing nearly 80% of the global ship finance portfolio. The Poseidon Principles are a global framework for financial institutions to assess and disclose the climate alignment of their shipping portfolios, aiming to promote decarbonisation in the maritime industry.

This year’s report, which also marks the fifth anniversary of the Poseidon Principles, highlights the transformative progress achieved since its launch in 2019, when it became the world’s first sector-specific framework for measuring and reporting climate alignment in shipping finance. What began as a conversation in 2017 and was introduced as a concept under development at the first Global Maritime Forum Annual Summit in Hong Kong in 2018 has since evolved into a celebrated model for industry-specific, transparent climate disclosure in shipping — one that has inspired similar initiatives in sectors like steel, aluminium, and aviation.

Key findings from the 2024 Annual Disclosure Report include:

• Transparency on the rise: An average of 93.3% of signatories’ portfolio activity was reported, with all signatories reporting ship emissions data from at least 70% of their portfolio, 28 signatories achieving a reporting rate of 90% or above, and eight achieving 100%.
• Climate alignment performance: The average climate alignment scores showed a noticeable progression from last year, with portfolios’ alignment to the IMO’s ‘minimum’ and ‘striving’ decarbonisation trajectories improving.
• Increased collaboration: Collaboration and engagement are increasing between financial institutions and their shipping clients, demonstrating the initiative’s pivotal role in guiding the industry toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050 in line with the 2023 IMO Greenhouse Gas Strategy.

“The Poseidon Principles have redefined what is possible in transparent climate reporting for the shipping industry,” said Michael Parker, Poseidon Principles Chair and Chairman of Global Shipping & Logistics, Citi. “As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of this initiative, we recognise both the progress made and the opportunities ahead – this milestone shows how far we have come in five years, but also serves as a reminder that we are now five years closer to critical decarbonisation targets for 2030, 2040, and 2050. We must accelerate efforts, addressing key areas of misalignment and ensuring collective ambition turns into transformative action.”

By integrating real emissions data into financial decision-making, the framework has also enabled signatories to use climate alignment scores to shape financing decisions, guide sustainability-linked lending, and support investment in green technologies such as biofuels and alternative propulsion systems. Increased transparency has also fostered closer collaboration between financial institutions and shipowners, reinforcing a shared commitment to decarbonisation.

While celebrating significant progress, the report also acknowledges the challenges of aligning with IMO’s ambitious roadmap.

“We have much to celebrate in this annual disclosure report, especially in terms of increasing levels of transparency” said Paul Taylor, Vice Chair of the Poseidon Principles and Global Head of Maritime Industries, Societe Generale. “However, alignment with 2050 net zero goals remains a challenge, in particular for certain vessel types that are facing operational complexities. Now, the Poseidon Principles’ adoption of well-to-wake emissions reporting offers a robust foundation for addressing these challenges head on. The Poseidon Principles will continue to evolve, setting new benchmarks for transparency and commitment to a sustainable future.”

In 2023 the Poseidon Principles adopted well-to-wake emissions reporting, encompassing full lifecycle emissions of fuels and setting a new benchmark for climate reporting in line with the latest climate science and supporting the IMO’s latest ambition.

In just five years, the Poseidon Principles have set the global standard for climate transparency in ship finance and inspired other financial disclosure initiatives like the Sustainable STEEL Principles for steel financing, the Sustainable Aluminium Finance Framework for aluminium financing, and the Pegasus Guidelines for aviation financing. Climate disclosure reporting plays a crucial role in enhancing the transparency and accountability of climate and environmental impact, risk management, and strategic planning of participating organisations and their clients.

As the Poseidon Principles enter their sixth year, the Association celebrates the transformative power of collective action, and the tangible progress made toward decarbonising global shipping. While challenges remain, the shared commitment of signatories, shipping clients, and stakeholders is a testament to what can be achieved through collaboration and transparency.

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Decarbonisation of shipping could create up to four million green jobs

Posted on by Will Priestman
  • Decarbonisation of the global maritime industry could support the creation of up to four million green jobs by 2050.
  • Demand for e-fuels is set to scale to over 500m tonnes by 2040, requiring additional 2TW of renewable energy generation capacity and £3.2 trillion of infrastructure investment.
  • This significant capital investment will see most green jobs created during the 2030s, to support renewable energy capacity building.
  • Majority of jobs likely to be distributed in the Global South, where conditions are optimal for the production of green fuels.
  • Based on Green Jobs and Maritime Decarbonisation, new analysis by the Global Maritime Forum and Arup.

Copenhagen, 9 May 2024 – The Global Maritime Forum has revealed the immense economic potential presented by the decarbonisation of shipping. New analysis, commissioned by the Global Maritime Forum and conducted by Arup, projects that the maritime sector’s transition to e-fuels could support up to four million new green jobs by 2050, double the number of seafarers serving globally today. Job creation will be seen across the three main phases of the supply chain: renewable energy generation, hydrogen production and e-fuel production.

The shipping industry is currently responsible for 3% of global CO2 emissions, equivalent to the annual emissions of Japan. As the backbone of the global economy – responsible for 80% of global trade – the industry has faced enormous pressure to rapidly decarbonise. In 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s member states agreed an end date to fossil fuel consumption “by or around” 2050.

Achieving this target will require large volumes of scalable zero emission fuels, a significant share of which will be e-fuels based on hydrogen. Projections show that shipping’s demand for e-fuels could rapidly scale to over 500 million tonnes by 2040, rising to 600 million tonnes by 2050. Meeting such demand could require an additional 2TW of renewable energy generation capacity, and 1TW of hydrogen production capacity by 2050.

Maritime transition is a trillion-dollar market opportunity

The analysis, titled Green Jobs and Maritime Decarbonisation, focuses on renewable energy and fuel production linked to e-fuels, adopting an illustrative scenario where e-fuels become the energy source for international shipping. In this scenario, up to £3.2 trillion of investment is required to support the development of renewable infrastructure, hydrogen production, and fuel production facilities for e-ammonia for shipping.

This significant capital investment will have a dramatic impact on the creation of green jobs across the supply chain. It also has the potential to create immense benefits to the wider economy, furthering climate action, whilst also supporting the development of renewable energy projects and the uptake of green hydrogen across other sectors.

Jesse Fahnestock, Director of Decarbonisation, at Global Maritime Forum, said: “This research marks a critical first step in exploring the fundamental role maritime decarbonisation will play in the creation of green jobs within the energy sector. The analysis demonstrates the sheer scale of the potential to create large numbers of highly-skilled green jobs, in this instance driven by a single fuel. Many of these jobs will also be transferable to other sectors – supporting further decarbonisation beyond shipping.”

Creating green jobs across the supply chain

Providing shipping decarbonisation keeps track with the IMO’s ‘striving indicative checkpoints’, the new data provides an outline of the growth of green jobs from the 2020s through the 2040s for each of the main areas of the supply chain – renewable energy generation, hydrogen production and e-fuel production.

Due to the rapid scaling of e-fuel uptake during the 2030s, it’s predicted that this decade will see the creation of the most green jobs across each area of the supply chain – an upper bound range of between 1m and 4m jobs worldwide. This will be supported by over £2.2 trillion of capital investment in the development renewables and infrastructure, and a huge build-out of energy and fuel capacity – 1,500GW of renewable energy generation, 800GW of green hydrogen, and 530Mtpa of green ammonia.

Job numbers are likely to be smaller in the 2020s and ultimately reduce in the 2040s, as capital investment reduces. A large proportion of these jobs, however, will be transferable to other sectors and will ultimately support the development of wider renewable energy capacity; aiding decarbonisation efforts across other sectors.

Jeremy Anderson, Director of Just Transition and Sustainable Transport at International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), said: “The creation of new green jobs can help address economic inequalities between the Global North and Global South. However, green jobs must also be good jobs, with decent working conditions, labour rights, and a strong voice for workers.”

More attention required to map green jobs potential in maritime 

As trillions of capital investment gets funnelled into green fuels for the maritime sector, stimulating the creation of green jobs can help countries transition away from fossil fuels, whilst providing a direct, quantifiable contribution to a country’s economy.

Investments in the Global South in particular, where climate provides the greatest conditions for e-fuel production, have shown to contribute significantly toward higher job creation, relative to an equivalent investment in a country in the Global North. This suggests a higher potential for developing countries to leverage investments towards wider green job creation.

Connor Bingham, Project Manager at Global Maritime Forum and author of Green Jobs and Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “The huge levels of investment will impact all corners of the globe, helping many countries around the world provide opportunities to workers negatively affected by the transition away from more carbon-intensive industries. It’s vital that we further explore the different geographic implications, particularly in the Global South, to ensure we can unlock the enormous potential for economic growth across nations.”

The Global Maritime Forum calls for further research and analysis on the role of other future fuels, beyond e-fuels, in the creation of quality green jobs, as well as building a stronger understanding of the different geographical implications relating to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

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