The "decarbonization and green transformation" of the shipping industry is a hot topic at present, but there is a lack of consensus in the industry on what is "green". Clarksons Research is committed to providing customers with a data framework and then providing development analysis to promote the shipping industry to ultimately achieve the goal of meeting the standards.

With the development of fuel conversion in the shipping industry, new ships powered by alternative fuels have received more attention. However, fuel conversion still takes time. On the road to greenhouse gas emission reduction in the shipping industry, other applications such as energy efficiency improvement and energy-saving devices also play an important role. The application of various types of technologies in ships will have an impact on the revenue and asset value of the ships, so it is necessary to continue to pay attention to the development and application of different environmental protection technologies.

The above is the original intention of this article, for industry reference.

Technology Application Classification

In order to visually demonstrate the current status of green technology application in the shipping industry, Clarksons Research divides the current fleet and ships on order into five levels according to the type of technology applied and the age of the ships. The priorities are as follows from top to bottom:

● Level 1: “Alternative fuel powered” ships: reduced emissions at the ship end

● Second level: “Energy-saving” ships: Energy-saving ships powered by conventional fuels, which reduce emissions by more than 20% compared to non-energy-saving ships

● Level 3: “Energy-saving device-applied” ships: ships equipped with energy-saving devices other than the above two types. Different types of energy-saving devices can reduce fuel consumption by 5-10%.

● Fourth level: “15 years old or younger” ships: ships other than the first three types with an age of less than 15 years

● Fifth level: “15 years and above” ships: ships other than the first three types with an age of 15 years and above

The ships classified according to the above principles do not contain overlapping parts. Clarksons Research statistics show that 12% of the global fleet and orders in total tonnage are powered by alternative fuels, another 39% are energy-saving, 8% use energy-saving devices, 15% of the fleet is less than 15 years old, and the remaining 25% are ships 15 years old and above.

1. “Alternative fuel powered” ships

The use of zero-carbon or low-carbon alternative fuels by ships will effectively reduce ship-side emissions compared to traditional fuels. According to Clarksons Research, 7% of the global fleet is powered by alternative fuels in terms of gross tonnage. As the use of alternative fuels in new orders accelerates, the proportion of alternative fuels in backlog orders has risen to 51%.

LNG remains the main alternative fuel choice, with LNG power accounting for 73% of the orders on hand, benefiting from competitive natural gas commodity prices, widespread gas sources and a mature refueling network. Methanol is the most widely used alternative fuel type besides LNG, but investment interest in methanol fuel has cooled to a certain extent this year. In addition, nearly 1,500 ships have added alternative fuel reservation plans to retain flexibility for future fuel development, and the attention to ammonia fuel reservation has increased.

2. Energy-saving ships

Clarksons Research defines ships using electronically controlled/electrically fueled engines as "energy-saving" ships. At the current speed level, compared with ships with mechanically controlled engines, ships with electronically controlled engines can effectively save more than 20% of fuel. Among all electronically controlled ships, we also broadly define ships signed after 2012 as modern energy-saving ships. The energy efficiency of modern energy-saving ships has been further improved. According to Clarksons Research, energy-saving ships currently account for 32% of the fleet, and this proportion rises to 49% including orders in hand, most of which are modern energy-saving ships.

During the last round of shipping market cycle, a large number of ships were ordered. The peak delivery of these ships occurred between 2008 and 2012, but the relative energy consumption of these ships was not ideal. Among all ship types, the ship types with faster fleet replacement in the past decade have a higher proportion of "energy-saving" ships. On the contrary, in the past decade, small ships such as handy bulk carriers, feeder container ships and some special ship types such as multi-purpose MPP ships and car carriers have less investment, and "non-energy-saving" ships account for a higher proportion.

III. Ships with Energy-saving Devices

The International Maritime Organization's short-term emission reduction measures EEXI/CII will be implemented from January 2023. After the implementation of the rules, the installation of energy-saving devices is favored by shipowners as a technical solution with low cost investment and can quickly improve ship emissions. Installing an energy-saving device can theoretically reduce fuel consumption by 3-10%, and the specific effect varies depending on the ship type and equipment. According to Clarksons research statistics, nearly 10,000 ships in the fleet have installed energy-saving devices, and nearly half of them are equipped with two or more energy-saving devices.

Clarksons database records the application of various energy-saving devices on each ship. At present, energy-saving devices installed in front of and behind the propeller are the most common and the largest in number. However, the development of energy-saving devices has accelerated recently, and more product designs have emerged, including eye-catching and expensive devices such as sails and air lubrication systems. More and more ships are considering the installation of energy-saving devices at the design stage of new ships. Currently, more than 4,000 bulk carriers in the fleet and on hand have been equipped with energy-saving devices.

IV/V. Vessels without green technology application

Clarksons Research has found that among the younger fleets under 15 years old, 26% of the ships are still without green technology applications (i.e. "three-no" ships, no alternative fuels, no energy-saving main engines, and no energy-saving devices). Most of these ships were delivered between 2010 and 2014, and are between 10 and 14 years old. If we consider the average operating years of 25 years for ships, theoretically these ships have the potential to install more energy-saving devices and convert to alternative fuels.

Finally, there are the remaining old ships that are 15 years old or older. According to Clarksons Research, the average age of the current global fleet is 13.9 years old, and one-third of the ships are over 15 years old. By 2036, about 48% of the ships in the current global fleet will be 25 years old or older. Although there are differences between different ship types, overall, there is huge potential for ship dismantling in the next decade.