The prospects of the Maritime Industry for 2023

It is evident that shipping has faced long-term challenges in making itself decarbonized and ensuring new forms of transportation required in a decarbonized society.

Implementation of CII in 2023, which will be strengthened in following years, will not just be a compliance issue, but a substantial step for shipping companies to plan and manage GHG emissions from their fleet as it would directly impact corporate competitiveness and sustainability. The perspective of GHG emissions management should be incorporated into a pursuit for efficiency and gain significance this year.

Digital technology can help to grasp the situation and provide insights for realizing optimization tailored to individual ships, and the choice and utilization of the best effective solution will play a pivotal role for upcoming ship management operations. In terms of technology, the key to achieving shipping decarbonization is the development of lower and zero-emission fuels and power systems.

Though clear pathway has not been indicated yet, various initiatives are being undertaken and taking shape gradually. We saw not a few concrete actions for zero-emission shipping in 2022, from increasing interest in methanol fuel to a timeline announcement for the expected world-first 2-stroke ammonia-fueled engine.

I hope such forward-looking steps follow in 2023 as well, and both regulatory and private frameworks to encourage decarbonization are materialized in practical manners. Meanwhile, those trends may pose further complex challenges to the business of individual shipping players.

ClassNK is committed to supporting the industry in all aspects. It works to ensure the industry can have as many options for transitions to decarbonization as possible through its certifications covering not only the conventional range and but also upcoming innovations, partnership R&D approaches for bringing about the breakthrough, and provision of knowledge and expertise into the industry.

Konstantinos Markou, General Manager of ClassNK Piraeus Office

“The future of the maritime industry is being determined by decarbonization. I hope 2023 will be the year of commitment and action. We should embrace fuel flexibility and energy efficiency, engage in testing and piloting new fuels and technologies, and collaborate on significant safety challenges that threaten to disrupt the energy transition”.