Study: Many Ships Already Meet EEDI 2020 Requirements

A new CE Delft study has revealed that many recently constructed ships already meet the IMO’s design efficiency standard for 2020

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Seas At Risk and Transport & Environment (T&E) Tuesday announced the results of a recent study, which revealed that many recently constructed ships already meet or exceed the International Maritime Organisation's(IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) standards set for 2020.

The study, commissioned by the two NGOs and completed by CE Delft, calculated the Estimated Index Values (EIVs) of new ships built between 2009 and 2014.

Additionally, it found that 34 percent of containerships and 43 percent of general cargo ships built in 2014 also meet or exceed the EEDI target for 2030.

The NGOs said that the results showed that there is "significant room" for tightening the standards.

The study also notes that the actual percentage of ships meeting the EEDI targets is greater, as the EIV is in general an underestimate of the actual EEDI score.

"If the IMO's Energy Efficiency Design Index is to be fit for purpose, new reduction targets must be agreed that take account of what 'best in class' designs can already achieve," said John Maggs, Senior Policy Advisor at Seas At Risk and President of the Clean Shipping Coalition.

Seas At Risk says the findings also suggest that larger improvements in design efficiency would have been possible if design speeds were kept constant during the 2009 to 2014 period.

Bill Hemmings, Shipping Programme Manager at T&E, agreed, commenting: "Along with the earlier study of historical design efficiency trends, this latest work only confirms that the EEDI targets need substantial revision.

"The current standards fail to reflect best practice or the pace with which improvements in efficiency can be brought about."

The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will be reviewing the suitability of existing EEDI targets at its 68th session in London from May 11-15.

Last month, another Seas At Risk and T&E study was said to show that newer built ships are 10 percent less fuel efficient than those built in 1990.