Maersk Line, Cargill Among SSI Members Pushing for Global Fleet to Cut Bunker Consumption by 20% a Decade

SSI says the global fleet should improve fuel efficiency by 20 percent within a decade.

Alongside calls for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to set emission reduction targets, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), on behalf of its members, which include Maersk Line and Cargill, Inc. (Cargill), says that the global fleet should be improving fuel efficiency at a faster rate, working for a 20 percent reduction in bunker consumption within a decade, Climate Home reports.

This compares with the current rate of improvement for new ships that was said to be less than 10 percent.

"It doesn't matter how you cut it, shipping needs to reduce its emissions considerably," Alastair Fischbacher, CEO of SSI, told Climate Home.

As Ship & Bunker reported last week, the SSI has launched a set of key milestones and priorities which must be met in order to create a sustainable shipping industry by 2040, which it calls the SSI Roadmap.

In December, following news that the COP21 climate deal reached in Paris did not cover emissions from shipping and aviation, SSI said the 2 degrees global warming target agreed at the summit would only be achieved if the IMO takes early action to create a global framework to tackle shipping emissions.

"Last year, it was felt by many people that the IMO missed the point," said Fischbacher most recently.

"By delaying again and not taking action, it was actually making the task harder next time."

While low oil prices are said to have drawn out the payback period of investments in fuel saving solutions, it was also noted that other factors, such as ocean currents and route choice, affect consumption making it difficult to measure exactly what savings were being provided.

However, Fischbacher says efficiency targets are obtainable, adding "we just have to work very hard for it," using techniques such as streamlining hulls and utilising renewable energy and alternative fuels.

In February, Fischbacher explained that the organisation's Vision for 2040 focuses on reducing the shipping industry's reliance on heavy fuel oil (HFO) in favour of shifting to a diversified mix of low carbon energy sources that will enable a reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) and other emissions.