Clean Tech Firms Seek Independent Efficiency Standards

Efficient hull designs, slow steaming and other changes could greatly reduce emissions.

Three companies that sell technology for reducing ships' energy use are calling on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to develop a transparent, international standard to determine how well such products work.

International Paint, a global paints and coatings company that is part of AkzoNobel, BMT ARGOSS bv, which makes meteorological modeling systems for ship manoeuvring, and marine software company NAPA jointly called for the new standards.

"There needs to be more trust between clean technology manufacturers and the shipping community," said Paul Robbins, Marine Marketing Director at International Paint.

"If they don't have confidence in the fuel and emissions reduction figures that are claimed, take up will be stifled; the sustainable evolution of the industry will be slow to evolve and customers will spend more on fuel than they need to at a time when budgets are being significantly stretched."

The companies said demand for fuel-saving technologies is rising as fuel prices stay high and new lower-sulphur standards increase costs.

They said the IMO's Maine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) should work with independent monitoring organisations to develop measurements based on real-time automated and high-frequency data collection and monitoring, with independent access by all stakeholders.

A 2009 IMO report found that changes in ship design, including more efficient hulls and propulsion systems, along with lower speeds and the use of low-carbon fuels or renewable energy, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75 percent.