Asia/Pacific News
IBIA CONVENTION 2025: Carbon Capture Key as Two-Thirds of Today's 60,000 Ships Won't Bunker Future Fuels
Two-thirds of the 60,000 ships on the water today will never be able to bunker future marine fuels, making carbon capture technology important for the industry, according to Singapore-based Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD).
Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD, discussed why the technology makes sense for old ships, especially those operating in tramp shipping, in a panel session at the IBIA Annual Convention 2025 in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
"Two-thirds of them are going to see a single drop of future fuels, because you're not going to put the engine in because they're more than 10 years old," Loo said.
She added that half of these ships are on tramp service, operating without a fixed schedule or route, which limits their fuel bunkering choices.
This, she said, further strengthens the case for onboard carbon capture.
"If you don't know where you're going for your fuels, then what are the options, Loo said.
Constantinos Capetanakis, chairman of IBIA and moderator of the session, also highlighted the growing owner interest in the technology.
"Carbon capture is something which occupies the mind of many shipowners," he said.
But the panel also pointed to practical challenges.
Caroline Yang, CEO of Hong Lam Marine, also present at the panel, said one of the challenges with carbon capture is that tanks are needed onboard, which takes up cargo space.
"I think the issue is that you need to allocate tanks for it, which decreases your cargo capacity, and that doesn't make sense, Yang said.
"And within the region, we need to find places where we can discharge, so that's why we talk about collaboration."
Carbon capture systems allow ships to trap CO2 in onboard tanks for discharge ashore, where it can be used as feedstock for industrial products. GCMD recently demonstrated this in its own trials.
The technology can be retrofitted, offering shipowners an option if they are still reluctant to commit to alternative-capable ships or marine fuels.
Loo noted carbon capture can be viewed as a new value chain, and how this supply chain can be enabled using both a regulatory and a stakeholder perspective.
Hing Chao, Co-Founder & Chairman of Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping, discussed at another session, if CO2 is no longer treated as a pollutant in the US, the country could use it more freely for industrial purposes.
"If Trump is successful in revoking the endangerment finding of CO2 as a harmful emitter, would that put the US in a more favorable position to take in CO2 and make use of it for itself," Chao said.
