IBIA CONVENTION: Maersk Sees 'Get on and Do Something' Attitude Needed for Decarbonisation

The discussion arose at the IBIA convention earlier this month. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker

The shipping and bunker industries are in danger of prioritising long-term debates over decarbonisation measures over action in the short term, according to container line AP Moller-Maersk.

Shipping companies need to step up and take action in the short term rather than talking more, Mikkel Kannegaard, CEO of the container line's bunker supply arm, Maersk Oil Trading, said at the IBIA Annual Convention 2022 in Houston earlier this month.

"Yes, we need to talk about what is the dominant fuel going forward, but what we really need more than anything else is some people actually doing something," Kannegaard said.

"We don't need to be perfect; from the get-go, we can start with a grey version and then we can turn it greener and greener.

"A lot of the solutions out there today are not perfect, but they're a hell of a lot better than the residual fuel that we're burning in our industry today.

"We need to get going and do something, because if we don't then we'll still have the same discussion five or ten years from now, and we wouldn't have moved anything significantly."

The comments partly echo the arguments of LNG bunker fuel supporters, who argue that while still a fossil fuel, LNG delivers emissions reductions compared with conventional fuels and can gradually be replaced by bio- and synthetic LNG. Maersk does not have any LNG-fuelled tonnage, and the company's comments on LNG have largely been apathetic or critical.

Guido Cardullo, head of business development at Fratelli Cosulich, said from the bunker industry's point of view it was still difficult to justify capital expenditure on getting into alternative fuels.

"On the supply side, we still have the same problem as the customer side; the problem is we have a competitive market that makes it difficult to make an investment.

"Now, I represent a company that has made these investments, and if you ask me, overall I see the world changing very fast."

In a separate panel session Daniel Rose, CEO of bunker procurement firm Shipergy, said the move towards bunker decarbonisation would need to be led by shipping firms.

"Ultimately we're not shipping firms; it's not our job to decarbonise," Rose said.

"It's not necessarily our role.

"Of course we must not be complacent about the challenges our clients are facing, but we are following them on decarbonisation."