RightShip: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rating Reduces Bunker Costs, Encourages Industry Led Emission Reductions

Warwick Norman, CEO of RightShip, says GHG Emissions Rating encourages industry responsibility while providing "a reduced bunker bill."

Rightship PTY Ltd. (RightShip) Tuesday in an emailed press release announced that 26 charterers have come forward ahead of COP21, which kicked off in Paris this week, to highlight their use of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Rating tool to support proactive measures on climate change and reduced fuel costs.

The GHG Emissions Rating tool is said to allow charterers and stakeholders to assess vessel efficiency, thereby rewarding ship owners that prioritise efficiency and enabling industry players to encourage environmentally-friendly change within the maritime industry.

"This is good news for the environment, it's good news for our customers as it supports their company corporate social responsibility policy while saving them money through a reduced bunker bill, and it's good news for those shippers that invest in efficient vessels," said Warwick Norman, CEO of RightShip.

"With the continued oversupply of ships in the market, it is a form of natural selection as more efficient vessels are selected."

The tool is said to enable companies to avoid chartering inefficient vessels and locate more efficiently rated charters, as well as calculate and benchmark the carbon footprint of their shipping operations.

A total of 35 charterers are reported to currently use the GHG Emissions Rating tool, said to account for over 26,000 vessel movements annually, more than two billion DWT every year.

"Reducing emissions will involve a coordinated approach across all sectors of the maritime sector," said Norman.

"We have ports that provide discounted harbor dues, maritime financiers that factor the GHG Emissions Rating into their risk profile and ship owners and managers that invest in technology to improve the efficiency of their vessel."

Last week, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said that "aggressive" fuel efficiency efforts being implemented by the global shipping industry, coupled with CO2 reduction measures by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), are capable of delivering "far more ambitious" reductions in CO2 emissions than current government targets.