THE shipping industry has persuaded even the laggards that there’s no time to lose in moving forward on decarbonisation. Time is not on our side. And while there are plenty of operational efficiency measures available to make inroads into the industry’s carbon footprint, we mustn’t forget to look beyond 2030.

It’s time to take stock of our position on the journey, to recognise the progress we have already made, and to identify the obstacles that lie in the way ahead.

Energy efficiency is all well and good, say Eirik Nyhus and Tore Longva, but we will still need energy to propel a ship — and that energy needs to come from somewhere. All the fuels under test and trial have advantages and drawbacks.

It’s a balance between running for one solution and risk falling short or spending too much time on finding the perfect solution. We cannot allow the best to become the enemy of the good.

How has the discussion shifted as the industry deepens its understanding of the actual environmental footprint of each of the fuels? What will be the impact of transporting these fuels, distributing them, storing them?

Further, is pressure from regional and local interests helping the industry’s global insight or confusing it? And is the industry right to focus on CO2 or should it reassess the danger of black carbon and methane?

In this podcast, DNV GL experts bring a clear view of one of the industry’s biggest challenges. They are on hand to filter out the noise and see the signs of progress.

This is the first of three Lloyd’s List podcasts with DNV GL. Later this month Richard Clayton will be joined by Stener Stenersen, head of the Technical Support team, for an overview of shipping’s journey into digitalisation, assessing the impact of Covid-19, the rapid expansion of remote surveying, and the technologies the industry can expect to see in the next five years.

Next month, business development manager Christos Chryssakis digs into the world of alternative fuels to identify the potential game-changers.