Shipping Must Stop Treating Decarbonisation As A ‘Future Fuel’ Problem, Says BAR Technologies
Our take
The maritime sector's ongoing struggle to decarbonize has long been framed as a challenge primarily solvable through future fuel technologies – hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, and the like. However, a recent EY study, highlighted by BAR Technologies, rightly reframes this as a critical misdirection. Focusing solely on alternative fuels postpones the implementation of readily available, impactful strategies. As evidenced by recent geopolitical tensions impacting global shipping routes, Only Four Vessels Cross Strait Of Hormuz As Gulf Shipping Slows Amid US-Iran Tensions, disruptions to established trade lanes underscore the need for immediate operational resilience alongside long-term sustainability goals. The EY report’s emphasis on energy efficiency and operational improvements aligns with a pragmatic, data-driven approach to reducing emissions—an approach World Data Ocean champions as essential for a credible transition. It’s also noteworthy that collaborative efforts, such as those between India and Panama to bolster global shipping and logistics India, Panama Strengthen Maritime Partnership To Boost Global Shipping And Logistics, highlight the complexity of global trade networks and the potential for coordinated sustainability initiatives.
The prioritization of efficiency gains—optimizing vessel speed, route planning, hull maintenance, and leveraging weather routing—represents a demonstrable, measurable pathway to reduction. These aren’t speculative technologies requiring massive infrastructure investments and years of development; they are validated practices that can yield significant results within the next few years. The shipping industry stands at a pivotal juncture. While the pursuit of zero-emission fuels remains crucial for long-term decarbonization, neglecting immediate opportunities for energy savings is a strategic oversight. The inherent inertia within a sector traditionally resistant to rapid change – and as recent events involving US actions against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz US Says It Redirected 6 Commercial Ships, Disabled 1 Under Iran Naval Blockade demonstrate – must be overcome. Shifting the focus shifts responsibility from a distant promise to immediate action.
The data underpinning this shift is becoming increasingly accessible and sophisticated. Real-time performance monitoring, coupled with integrated data ecosystems, allows for the identification of inefficiencies and the implementation of targeted improvements. Longitudinal datasets, when rigorously analyzed, reveal patterns of energy consumption and provide valuable insights for optimizing vessel operations. This empirical approach is vital for ensuring that decarbonization efforts are not only effective but also verifiable and auditable. Calibration of measurement systems and adherence to peer-reviewed methodologies are essential to maintaining scientific integrity and building trust in the reported reductions. The promise of ocean intelligence—derived from a confluence of satellite data, sensor networks, and predictive modeling—is intrinsically tied to this operational optimization.
Ultimately, the EY study’s findings reinforce a crucial truth: a sustainable maritime sector necessitates a dual-track strategy. While investment in future fuels remains paramount, immediate gains through energy efficiency and operational excellence are not merely ‘stop-gap’ measures. They represent a foundational element of a responsible and resilient decarbonization pathway. The question to watch is whether the industry, particularly larger shipping lines, will wholeheartedly embrace this pragmatic approach, or if the allure of future technologies will continue to overshadow the readily available tools for meaningful impact. The integrated data ecosystem required for optimal efficiency gains will also need to consider the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape influencing shipping routes and operational strategies.
A new study by EY Greece has warned that shipping’s transition to net zero will be uneven and capital intensive, constrained by factors including alternative fuel availability, infrastructure, shipyard capacity, access to finance and fragmented commercial incentives.
Responding to the report, BAR Technologies said that while the industry is right to plan for long-term fuel pathways, too much of the decarbonisation debate remains focused on what may become available in the future rather than what can be deployed now.
The EY study identifies energy efficiency and operational measures as among the most practical near-term actions available to shipping. BAR Technologies argues that wind propulsion, already delivering measurable fuel and emissions savings on commercial vessels, must be recognised as a proven part of that immediate response.
Wind propulsion has also passed an important market milestone. According to the International Windship Association, more than 100 large commercial cargo ships, representing over five million tonnes of deadweight capacity, are now equipped to harness wind power. That is almost five times the number recorded in May 2022, clear evidence that the technology is moving into the commercial mainstream. BAR Technologies are playing a significant part in this transition: By the end of 2026, 10 vessels will be operating with 23 WindWings® installed, giving a combined saving of approximately 100t of CO2 per day.
John Cooper, CEO of BAR Technologies, said: “Shipping needs to stop treating decarbonisation as something that only begins when future fuels arrive or every detail of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is settled. The industry cannot allow the absence of perfect policy certainty to become an excuse for inaction. Proven technologies are available now, and owners can act today.”
Unlike alternative fuels, wind requires no new fuel-production facilities, bunkering infrastructure or global supply chain. It is freely available as an energy source and can reduce a vessel’s dependence on whichever fuel it uses.
Cooper continued: “Wind propulsion is not waiting to be invented or proven. It is already operating on commercial vessels and reducing the amount of fuel they need. The priority now should be to remove the barriers preventing more owners from investing.”
For wind propulsion, those barriers are increasingly commercial and financial rather than technical.
Under many chartering arrangements, the owner funds the technology while the charterer receives much of the benefit through lower fuel consumption. Until charterparty structures allow the costs, risks and savings to be shared more effectively, owners can be left carrying the investment and long-term performance risk.
Access to finance is another significant constraint. Without competitive green lending or blended finance, owners may have to fund emissions-reduction technology at conventional commercial borrowing rates. This can lengthen the payback period, particularly in the tramp, bulk and tanker markets, where routes, earnings and charter durations are less predictable.
The EY study concludes that the pace of shipping’s transition will depend on coordination, commercial bankability, access to finance and action across the maritime value chain.
Cooper added: “But the real way to unlock action now is to make green investment affordable. Shipowners need access to financing that makes proven emissions-reduction technologies commercially viable today, not at some point in the future. If we can lower the cost of capital and create funding structures that recognise both the fuel savings and the environmental value these technologies deliver, far more owners will be able to invest.
“Wind propulsion has already passed the technology test. Affordable finance, alongside charterparty structures that share the benefits fairly, is what will unlock deployment at scale.”
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