After four-year break, the world’s most prestigious shipping event, Posidonia, comes back with IMO’s GHG emissions milestones at the core of the agenda.
With the bulk sector at surprisingly high levels and a strong Greek footprint, the energy efficiency challenge is the most imminent with new technologies to offer tangible benefits and savings.
Dry bulk is enjoying an overall strong run after having suffered
in recent years, and despite the Ukraine war impact and market volatility, the fundamentals of supply and demand look favour- able. Last year was also the strongest in a decade for the sale and purchase of secondhand bulk carriers.
However, the global orderbook for new vessels remains historically low, partly due to high prices as most major yards are full, mainly with container vessels. Another reason why there may
be reluctance by dry bulk owners to place new construction orders is due to the continued uncertainty over potential fuel and technology options for current/future decarbonisation regulatory compliance.
Considering an optimal mix of fuel and technologies aboard vessels, based on their size and anticipated trades that can promise compliance throughout the investment horizon or the lifetime of the vessel, are key topics that need to be addressed.
For this reason, the role and value of class societies is critical
for the dry bulk sector as in addition to providing classification services, organisations like Lloyd’s Register have the knowledge, experience and capacity to advise shipowners on how to manage this complex environment and navigate the decision-making process.
Going forward, we see energy efficiency commanding attention with many focusing on technologies/solutions for more efficient and more environmentally-friendly bulk carriers. While LNG dual-fuelled engines are already an option, the potential of ammonia and methanol are being explored further, either in terms
of technology maturing or uptake. Most notably, we are already seeing an increasing interest in wind-assisting systems, both for retrofit and for new ships. Such systems have the potential to
provide tangible fuel savings and corresponding emission reduction in a relatively less complex manner.
It’s worth stressing that at LR we focus on new technology from the viewpoint of safety, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall better vessels; but we also assess ways that new technology can be seamlessly adapted. It’s one thing to develop a new technology or try to migrate it from one sector to another, but quite another to have this technology adopted in practice. That’s why over the past three years LR has entered into more than 70 joint development projects for bulk carriers with ship designers and yards in China alone, more than half of which have already been incorporated into newbuilding projects.
LR is also very active in digital technology, supported by our investments in two key digital solution providers – Hanseaticsoft and i4 Insight. The digital platforms and solutions provided on fleet management and fleet performance optimisation have a proven track record, used also by dry bulk shipping companies. I fully expect that the uptake of these kinds of digital services in the dry bulk sector will increase based on their demonstrated usefulness in practice and ability to simplify operations and save money.
Crew change challenges became acute during the Covid pandemic, reinforcing the importance of human factor in maintaining supply chains. The uptake of new technologies, together with the handling of multiple fuels onboard, possibly of wide quality variation, highlights the importance of continuous training and support for all our seafarers on the changing competencies, digital technologies and safety management.
Understanding the increasingly important role class must play
in this transformation pathway, and considering the legacy and prevalence of Greek owners in the bulk segment, Lloyd’s Register launched in early May the Hellenic Bulk Carriers Forum to engage with the sector’s leading companies to improve collaboration, provide inputs on technology developments, operational and practical challenges, all in support of the transition towards a sustainable future.
* Global Bulk Carrier Segment Director at Lloyd’s Register