From 1st January of 2023, the maritime community has to comply with the decarbonization regulatory requirements set by IMO and the European Union. IMO decided to contribute to decarbonization principles with the regulation set the Carbon Intensity Index (CII) calculations.
The CII is rating the ships of 5000GT and above on a 5-grade scale from A, B, C, D and E— A rating the best performance while E rating the worst. This regulation forces the vessels’ stakeholders to define ships’ carbon intensity profiles taking into account the technical, operational and commercial factors that affect the vessels’ energy output.
Furthermore, the EU Commission adopted a proposal to reduce the CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030, in the frame of the Green Deal, opening the discussion for the zero emissions goal of 2050. European Commission decided that in order to achieve the ambitious decarbonization targets, all the transport sectors, including shipping, need to participate in the emissions mitigation measures. Moreover, the European Commission has adopted the concept that the maritime industry needs not only to reduce the CO2 emissions but also to invest to alternative fuels that have lower environmental footprint from cradle to grave. The Communication on the 2030 Climate Target Plan 3 states: “maritime sectors will need to scale up efforts to improve the efficiency of ships and their operations and to increase the use of sustainably produced renewable and low-car- bon fuels. This will be assessed in greater detail in the context of the FuelEU Maritime initiatives that aim to increase the production and the uptake of sustainable alternative fuels for these sectors. The necessary technology development and deployment has to happen already by 2030 to prepare for much more rapid change thereafter.”
Based on the above, the European Commission has proposed to include the emissions from maritime transport (for vessels of 5000GT and above) in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as part of the Fit for 55 proposal. The inclusion of maritime transport in the EU ETS opens the road for a sustainable future of the ship- ping community while the involved stakeholders need to display, through their compliance with the regulations, their environmental awareness and the ability to operate the ships with a competent and cost-effective manner.
Afaia Technology Ltd is a recently founded company aiming to assist maritime shareholders to comply with decarbonization requirements and outline the most effective operation for their vessels. In that regard, Afaia will provide consultancy and innovative solutions in the maritime industry concerning the decarbonization strategy, the emissions monitoring and vessels’ compliance perspective. Afaia Technology Ltd has been founded by Mr Charis Valentakis and shareholders who are surrounded by a group of experts with long standing experience in the technical, operational and commercial aspects of vessels’ operation.
Afaia team having endorsed the responsibility of the shipping community towards the decarbonization requirements, developed an Emissions Monitoring Tool (EMT) to calculate the CO2 emissions required by IMO (CII) and EU ETS regulations.
The Afaia’s EMT can calculate the vessels’ annual CII category and compare it to the required CII reference lines for this type of vessel, offering, at the same time, a benchmarking between the vessels of the same company and the average values of the market. Moreover, the EMT can calculate the EU ETS CO2 emissions providing the cost of the required allowances in order to permit to the vessel to maximize the profit of the European voyages in the most efficient approach.
The EMT aims to assist the shipowners, the management companies, the bunkering companies, the charterers, the ports, the P&I clubs and every other entity who should monitor the CII and the EU ETS CO2 emissions on voyage and annual basis providing a valuable prediction tool able to determine the vessels’ energy output, the indices defined by the regulation and the associated cost on each voyage. Based on this information, the vessel’s operator will be able to make the most cost-efficient decisions in the context of ship’s compliance with the regulations.
Afaia Technology Ltd is confident that the time for the commitment to a greener planet has come and all the stakeholders within the shipping industry should provide the best solutions to address the environmental and commercial challenges of the future in the most cost effective and sustainable manner.
Photo: Mr. Charis Valentakis Managing Director at EUPLOIA DRYDOCKS AND SERVICES LTD