“Abstract

Measures towards net-zero transition need to ensure the well-functioning of the market. This paper focuses on shipping where the existing environmental regulations lack considerations for the industry’s economic performance. We apply a stochastic frontier analysis to estimate the carbon, production, cost, and allocative efficiencies for 14 major shipping segments and 664 individual vessels. Our findings suggest that carbon and production efficiencies have increased but cost efficiency has decreased from 2021 to 2024. There is scope for the average vessel to reduce its carbon emissions by 31%. Additionally, fuel is underused by 37% and capital is overused by 58%. Technical and operational inefficiencies increase the total cost by 6%, with market price dynamics increasing it by 17%. The results suggest that, without further policy intervention and clear economic incentivisation, there is limited potential for the industry to follow the energy transition pathway.”

 

Shi, Yao and Moutzouris, Ioannis, The Economics of Decarbonisation Regulation: The Case of Shipping Efficiency (March 31, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5205272 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5205272

The full report is also accessible via: Page-48_56-CID-Summer-2025-IM-YS-061925.pdf

For related publications please see Resources – UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub

“Abstract

In 2020, the International Maritime Organization implemented a limit to the sulphur content emitted by vessels. To comply with it, a vessel should either incur the capital cost to be retrofitted with a scrubber or burn fuels that emit less sulphur but are more expensive. We examine this dilemma by developing a Vector Error Correction Model that links freight rates, fuel prices, and the green investment decision of scrubber installation. The results, across the tanker and dry bulk sectors from 2021 to 2024, suggest that the freight premium of scrubber-fitted vessels positively depends on the spread between very low-and high-sulphur fuel oil prices and negatively on the size of the scrubberfitted fleet. Scrubber investment, in turn, is determined by the past freight premium and the fuel spread. Being the first to investigate the interplay between green shipping investment and price uncertainty, our findings yield significant industry and policy implications.”

 

For related publications please see Resources – UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub

“Abstract

On-dock railway operation areas at sea-rail container ports play a crucial role in transferring containers between maritime and rail transportation systems. The operational efficiency of these areas depends on synchronizing rail and yard container handling equipment, including gantry cranes, container trucks, and yard cranes. However, time-sensitive container handling, seamless equipment coordination, and complex operational conflicts make multi-equipment scheduling a challenging decision-making problem. This study introduces an integrated scheduling method that both alleviates inter-equipment interferences and balances gantry cranes’ workloads. The underlying problem is formulated as a binary integer programming model using a novel space-time-state network. According to the specific model structure, a model reformulation method is proposed here to convert the original three-equipment scheduling model into a single-equipment scheduling version. Additionally, a Lagrangian relaxation-based heuristic is developed to efficiently solve the reformulated model. Numerical experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed solution approach under various instance settings and provide managerial insights into the problem. Computational results demonstrate that the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solution approach. Furthermore, the results also indicate that enhanced operational efficiency in the operation area can only be achieved when the railway and storage side handling capacities are well-matched.”

Xia, T., Wang, L, Zhang, Q., Dong, JX, Song, DP, Zhu, XN. (2024). Integrated scheduling of gantry cranes, container trucks and yard cranes in on-dock railway operation areas at multimodal container ports, IET Intelligent Transport Systems.

The full report is accessible via: https://doi.org/10.1049/itr2.12600

“Abstract

The environmental impact of vessels is a prevalent concern for stakeholders throughout the maritime industry. Recent decarbonisation initiatives present new challenges to shipowners with potential far reaching implications. In the event of a vessel’s non-compliance with decarbonisation regulations, there is a risk of ‘green unseaworthiness’ and penalisation under marine insurance contracts. This study examines these implications from a legal and commercial perspective, through semi-structured elite interviews with 47 key stakeholders in the global maritime and marine insurance industries, and two focus groups with national governmental maritime policy makers. Ultimately, there are limited concerns from a physical risk perspective for marine insurers. However, from a reputational point of view, the moral hazard of non-compliance is a highly probable emerging risk for marine insurers, with potential knock-on effects to the maritime industry seeking risk transfer. Introducing innovative insurer-backed value propositions are recommended to mitigate such potential effects.”

 

The full report is accessible via: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5039158

For related publications please see Resources – UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub