NAVIGATING DECARBONIZATION: EXAMINING SHIPPING COMPANIES’ FLEET MODERNIZATION STRATEGIES WORLDWIDE
Abstract
The shipping industry's heavy reliance on fossil fuels has significantly contributed to global greenhouse gas emissions, necessitating urgent decarbonization measures. In this context, the trend towards environmentally friendly alternative fuels has accelerated and shipping companies has begun fleet modernization such as retrofitting vessels to accommodate alternative fuel systems or investing in new ships designed for specific alternative fuels. However, there are contradicting approaches in practice on viable option(s) to decarbonize. In this study, it is aimed to determine which strategies the shipping companies in fleet modernization mainly prefer. In this context, the current news under the title of "Shipping-Decarbonization" in the Thompson Reuters Refinitiv terminal has been scanned to seek answers about the direction in which the preferences of practitioners have evolved. Although there are different investment preferences, it has been determined that companies are predominantly investing in ships with methanol and LNG propulsion systems or retrofitting their existing fleets in this area on their decarbonization journey. Based on the analysis, this study aims to provide valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders especially on identification of preferred alternative fuels in order to customize incentives and regulations aimed at encouraging the adoption of these particular alternative fuels
Keywords
Shipping, Fleet Modernization, Alternative Fuels, Decarbonization
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