Energy Efficiency Management in the Maritime Industry

A new rule for the implementation of the energy efficiency is underway by the global
watchdog for the maritime industry, the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The
stakeholders over whom the regulation will have a direct impact over are the ship owners and
operators who have already expressed great concern over what is called the Energy
Efficiency design Index (EEDI).

Read more: http://www.marineinsight.com/misc/maritime-law/energy-efficiency-

management-in-the-maritime-industry/#ixzz1p6uo304n

What is Energy Efficiency design Index (EEDI) and why it came about?

In terms of Co2 emissions per tonne of cargo, shipping is the most efficient form of
commercial transport. But due to the sheer scale of the industry, shipping contributes to about
3% of the world’s emissions, which is 0.9 billion tonnes in 2010! To top it all, popular studies
indicate that the emission rate is to increase by 75% in the next 15 years due to demand and
growth in global trade. Needless to point out, this has exerted a lot of pressure by the
international community on the IMO to increase restrictions on the shipping industry.

To quote the opinion of the International Chamber of Shipping on this issue, “The consensus
of opinion within the global industry is that it may be possible for shipping to reduce CO2
emitted per tonne of cargo transported one kilometer (tonne/km) by perhaps 15%-20%
between 2007 and 2020, through a combination of technological and operational
developments, as well as the introduction of new and bigger ships, designed to the new IMO
Energy Efficiency Design Index.”

As a result of such international consensus, the member states of IMO have agreed on certain
key principles on development on regulations from ships so that they will effectively reduce
CO2 emissions, be cost effective and at the same time be based on sustainable development
without restricting trade and growth. Thus came into being the EEDI developed by IMO.

The means proposed to reduce CO2 – EEDI

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO has prescribed certain
technical considerations and measures for reducing the CO2 emissions, with an agreed
timetable for adoption. This is what comprises the Energy Efficiency design Index (EEDI)
which is on the verge of being enforced soon.

The empirical formula for the EEDI is as follows:

EEDI = (Power · Specific Consumption · Carbon Conversion) / (Capacity · Speed)

This essentially translates into (number of grams of CO2 emissions) per tonne per nautical
mile.

The image derived from the data of container ships built between 1998 and 2007 gives us a
basic trend of the distribution of the quantity of emission relative to deadweight. Any new
building with a large deviation upwards from the trend would obviously be categorized as
deviating from the “baseline” of a good ship.

This method of calculating the efficiency index does present some limitations as any method
would. The design of fast ships such as RO-RO will never present a good index as speed is
taken too linearly into consideration here and parameters for diesel electric or hybrid system
propelled vessels are difficult to be included in the formula.

Hence the first tranche of the rule excludes the RO-RO, RO-PAX and other vessels propelled
with diesel electric and hybrid propulsion systems.

EEDI Conclusion

The EEDI is essentially a measure of efficiency of ships in transportation, such that

maximum cargo carried with minimal fuel consumption and therefore minimal CO2
emissions will give a vessel a good index.

What the EEDI predominantly emphasizes upon is to enforce power limits for new
ships, thus reducing their operational speeds and reduce carbon emissions. Hence this
may necessitate the reduction in speed for bulkers and tankers in the near future. But before
passengers, RO-ROs and other special ships come under the purview of the rule, the EEDI
requires additional parameters for accuracy with regard to these vessels.

In the future of the maritime industry, we can expect that the “energy efficiency” will become
an integral part of every ship owner’s New buildings department. But a new vessel designed
to fit the “targets” of EEDI will not be justified unless energy efficiency is monitored and
balanced during the operational life of the vessel too.