Pathways towards carbon reduction through technology transition in liner shipping

In order to achieve IMOs carbon reduction targets in maritime transportation, it has become imperative for ship operators to make well-funded
business decisions regarding ship technology and fuel selection. This
paper proposes a decision-making model for the decarbonization of
liner shipping from 2022 to 2050. The model integrates decisions about
ship purchases and sales, together with retrofitting of ships, fleet deployment, speed optimization, and shore power utilization. All these decisions
will heavily depend on the technology transitions of alternative fuels.
According to the established framework, we derive a road map of technology transition, which put forward time-related response measures for
ship operators in both short-sea and deep-sea shipping. Furthermore, we
assess the impacts of different carbon reduction targets on technology
transition. The results indicate that LNG will still play a leading role in the
short term, however ammonia and hydrogen will serve as important
transitional fuels in the medium and long term. Retrofitting will be the
primary way for technology transition, while slow steaming and shore
power utilization will also be important measures to reduce the carbon
emissions of shipping