Legal costs insurance provider to the maritime industry, the UK Defence Club has launched detailed guidance for the sector outlining the practical goals and contractual challenges in becoming carbon neutral.

The Green Transition surveys the current landscape and addresses what the IMO’s ambitious emission reduction targets, and other sustainable regulation, mean in practice for shipowners and operators, with the various stages of regulatory change mapped out in precise detail.

The impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, for instance, is explored from negotiating fixtures, commercial considerations, to the costs of permits, liability and potential disputes.

The report places an emphasis on innovative, energy-saving technology as the solution underpinning the IMO framework. In this increasingly complex environment, vessels will likely have to be retrofitted, while technological advancements will trigger improved operational efficiency and manufacturing methods, bringing both opportunity and risk to those in the shipping industry.

UK Defence Club CEO, Daniel Evans said: “There is a wind of change in our industry, placing climate crisis and sustainability at the forefront of the agenda. After bringing in progressive regulation to cut high sulphur fuel in 2020, the IMO has mapped out an ambitious development pathway towards a carbon neutral shipping sector.

“The Green Transition report will help our members and the wider maritime industry to get to grips with some of these issues. It’s vitally important to plan and be prepared for future disruption that sustainability measures will bring, as well as being engaged and informed on the most prominent issue that will shape the future of our industry.”

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