The pressure to decarbonise shipping is no longer centred on distant targets alone. Increasing fuel costs, tightening emissions frameworks, and growing operational scrutiny are forcing the industry to confront a more immediate question: how much efficiency can be achieved today using technologies that already exist?
That was the central focus of this session, which examined why many proven energy efficiency solutions remain unevenly adopted despite growing commercial and environmental pressures to act.
Moderated by Jon Lane, Head of Sustainability at RightShip, the panel brought together voices from across shipping, technology, coatings, and classification:
Across the conversation, panellists examined where energy efficiency technologies are delivering measurable operational gains, why confidence in performance still varies across the market, and how the industry can create the conditions needed to accelerate broader adoption.
A consistent thread throughout the session was that many efficiency measures have already progressed beyond experimentation and into everyday operational use.
Rather than focusing on a single “silver bullet,” speakers described a growing mix of practical interventions being applied across fleets depending on vessel type, trading pattern, and operational profile. Chris Hughes pointed to technologies such as propeller upgrades, variable frequency drives, and advanced hull coatings as examples of solutions already producing repeatable returns in fuel savings and emissions reduction.
At the same time, the conversation highlighted that operational efficiency is becoming just as important as physical retrofit technologies. Voyage optimisation, weather routing, predictive hull cleaning, and higher-frequency performance monitoring were all discussed as areas where operators are extracting additional value without major infrastructure changes.
Hughes observed that better operational visibility increasingly functions as “another energy saving technology,” reflecting how strongly data quality now influences fuel performance and decision-making.
Panos Kourkountis reinforced that substantial emissions reductions are already achievable through existing operational and technical measures. He argued that while future fuels remain part of the long-term transition, the industry should not underestimate the emissions reductions that can be achieved immediately through technologies already available today.
The session also highlighted how the rationale for investing in efficiency technologies is expanding beyond fuel consumption alone.
Jessica Doyle noted that hull performance is increasingly connected to biodiversity management and regulatory compliance, particularly as ports and authorities strengthen their approach to biofouling. She reflected that while ballast water historically dominated discussions around invasive species, attention is now shifting toward hull cleanliness and its environmental impact.
Ariana Psomas similarly described how coating technologies are evolving to balance operational efficiency with environmental considerations, including the development of biocide-free solutions designed to minimise drag while reducing ecological impact.
These discussions reflected a broader shift in how energy efficiency is being viewed across the industry. Rather than sitting solely within sustainability programmes, efficiency measures are increasingly tied to operational reliability, compliance exposure, port access, and long-term asset performance.
Several speakers suggested that this wider operational framing may ultimately prove more influential in driving adoption than emissions targets alone.
While many technologies are producing positive results, the panel repeatedly returned to the challenge of building confidence in performance claims and investment outcomes.
George Teriakidis observed that operators and technology providers do not always align on how benefits should be measured, creating hesitation around larger or less established investments. In practice, uncertainty around validation methodologies, operational variables, and long-term performance continues to complicate decision-making.
Jessica Doyle remarked that the issue is often “not a lack of willingness to invest,” but uncertainty around whether those investments will be commercially recognised or consistently validated over time. Both she and Ariana Psomas stressed the importance of third-party verification and industry-recognised measurement standards in creating trust around performance data.
The discussion also highlighted that many operators are still developing the internal systems needed to properly evaluate efficiency outcomes. Vasileios Tsarsitalidis noted that some vessels continue to operate without sufficiently robust measurement infrastructure, making it difficult to accurately assess the real-world impact of installed technologies.
At the same time, several panellists cautioned against allowing the search for perfect certainty to delay action entirely. Reflecting on Cargill’s experience trialling multiple wind-assisted propulsion systems, Chris Hughes argued that operators sometimes need to accept a degree of uncertainty and “just get on with it,” particularly where early operational learning can accelerate broader industry understanding.
The panel also examined the commercial structures surrounding efficiency investments and the role collaboration will play in accelerating uptake across the sector.
A recurring issue was the imbalance between who funds efficiency improvements and who captures the operational savings. Several speakers pointed to the need for stronger cost-sharing models between owners and charterers, particularly for larger retrofit projects carrying longer payback periods.
Examples were shared of collaborative arrangements already being used to distribute both investment risk and downstream savings more evenly between stakeholders. Panellists suggested that these kinds of commercial mechanisms may become increasingly important as emissions regulation and fuel costs continue to evolve.
Regulation itself was another major theme. Panos Kourkountis argued that future frameworks should remain focused on emissions outcomes rather than prescribing individual technological pathways, allowing operators flexibility in how they achieve compliance.
More broadly, the session reinforced that scaling energy efficiency will depend on stronger alignment across the maritime ecosystem — from regulators and charterers to technology providers, shipowners, and classification societies.
The discussion made clear that many of the tools needed to improve efficiency already exist. The larger challenge now lies in creating the confidence, incentives, and operational alignment required to move adoption from isolated projects toward industry-wide normalisation.
Watch the full panel discussion to hear further perspectives from leaders across shipping, technology, coatings, and classification on how energy efficiency is evolving from a sustainability ambition into an operational and commercial priority.
This article was generated with the assistance of AI and may contain inaccuracies.