Following INTERCARGO’s AGM on 24 October 2024, chairman Dimitrios Fafalios spoke about the need for industry-wide regulations to support decarbonisation efforts and the importance of carbon capture technology.
‘At the moment, everyone is thinking you can decarbonise by regulating shipowners alone but this is not the case. We all want to decarbonise but it is a collaborative effort,’ Mr Fafalios said. ‘We are faced with regulations that are not unified and this needs to be addressed. Shipping has proven that it is adaptive. If the technology is there, we will adopt it.’
While there are a wide range of promising decarbonisation technologies, carbon capture and storage appears to be especially advantageous for the bulk carrier segment.
‘Carbon capture is very promising. In the next five years we will see very different systems that are a lot more applicable to bulk carriers. I think that we will have a lot of developments here a number of which will be tested here in Greece. Carbon capture will be a significant factor when it comes to [managing] the existing fleet.’
Mr Fafalios emphasised INTERCARGO’s support for the International Maritime Organisations revised decarbonisation targets. He estimated that operational efficiencies and regulations will allow the maritime industry to exceed 2030 emission targets: ‘We’re going to have a lot of developments. You’ll be surprised.’