The ocean plays a crucial role in regulating the Earth’s climate, supporting global trade and transportation while providing food and the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition to promote sustainable practices in the maritime industry to preserve the health and productivity of the ocean and support the long-term viability of the industry.

Environmental targets are not new in shipping and are well understood, but relatively little attention has been paid to the social sustainability of shipping’s operations and the people dimension of decarbonisation.

This has seen a focus on ESG (Environment, Social and Governance), which are the three key factors investors use when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a business.

Ocean Technologies Group (OTG) recognises that seafarers are at the core of shipping’s transition to a more sustainable future and have been instrumental in developing a green curriculum to upskill and reskill the maritime workforce with partners like the Nautical Institute and supporting initiatives like the Maritime Just Transition Task Force.

The latest content releases from OTG build on the comprehensive learning library with titles designed to prepare seafarers and the teams that support them ashore with underpinning knowledge they will need, to make the change to more sustainable shipping.  The library is designed to offer seafarers flexibility of learning at a pace and time to suit them.

One of the recent title additions is an e-learning module to provide seafarers with an overall understanding of the term “sustainability” and the part they can play in improving their company’s performance.

Another key element of a more sustainable future is the adoption of alternative decarbonised fuels so OTG has produced “Introduction to new fuel types” to guide learners through the current possibilities for alternative fuels. Although this information is generally available, this title disseminates it in an easily digestible learning format.

As the industry transitions towards using zero-carbon fuels and the use of new technology to optimise ship operations, more titles will be added to address the new risks emerging from changes to alternative forms of propulsion.

The learning library now includes titles on the potential hazards from lithium-ion batteries, how and why they must be closely monitored, and how lithium-ion battery fires can be prevented.

As more electric vehicles are being manufactured and shipped, the need to be aware of why they catch fire and the difficulty in extinguishing them must be addressed. OTG’s “Electric Vehicle Fires on RORO ships” explains why prevention is currently the best course of action.

“OTG has always put seafarers at the heart of everything we do as without them our industry would not exist. Sustainability can’t just be a discussion in the boardroom, we have to ensure that everyone understands why it’s important and how they can work together to deliver more sustainable ship operations.

“Reducing the amount of energy, we use and GHC emissions is obviously a big part of that and decarbonisation is going to be the defining challenge of our lifetimes. It simply can’t happen unless our seafarers are equipped with the knowledge and skills that they need to safely deliver the transition from HFO to alternative fuels and the time is right to start preparing them for the changes to come,” said Raal Harris, Chief Creative Officer.