ABS hosted an industry-leading containership summit in Germany to provide a holistic overview of the container shipping landscape, the current and developing regulatory framework, as well as strategic decisions in terms of emerging technologies and alternative fuels options that will shape the low-carbon future of container shipping and drive market growth.

“We expect the IMO to release more ambitious regulations this year to move the industry forward with decarbonization goals. This event put an important spotlight on the container sector, a part of the industry that has seen steep falls in freight rates, which rose during the pandemic to record levels. By hosting events such as these with influential voices, we are exploring solutions to support owners and operators today to address alternative fuels and their supply chains, acknowledge older vessels and their compliance risks as well as discuss existing technologies that can support operations strategies right now,” said Vassilios Kroustallis, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Business Development.

The event began with an overview of the market from Jan Tiedemann, Vice President of Liner Strategy at Alphaliner, followed by updates from Christopher Perrocco and Rene Laursen from ABS, who provided insights into regulatory and sustainability trends.

“Methanol, LNG, and ammonia are not competing fuels but complementary fuels. All of them are needed to downsize container shipping’s carbon footprint,” said Tiedemann.

Next, the agenda featured landmark perspectives on decarbonization from MAN Energy Solutions, Thome Group and ABS with Alexander Feindt, Global Business Development Manager at MAN Energy Solutions, presenting “Technology as an Enabler for Decarbonization of Shipping,” Torbjorn Lie, Business Development Manager at Thome Group, presenting “A Greener Workhorse – Feasibility Study of a Methanol Conversion for a 2,500 TEU Vessel,” and Christoph Rasewsky, ABS Global Container Sector Lead, sharing cutting-edge research on how to eliminate 97 percent of emissions at present-day slot costs.

“Carbon neutral transportation can be achieved at current slot costs, but clean fuel supply is the biggest constraint. Our analysis shows that by combining operational efficiencies with energy-saving devices such as air lubrication and design improvements in new builds, the container sector could still operate within the range of slot costs recorded today using conventional fuel,” said Rasewsky.

The final portion of the event featured a panel discussion titled “From a Monoculture to a Mixed Culture – The Take-off of the Alternative Fuels Landscape.” Moderated by Namrata Nadkarni of Intent Communications, the panel included Johannes Schuermann, Sales Director from Good Fuels; Lars Justus Ravens, CEO of eCap Marine; Tessa Major, Vice President of Bunkering at Yara Clean Ammonia and Torben Nørgaard CTO of Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.