Shipping costs set to rise with enforcement of rules to cut emissions

New tech and infrastructure for cleaner fuels will come at a cost to industry, consumers: Report

- Kang Wan Chern

Deputy Business Editor Shipowners and operators face sharply increased costs as they gear up to comply with a slew of new decarbonisation regulations coming on stream over the next few years.

The need to develop, test and implement a wide range of new technologies and infrastructure to support the use of cleaner, alternative fuels on ships is expected to deliver a sizeable financial hit to commercial shippers.

New technologies and fuels are needed to remove emissions and reduce shipping's impact on the environment to reach the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 2050 target, but these will come at a cost to the industry and consumers, said an Aug 30 report by DNV.

The Norwegian classification society added that freight rates for containerised goods could double over the next 25 years and will be passed on to consumers as an increase in the price of seaborne goods.

While shipping is needed to support trade between countries, it is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.