Following the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s decision to postpone the adoption of the Net Zero Framework (NZF), global shipping finds itself at a crossroads.
⚙️ Analysts are already warning: uncertainty over fuel choices will lead to a return of conventional engines to newbuild vessels.
📄 According to Jefferies, instead of ordering ships with dual-fuel systems (LNG, methanol, ammonia), shipowners will choose cheaper “dual-fuel ready” options—those ready for conversion but not installing alternative systems now. This will reduce capital expenditures, especially for ships due for delivery after 2027.
The IMO’s emissions reduction targets—minus 40% by 2030 and zero by 2050—are now in question. The NZF deferral creates a pause in the industry’s transition to green technologies and slows investment in alternative fuel infrastructure.
💬 Columbia University experts note that the situation will impact market participants differently:
🟢 Large shipping companies will be able to absorb additional costs and continue their decarbonization efforts;
🟢 Small operators risk losing ground due to the rising cost of transitioning to new technologies.
⚠️ In the short term, the IMO decision may reduce shipbuilding costs, but in the long term, it will slow the environmental transformation of the maritime industry.
Seamen’s Club 🇺🇦 | #news