The 2021 Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference (CSEC) staged by the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) concluded on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 with CSA president Juan Carlos Croston stating the two-day meeting made clear to shipping interests “the need to adjust the ways of doing business in keeping with the reshaping of liner shipping beyond 2021”.

In his closing address, the CSA president told the more than 200 participants that “change is good when it results in better laws, better systems and a better world.” He also noted that the meeting “made it clear that the changing marine energy supply chain has profound implications for all of us in shipping and we therefore need to get on board with the transition that is already in process.”

The major topic for discussion on the final day of CSEC was on the required 50% reduction of carbon emissions from shipping vessels by the year 2050 as mandated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations specialised agency responsible for the safety, security and pollution control of the global shipping industry.

The panel discussion on the transition to cleaner power sources for ships was entitled “The changing marine energy supply chain – IMO 2020, a Global Pandemic and Energy Transition. What does this all mean for the future of both Global and Caribbean Bunkering?” Panellists for that discussion were: Lars Oestergaard Nielsen, Vice President Americas – Maersk;  Chelsea Jaouli, Business Development Officer – Tropic Oil Company, division of Parkland; Guillaume Le Grand, President – TOWT Transport à la Voile, and  Nikolai Doerner of Hapag-Lloyd Bunkering. The moderator for that discussion was Adrian Tolson of Blue Insight, who gave an overview of the energy transition in shipping.

Tolson revealed that the shipping industry is at a stage in the transition to cleaner energy that involves reducing consumption and improving the efficiency of existing fuels while alternative energy development takes place. He said the next stage requires the development of alternative fuels/energies and that these include biofuel, liquid natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), batteries, methanol, hydrogen, ammonia, and even nuclear power sources.

In his contribution, Nielsen told participants that Maersk, as a large player in the global industry, recognises its responsibility in the transition process. He said, using the year 2008 as a baseline, the shipping line had reduced carbon dioxide emission by 46% by 2020 through business optimisation that includes improving efficiencies and making changes to propellors, engines and even ship design. The Maersk vice president said that the line was not looking at LNG because that fuel source will not be able to bring them to the 50% carbon reduction required between 2020 and 2050. He said Maersk was looking at biofuels and ammonia as alternative fuel sources that have a much smaller carbon footprint.

Speaking on behalf of Hapag-Lloyd, Doerner said the shipping line was looking at biofuels in the long term and LNG in the short-term. He voiced a concern that very few ports now offer biofuel bunkering and that no port in the Americas currently offer that service.

Jamaica and Panama were identified as the most advanced territories in Latin America and the Caribbean with regard to preparing for the change-over to LNG for bunkering purposes.

Earlier in the discussion, participants were introduced to the wind sail technology being offered by Transocean Wind Transport (TOWT). TOWT president Guillaume Le Grand showed that the company already operates 18 chartered vessels on the Atlantic and Transatlantic routes, transporting agricultural products such as coffee and cacao along with textiles, spirits and wines.

The final day of CSEC also included a presentation on the Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTTC) by Vivian Rambarath Parasram, director and head of MTTC Caribbean. She said the success of the MTTC is dependent on how climate action can facilitate growth initiatives. To this end, the MTTC is involved in capacity building in regional shipping through webinars, workshops and conferences that promote the ratification/implementation of the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Ships (MARPOL) in the Caribbean.

Another highlight of CSEC was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the CSA with the Central American Maritime Transport Commission (COCATRAM) that indicates the CSA’s support for the proposals of COCATRAM for the streamlining and efficiency of the maritime transport of cargo and passengers of the Central American countries and for promoting new short sea shipping initiatives with the Caribbean.

Moderator for the proceeding of the virtual conference was Milaika Capella Ras, General Manager of the CSA.

The Caribbean Shipping Executives’ Conference is the first of two conferences hosted by the CSA annually. The CSA is the voice of the Caribbean Shipping Industry and facilitates the development of an efficient, viable Caribbean Shipping Industry.  Conferences hosted by the CSA provide a forum in which matters relevant to the growth and development of Caribbean Shipping are discussed.