In January 2021 SSI issued the white paper “Defining sustainability criteria for zero and low carbon marine fuels” which sets out the sustainability issues and principles surrounding marine fuels under consideration for shipping’s decarbonisation. Building on this white paper and following broad stakeholder consultation and academic research (conducted in partnership with CBS Maritime and the Green Shipping Project), SSI will publish a complete set of sustainability criteria later in the year.

As a collective of 15 companies and organisations from spanning the shipping value chain, this demonstrates that there is increasing interest among ambitious maritime leaders in pushing for the sustainability of marine fuels to be considered alongside price, availability and technical feasibility.

So what?

The marine fuels currently under consideration for the decarbonisation of shipping are mostly being evaluated on price, availability and technical feasibility. However, we must also ensure that the fuels we are investing in, purchasing, and using to transport cargo are sustainable and avoid negative impacts.

By increasing demand for zero and low carbon marine fuels, the maritime industry has a key role to play in the global energy transition. Defining sustainability criteria for marine fuels will lead to the setting of industry standards and associated certification schemes that in turn will facilitate the selection of – and demand for – sustainable fuels.