Charterers continue to lag behind IMO green goals
- 19 of 34 shipowners polled reduced emissions efficiency over the past year
- Signatories still 12% behind the minimum IMO 2024 goals, up from 9% the previous year
- More than 90% of data is now verified by third parties, up from 50%
The Sea Cargo Charter’s latest climate disclosure report shows slow progress aligning with green targets. Its vice-chair says the long-term trend matters more, while further widespread reporting — and pressure to report — will help wider decarbonisation efforts
CHARTERERS continue to fall short of green targets, but their climate reporting is better and more transparent, according to the Sea Cargo Charter.
The SCC’s second annual disclosure report found signatories were, on average, 12% behind the minimum goals set by the International Maritime Organization in 2023 — and 18% behind its higher “striving for” targets.
But 19 of 34 signatories reduced their emissions intensity (measured by well-to-wake Energy Efficiency Operating Indicator), eight improved their climate alignment scores, and several reported better integration of emissions metrics into operational and chartering decisions.
SCC vice-chair Engebret Dahm told Lloyd’s List the majority of signatories had shown improvement.
“It’s a good result and I think we have achieved a lot as an initiative,” he said.
“And I think it’s very promising for what we shall deliver over the coming years.”
The SCC has charterers count and report the emissions from their activities, to gather data to help the industry decarbonise. Its 34 member charterers and shipowners represent about 18% of global wet and dry bulk cargo carried by sea in 2024.
Barriers to better climate alignment included regional port limits, such as draught restrictions, bad weather, inefficient routing and reliance on short charters.
But signatories had made strides in data quality and transparency, with more than 90% of the 2024 data verified by third parties, up from 50% the year before.
Dahm said the benefit of the voluntary scheme for now was in more widespread emissions reporting. Signatories were trialling technologies such as wind power and air lubrication — but bigger changes, such as future fuels, depended on IMO regulation, he said.
“The fact [is] that the signatories in the initiative are recording each and every voyage, are getting to know the data that can permit them to do what we call data-based improvements,” Dahm said.
“It is all the work behind it which is the really important [thing].”
Dahm, the chief executive of Norway’s Klaveness Combination Carriers, said performance might differ from year to year; it was the long-term trend that mattered.
He said KCC’s emissions performance in 2024 was worse than in 2023, for example, because of an extraordinarily strong tanker market. A return to more normal trades this year would probably lead to “major improvements” in emissions scores. Ships typically speed up in a hot market, emitting more pollution.
Dahm confirmed that the SCC’s chair, Eman Abdalla, was no longer in the post, having left her role as vice-president of global operations and supply lead at Cargill, a commodity trader.
Abdalla had been chair only since May, but vice-chair for two years before that.
The SCC’s emission factors and trajectories were updated this year to reflect the most recent set agreed by IMO. The recalculated average for last year was 8.8% misaligned with the IMO’s minimum target, and 13.5% against its strive target.
