The global shipping industry has an increasingly clear decarbonisation pathway to follow for vessels over 5000 gross tonnes, according to Gareth Prowse, Head of Decarbonisation at Svitzer.

But for smaller vessels, particularly in the towage sector, guidance and regulation remain limited. To deliver decarbonisation and support the industry to reach its goals, towage operators have an opportunity to help developing port supply chains for low-carbon technologies that will help the wider maritime industry fulfil its aims.

The IMO has laid out a series of targets through the coming decades that will see emissions curbed steadily from the global merchant fleet. Regulators in large markets have developed systems that put a price on carbon emissions and build markets for carbon trading. These systems will create news incentives for operators to adopt new low-carbon technologies. However, in the European Union, the Emissions Trading System will only apply to vessels over 5000GT when it comes into effect in January, and will only be extended to smaller vessels in 2027.