Green strategies for dry bulk shipping

In the maritime industry, reducing CO₂ emissions is not only a regulatory requirement but also a strategic imperative. For dry bulk carriers, where economies of scale are central to operational efficiency, navigating the path toward sustainability presents both challenges and opportunities.

With over 5 billion t of raw materials such as iron ore, coal, grains, and other commodities transported annually across international waters, dry bulk vessels are major contributors to the shipping industry’s overall carbon emissions. Regulatory measures like the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and FuelEU Maritime regulations are now pushing stakeholders to adopt more sustainable operational practices.

The European Union has been at the forefront of maritime emission regulation. With the implementation of the EU ETS in 2023, shipping companies are now required to account for emissions when operating in European Economic area port calls. This cap-and-trade system effectively places a carbon price on each t of CO₂ emitted, incentivising the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. FuelEU Maritime complements the ETS by promoting the use of sustainable fuels and setting increasingly stringent carbon intensity limits for ships operating in European waters. These regulations have significant implications for freight costs, as operators must factor in carbon allowances and the potential switch to more expensive alternative fuels.

This article explores the strategies available to the shipping community, from operational improvements to advancements in technology and fuel transitions, as well as how advanced tools, such as those offered by AXSMarine, can help facilitate this transition.

Decarbonisation strategies in dry bulk shipping for sustainability

Operational efficiency that translates to sustainability

While transitioning to cleaner fuels and technologies is critical, focusing on operational efficiency can create immediate and significant CO₂ reductions. Key strategies include:

Voyage planning

Use of advanced tools enables more efficient voyage planning and decision-making. Voyage planning with AXSMarine goes beyond simply finding the shortest path from point A to point B. Instead, it incorporates a variety of critical factors to determine the most efficient voyage, including port situations; understanding port congestion, anchorage availability and other logistical variables like draft restrictions help to plan voyage that align with operational priorities, reducing unnecessary waiting times at destination ports. ETA (estimated time of arrival) management, planning to arrive at the exact ETA avoids prolonged idling near ports, a major source of fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Speed management

Speed choice is a critical determinant of fuel consumption. Fuel consumption is non-linear in relation to vessel speed, meaning small reductions in speed can yield significant fuel savings and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Figure 1 demonstrates how fuel consumption varies with speed for a Capesize vessel (180 000 DWT, aged 6 – 9 years) in both ballast and laden conditions. The Capesize vessel has a typical operating speed of 11.5 knots in laden condition. For instance, by reducing its typical laden speed of 11.5 knots by 9% to 10.5 knots, Capesize vessel can achieve roughly 17% fuel savings.

Figure 1. Impact of speed on fuel efficiency of capesize vessel (180 000 dwt, aged 6 – 9 years).

Maximised vessel utilisation

Maximising vessel utilisation is a critical strategy for achieving greater efficiency and sustainability in the shipping industry. Opting for larger vessels or fully loading ships to their max capacity, operators can reduce the total number of voyages required to transport the same volume of cargo. This approach significantly lowers per-unit emissions, making it an environmentally and economically sound practice. Furthermore, strategic commercial planning plays a key role in enhancing vessel utilisation. Ensuring the timely availability of suitable cargo minimises ballast time-periods when ships travel without carrying goods. By optimising cargo planning and improving efficiency, shipping operations can achieve substantial sustainability gains across the entire fleet while also enhancing profitability and resource use.

Fuel transition

Alternative fuels

The shift towards low-carbon and zero-carbon fuels, such as LNG, hydrogen, and ammonia, is pivotal in achieving decarbonisation targets. The dry bulk sector is beginning to explore these opportunities, given their potential for lower emissions compared to traditional heavy fuel oil (HFO).

However, it is important to note that scalability challenges persist for hydrogen and ammonia, particularly in terms of production, storage, and distribution, which could limit their widespread adoption in the near term.

Biofuels

Blending biofuels with conventional fuels is another pathway toward decarbonisation, offering immediate reductions in CO2 intensity. Biofuels can be used in existing engines with minimal modifications, making them an attractive short-term solution while longer-term technologies develop. Second-generation biofuels made from waste materials or non-food crop sources are particularly promising, as they reduce feedstock competition with food supply. For example, Indonesia’s B30 programme, the government is initiating a scheme to use vegetable oil to produce biodiesel.

However, challenges remain: the scalable production of renewable fuels, their availability across global ports, and the significant cost premiums associated with green fuels currently hinder rapid adoption.

Future-ready infrastructure

As maritime hubs prepare for the adoption of alternative fuels, creating bunkering infrastructure for hydrogen, ammonia, and other low-carbon options is essential. Investments in storage facilities, distribution networks, and retrofitting pipelines are key to accelerating the transition.

Collaborative efforts between shipping companies, port operators, and governments are vitally important in this regard.

Technological innovations

Technology plays a vital role in tackling emissions, offering solutions that reduce onboard consumption, enabling vessels to become compliant with evolving emissions regulations.

Energy efficiency technologies

Retrofitting vessels with energy-saving technologies, such as wind-assist systems or more efficient propellers, can enhance overall fuel efficiency. Cybernetic technologies that monitor and analyse performance data play a crucial role in informing these adjustments. Additionally, specialised coatings, such as low-friction or antifouling paint, play a significant role by reducing hull resistance. These paints prevent bio-fuelling, which is the build-up of barnacles and algae, ensuring a smoother hull surface that lowers the energy needed to propel the vessel through water.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Carbon capture systems onboard vessels are a developing innovation, enabling ships to capture CO₂ emissions directly during operations and store them for later disposal or potential reuse. While in its initial stages, CCS is expected to play a key role in decarbonising the fleet. Pilot projects suggest that CCS technology can capture up to 90% of emissions from ship engines. However, challenges in storage systems, energy consumption during the capture process and regulatory compliance need to be addressed for widespread adoption.

Tackling industry challenges

Despite the progress in operational strategies and fuel transitions, challenges persist, particularly in scaling new technologies and ensuring supply chains for green fuels are prepared for wider adoption. When considering fuel readiness, shipowners and charterers must evaluate whether vessels can accommodate alternative fuels and whether bunkering infrastructure exists at key ports. Furthermore, the cost premium for these new fuels often creates an economic burden that many charterers are not yet ready to shoulder. Even so, the industry is seeing positive advancements with future-ready newbuild vessels specifically designed to accommodate alternative fuels, enhancing long-term prospects for sustainability.

The role of digital platforms in emissions reduction

The journey toward decarbonisation is complex, but tools like AXSMarine’s advanced digital platforms are helping the shipping community navigate uncharted waters.

These platforms provide crucial support in optimising dry bulk operations while ensuring compliance with ever-evolving emissions regulations.

How AXSMarine supports emissions reduction:

• Streamlining vessel selection: selecting the right vessel is critical for short-term and long-term charters. AXSMarine enables comprehensive comparative analysis of vessels, allowing users to assess by key parameters such as vessel availability, specifications, historical voyages, emissions performance (e.g., the Annual Efficiency Ration [AER]), and the financial returns.
• Optimisation algorithms: advanced algorithms integrated into AXSMarine’s platform recommend the most efficient vessels for each trade, accounting for real-time conditions like fuel consumption, speed management, commercial optimisations, and emissions estimates. For example, users can calculate CO₂ emissions from a planned voyage with embedded carbon compliance metrics for regulations such as EU ETS and FuelEU.
• Benchmarking and best practices: with access to extensive historical data, AXSMarine allows users to benchmark vessel’s performance against industry standards, incorporating best practices for emissions reduction. Real-time analytics empower users to adjust operational strategies as conditions, such as weather or market volatility, evolve.
• Emissions calculations with real-time data: Critical data points, such as vessel age, engine type, operational speed, and voyage duration, are combined with real-time tradeflows data for live insights into vessel performance and movement. This ensures that AXSMarine’s emissions assessments are precise and reflective of current operating conditions.

Table 1. Vessel details.

Table 2. Simulation scenarios comparison.

Expanding use case: dry bulk cargo emissions optimisation in action

Optimising a coal shipment from Dalrymple Bay to Dunkirk

A bulk carrier is contracted to transport 170 000 t of coal along this route. Using AXSMarine’s emissions reduction platform, a user can:

• Evaluate vessel options: analyse fleet availability and select a vessel with the best efficiency, factoring in the vessel’s design, age, speed profile, and historical emissions. A modern Capesize bulk carrier, equipped with scrubbers and optimised hull design, may be selected for its lower AER score.
• Commercial optimisation: using AXSMarine’s platform, the company leverages real-time data to access comprehensive market intelligence. This capability allows for strategic decisions based on various operational parameters, from vessel availability to bunker prices. The central feature of the platform is its ability to aggregate and analyse vast amounts of shipping data, providing users with insights into current market conditions and potential vessel emissions profiles.
• Emission monitoring and compliance reporting: throughout the voyage, real-time data capture ensures accurate emissions tracking, satisfying EU ETS requirements during the discharge process in Dunkirk. This transparency also benefits freight cost negotiations with cargo owners.
• Incremental efficiency gains: by implementing slow steaming and arriving 'just-in-time' to minimise anchorage times in Dunkirk, the vessel achieves further emissions savings during operations.

In this scenario, by leveraging data-driven decisions through AXSMarine results, the MV Bosporus was selected to stimulate the impact of vessel speed on voyage duration, fuel consumption, costs and CO₂ emissions. By reducing the speed from 11.5 knots to 10.5 knots, the voyage duration increased by 8.9% to 68.8 days. However, this slower speed resulted in a decrease in a fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 8.1% and 8.2%, respectively.

Figure 2. Dry Bulk EUA demand.

The decrease in emissions has a direct impact on costs, resulting in lower EU ETS-related costs, fuel EU penalty and bunker costs, which collectively amount to a substantial savings of US$96 785. In contrast, the prolonged voyage duration leads to an 8.9% increase in time charter costs, totalling US$757 350. However, the slower speed contributed to a marginal improvement in a cost efficiency, as voyage costs per metric ton decrease by 1.7% to US$12.40/t. This finding suggests that adopting slower speeds can have a dual benefit, offering modest financial advantages while supporting long-term sustainability objectives.

A detailed examination of the vessel’s fuel consumption, using the speed curve model (Figure 3), reveals significant differences between the two speed scenarios. At speed of 11.5 knots, the vessel’s fuel consumption is calculated to be 25.68 tpd in ballast and 33.86 tpd in laden. In contrast, reducing the speed to 10.5 knots results in a fuel consumption of 21.51 tpd in ballast and 28.38 tpd in laden. These findings highlight the potential for slower speeds to drive reductions in fuel consumption and associated costs, while also contributing to a more sustainable maritime industry.

Figure 3. Speed and fuel consumption of MV Bosporus.

Conclusion

The dry bulk shipping industry faces an undeniable imperative to achieve emissions reductions. Strategies such as improving operational efficiency, adopting alternative fuels, and leveraging technological innovations are central to success. While challenges in fuel scalability and costs remain, service providers like AXSMarine are offering digital solutions that empower stakeholders to meet regulatory demands and thrive in an increasingly sustainable market.

With its ability to aggregate and analyse large datasets, integrate real-time calculations, and embed compliance measures within its platforms, AXSMarine is equipping shipping companies with the tools they need to balance profitability with environmental responsibility – charting a greener path for the dry bulk industry.

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Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/special-reports/25022025/green-strategies-for-dry-bulk-shipping/