Ship Science & Technology - Vol. 18 - n.° 35 - (9-16) July 2024 - Cartagena (Colombia)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25043/19098642.250
Lina Marrugo Salas1
Jymmy Saravia Arenas2
1Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Cartagena, Colombia. Email: lmarrugo@utb.edu.co
2CEO K-Os Innovation. Cartagena, Colombia. Email: jymmy@kosinnovation.com
Date Received: October 14th, 2022 - Fecha de recepción: 14 de octubre 2022
Date Accepted: February 10th, 2023 - Fecha de aceptación: 10 de febrero de 2023
It is a fact that the maritime industry is betting on sustainability and decarbonization in its value chain. This implies designing and building sustainable vessels, which requires focusing not only on technical aspects of functionality and quality, but also on solutions that reduce the environmental impacts of the product throughout its life cycle while generating a positive social impact. This paper answers the question: What are the sustainable technology solutions - products and services - that, aligned with the SDG agenda, are being adopted by global shipyards today? The study follows a mixed methodology with a quantitative descriptive approach and qualitative approach using the content analysis technique by reviewing the sustainability reports available for public consultation of global shipbuilding companies as of 2021. (1) the average number of SDGs to which the industry claims to contribute is provided: 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 y 17. The industry is contributing through innovation projects focused on the design and construction of intelligent, efficient and sustainable vessels, including platforms for the offshore wind power market, zero-emission hydrogen-powered ships, technologies to reduce waste, technologies for automation and energy efficiency, and solutions for social benefit in communities, among others. This study has practical implications for emerging markets wishing to venture into sustainability issues as it provides a global perspective, trends and portfolio of solutions being adopted in the industry.
Key words: Shipyards, Shipbuilding, Sustainable vessels, Sustainable Development Goals -SDGs, Sustainability.
Es un hecho que la industria marítima le está apostando a la sostenibilidad y la descarbonización en su cadena de valor. Eso implica, diseñar y construir embarcaciones sostenibles lo cual requiere enfocarse no solo en aspectos técnicos de funcionalidad y calidad, sino también en soluciones mediante las cuales se reducen los impactos ambientales del producto a lo largo de su ciclo de vida generando paralelamente un impacto social positivo. Este documento responde a la pregunta ¿Cuáles son las soluciones tecnológicas -productos y servicios- sostenibles que, alineadas con la agenda de los ODS, están adoptando hoy los astilleros globales?. El estudio sigue una metodología mixta con un enfoque cuantitativo de tipo descriptivo y el enfoque cualitativo utilizando la técnica de análisis de contenido revisando los informes de sostenibilidad disponibles para consulta pública de empresas globales de construcción naval a fecha de 2021. (1) se facilita el promedio de ODS en los que la industria declara que aporta así: 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 y 17. Se observa como la industria está contribuyendo a través de proyectos de innovación enfocados en el diseño y construcción de embarcaciones inteligentes, eficientes y sostenibles, incursionando desde plataformas para el mercado de la eólica marina, buques propulsados por hidrógeno cero emisiones, tecnologías para la disminución de los residuos, tecnologías para la automatización y la eficiencia energética, soluciones de beneficio social en las comunidades, entre otros. Este estudio tiene implicaciones prácticas en mercados emergentes que deseen incursionar en los temas de sostenibilidad pues proporciona una perspectiva global, tendencias y portafolio de soluciones que se están adoptando en la industria.
Palabras claves: Astilleros, Construcción naval, Embarcaciones sostenibles, Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible -ODS, Sostenibilidad.
The maritime sector faces more pressure to improve its sustainability and transparency practices, which requires its management to evolve in a more holistic and interrelated manner towards the dimensions of sustainability (integrating Environmental, Social and Governance risks). The players in this sector can be divided into main groups: maritime transport owners, design companies, shipyards, equipment suppliers and others (Strandhagen et al., 2020). The shipbuilding industry is a largely globalized sector (Para-González et al, 2020), its activities comprise the construction, repair and maintenance of vessels and naval apparatus. This industry is a typical example with a complex global supply (Cerezo-Narvaez et al., 2021) and chain structure in which components are supplied by manufacturers from different countries and then semi-finished and finished products are returned to customers around the world.
One of the challenges in sustainability, involves analyzing value chain processes with holistic life cycle thinking (Könnölä et al., 2020), in particular, ship design where operational profitability is prioritized over improved environmental performance (Strandhagen et al., 2020). An evolution towards the eco-design philosophy (Könnölä et al., 2020) has been proposed, which is materialized through technological innovations that reduce environmental impacts as well as responsible acquisition of materials and proper waste management.
Therefore, it is important to address the vision of sustainability in solutions -products and services-generating investments towards projects with innovative sustainable technologies and towards the use of cleaner fuels; in parallel, in operations reducing negative environmental impacts, without neglecting the associated social and governance risks. Today, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the most complete reference to address all of the above in the corporate strategy of organizations, given their comprehensive focus on the planet, people, prosperity, stability and partnerships. This paper aims at answering the following research questions: What are the technology solutions - sustainable products and services - that, aligned with the SDG agenda, are being adopted by global shipyards today? Which SDGs are being prioritized?
Research on sustainability for this industry according to the literature review can be grouped into four themes: oriented to promoting a green supply chain and green transportation; corporate social responsibility practices; incorporation of technologies and industry 4.0 and promotion of blue economy (See Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Sustainability issues in the literature review for industry.
Climate change is one of the most important global risks according to the latest World Economic Forum -WEF report, some of the current measures implemented by maritime transport to address this risk include reducing ship speed, transitioning to liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel and/or biofuels and promoting the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) regulation.
But the most important and urgent measure is the introduction of zero-emission ships to achieve these goals (Wada et al., 2021). The Getting to Zero Coalition initiative materializes and accelerates the decarbonization of maritime transport with the development and deployment of commercially viable zero-emission deep-water vessels by 2030, including the development of new marine fuels, derived from abundant untapped renewable resources (https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/getting-to-zero-coalition).
Technological measures to reduce emissions in maritime transport (Wada et al., 2021) include changes in ship construction and the application of new technologies in shipping, such as: changes and innovations in hull design, power and propulsion systems, use of alternative fuels and energy sources, use of exhaust gas reduction and cleaning technologies, catalytic reduction systems (SCR) and scrubbers.
Today we see a deployment of collaborative projects in the global maritime industry, initiatives such as green corridors -zero emission maritime trade routes between ports- along with a transition strategy, are key elements in addressing sustainability challenges. Therefore, a continuous innovation process in the organizations that are part of the naval defense is fundamental, otherwise they can quickly become obsolete and compromise their ability to carry out their fundamental mission: to protect their country (Cerezo-Narváez et al., 2021). A proactive stance towards environmental challenges by shipyards is critical and engaging in green innovations can generate business opportunities (Saether et al., 2021) which implies a long-term strategic focus on sustainability.
The research by Jokinen et al. (2022). conducted an image analysis of "The World's Most Sustainable Ships" in the future, identifying issues such as (1) life cycle thinking, which involves the entire supply chain being committed to the circular economy; (2) collaboration, economic realities and radical innovations -including Industry 4.0 technologies- which involves building a culture of trust in the value chain and establishing appropriate channels for radical ideas and problem solving with different stakeholders.
In ship maintenance and repair, efficient operational measures must also be implemented to reduce waste generated and GHGs emitted (Ait allal et al., 2020). Solid and liquid wastes should be minimized through efficient management of the use of abrasive materials, solvents and other cleaning products. This waste must go through a recycling process by separation of oily water. A log should be kept to track the discharge of various ship maintenance and repair waste. Install a treatment plant for the treatment of surface water and rainwater that is dredged with the different waste existing in the dock.
The recycling of vessels is another of the issues identified in sustainability that must be addressed, being consistent with the life cycle thinking which must also be contemplated from the design (Ocampo & Pereira, 2019); it consists of the dismantling of the structure and components of the vessel, there steel and other materials are recovered in good condition, the treatment of hazardous materials and safety conditions is carried out which generates certain economic, social and environmental impacts on the sites where they are carried out, hence the importance of doing this in certified shipyards (Jokinen et al., 2022).
Table 1. Role of the maritime industry in achieving SDGs.
Source: Wang et al., 2020, p.14.
The literature was reviewed in a high impact database which showed the growing trend and orientation of research associated with sustainability in the industry and sustainable vessels (see Fig. 2). This study also followed a mixed methodology, with a descriptive quantitative approach and using the content analysis technique, reviewing the sustainability management reports of 25 global shipbuilding companies (20202021) which are a powerful tool to explain whether SDGs are really important for the private sector and how companies effectively contribute to them (Costa et al., 2022). Illustrative case studies were used to showcase leading practices of the organizations; only publicly available data are explicitly discussed in the document. We reviewed which SDGs are declared as prioritized by the organizations.
Fig. 2. Concurrence of keywords in literature review.
For this research, 25 companies from 17 countries were selected, including holding companies (groups of companies), which allows for a global approximation. Companies today have a microsite on their website focused on sustainability referred to as: sustainability, corporate social responsibility, commitment, management and sustainable development, SDG or ESG. They have a non-financial management report referred to as: sustainability report, annual report, integrated report, CSR report, annual report or ESG report. They report on Sustainable Development Goals in their reports. All SDGs were prioritized by companies in the industry. In some cases, alignment with corporate strategy, prioritization and concrete indicators can be observed. In some cases, although their relationship with SDGs is not explicitly stated, a relationship can be established in the material issues of sustainability or corporate responsibility. The number of prioritized SDGs varies, with an average of 8. The minimum is 4 and the maximum is 17.
As can be seen in Fig. 3, SDGs being prioritized are those corresponding to the planet, i.e., seeking to reduce environmental impacts (7, 12, 13, 14) through innovation (9) without neglecting the fact that this industry is intensive in skilled labor and contributes to the economic growth of the countries in which it operates (8).
Fig. 3. Prioritization of SDGs by global shipyards.
Table 2. Sustainable technology solutions from global shipyards.
The technological solutions - products and services - offered and declared in their sustainability reports by shipbuilding companies based on research, development and innovation to address sustainability challenges, mainly in environmental matters, were reviewed.
The shipbuilding industry is navigating towards sustainability, starting with innovation through the design and construction of smart, efficient and sustainable vessels; as well as innovative technological solutions and practices to address sustainability needs and challenges in its operations and during the use of the vessel by customers. In this regard, great challenges are evident from the design of products -vessels, equipment and naval by-products-, which requires research, development and innovation that can be carried out in alliances with universities, leading research centers and by accessing external resources, given the large investments required.
There is also an explicit commitment to the global sustainability agenda, as technological development is aimed at reducing polluting emissions and fuel efficiency, increasing energy efficiency, complying with international regulations that are increasing every day and providing quality and efficiency in the products and services offered. In short, the aim is to evolve towards vessels that are hyperconnected, energy self-sufficient, lighter with green or hybrid propulsion systems and capable of recycling up to 90% of the waste generated.
As can be seen, the shipbuilding industry is working on its portfolio of eco-friendly products and services, on the decarbonization of transportation and on making its shipyards more socially and environmentally responsible.
This research was financed by COTECMAR through Call No. 891 of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the strengthening of vocations and training in CTeI, for economic reactivation given the 2020 pandemic (Grant No. 80740-076-2021) of the government of Colombia, which is done under a postdoctoral training in a Colombian shipyard.
1. AIT ALLAL, A., MANSOURI, K., YOUSSFI, M., QBADOU, M., & EL HAD, K. (2020). Shipyard Impact Assessment for a Sustainable Ships’ Maintenance and Repair Activity in West Africa. In International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems for Sustainable Development (pp. 593-606). Springer, Cham.
2. CEREZO-NARVÁEZ, A.; PASTOR-FERNÁNDEZ, A.; OTERO-MATEO, M.; BALLESTEROS-PÉREZ, P.; RODRÍGUEZ-PECCI, F. (2021). Knowledge as an Organizational Asset for Managing Complex Projects: The Case of Naval Platforms. Sustainability, 13, 885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020885.
3. COSTA, R., MENICHINI, T., & SALIERNO, G. (2022). Do SDGs Really Matter for Business? Using GRI Sustainability Reporting to Answer the Question. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 11(1), 113-113. doi: 10.14207/ejsd.2022.v11n1p113
4. JOKINEN, L., MÃKELÃ, M., HEIKKILÃ, K., APOSTOL, O., KALLIOMÃKI, H., & SAARNI, J. (2022). Creating futures images for sustainable cruise ships: Insights on collaborative foresight for sustainability enhancement. Futures, 135, 102873.
5. KÔNNÔLÃ, K., KANGAS, K., SEPPÃLÃ, K., MÃKELÃ, M., & LEHTONEN, T. (2020). Considering sustainability in cruise vessel design and construction based on existing sustainability certification systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 259, 120763.
6. OCAMPO, E. S., & PEREIRA, N. N. (2019). Can ship recycling be a sustainable activity practiced in Brazil?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 981-993.
7. PARA-GONZÁLEZ, L., MASCARAQUE-RAMÍREZ, C., & CUBILLAS-PARA, C. (2020). Maximizing performance through CSR: The mediator role of the CSR principles in the shipbuilding industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(6), 2804-2815.
8. SAETHER, E. A., EIDE, A. E., & BJØRGUM, Ø. (2021). Sustainability among Norwegian maritime firms: Green strategy and innovation as mediators of long-term orientation and emission reduction. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(5), 23822395. doi: 10.1002/bse.2752
9. STRANDHAGEN, J. W., BUER, S. V., SEMINI, M., ALFNES, E., & STRANDHAGEN, J. O. (2020). Sustainability challenges and how Industry 4.0 technologies can address them: a case study of a shipbuilding supply chain. Production Planning & Control, 1-16.
10. WADA, Y.; YAMAMURA, T.; HAMADA, K.;WANAKA, S. (2021) Evaluation of GHG Emission Measures Based on Shipping and Shipbuilding Market Forecasting. Sustainability, 13, 2760. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052760.