The Round Table of international shipping associations (RT) supports the adoption of the new energy efficiency regulations for ships by the IMO in July 2011, which demonstrated the effective role of IMO in regulating worldwide shipping CO2 emissions. The measures include the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships in service.

The EEDI formula in its present form is, however, not supposed to be applicable to all ships. Indeed, it is explicitly recognised that it is not suitable for all ship types (particularly those not designed to transport cargo) nor for all types of propulsion systems.

Parallel to the regulatory developments at IMO, a number of initiatives are seeking to apply the EEDI formula also to existing ships, using speculative data to establish the values. The RT strongly recommends against the application of EEDI to existing ships, as the values generated by such application can be misleading and can create unintended consequences. The focus for ships in service is - and should continue to be - on operational and commercial efficiencies.

The EEDI separates the technical and design-based measures from the operational and commercial ones.  It was developed as a regulatory tool with the objective of mandating improvement in the energy efficiency of new designs by stimulating continued technical development of all the components influencing the fuel efficiency of a ship. Such a mandate cannot be applied to ships already in service, as their basic design is not changeable after construction.

The RT will continue to support the important work on energy efficiency for ships at IMO with a view to ensuring a rigid implementation of EEDI for new ships and SEEMP for all ships. Effective implementation of the measures already adopted globally will bring about considerable and tangible reduction of GHG emissions from ships.

Source: BIMCO