In accordance with the Strategy for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2018 and revised in 2023, the target has been set to reduce annual emissions from international shipping activities by 20% by 2030 (with aspirations for 30%), by 70% by 2040 (with aspirations for 80%), and to reach zero emissions by 2050, ASCO told AZERTAC.

To achieve this target, the company has developed a Strategy and Action Plan. According to this plan, a series of phased decarbonisation measures will be implemented as follows:

The first phase will cover the years 2024-2027. During this period, ASCO plans to decommission 65 outdated and inefficient vessels with a combined deadweight of 26,595 tonnes, which is expected to reduce emissions from its fleet by approximately 25%.

Additionally, the initial phase includes fleet renewal, as well as the acquisition or construction of more efficient and modern ships in terms of fuel consumption. ASCO’s acquisition and construction plans for 2024-2027 envisage incorporating a total of 17 new vessels into the fleet.

Replacing current vessels with larger, higher-capacity, and ~20% more energy-efficient vessels (while considering an increase in the fleet’s deadweight) is anticipated to reduce emissions by approximately 9%.

The second phase, covering 2027-2030, sets the goal of constructing or acquiring methanol-fuelled and fully electric vessels and retrofitting existing ships. During this period, plans include constructing five supply vessels, five passenger ships, and seven tankers to operate on methanol fuel, as well as building four fully electric harbour tugboats and retrofitting eight vessels to transition to methanol fuel. It is expected that using blue methanol on these ships, while taking into account the increased fleet deadweight, will reduce overall emissions by approximately 10%.

It should be noted that compared to diesel, methanol can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 7%, SOx emissions by up to 99%, and NOx emissions by up to 60%.

Transitioning to alternative fuels across the entire fleet will be implemented in the third phase, from 2030-2040, achieving a 70-80% reduction in emissions compared to 2008, in alignment with IMO targets.

The fourth phase will cover the years 2040-2050. This phase aims to fully transition to zero-emission alternative fuels and technologies, which will reduce emissions by 100%, thereby reaching zero emissions in line with IMO targets.

It should also be noted that ASCO has a short-term action plan, under which the first three phases should be implemented by 2030. Although the transition to methanol-powered vessels is planned for 2027, efforts are already underway to accelerate this process through financial support for the adoption of methanol-powered ships.