soundings )) Investment Report on Maritime Energy Transition. S2G Investments, a multi-stage investment firm focused on scaling solutions across food and agriculture, oceans, and energy, has released a new report: Invested at the Seams of the Maritime Energy Transition, www.s2ginvestments.com/insights/maritime-energy-transition. It examines shift-ing market dynamics, investment strategies, and near-term solutions that can accelerate emissions reductions while unlocking competitive advantage in the maritime sector. Maritime emissions account for 3 percent of all global emissions and have risen 20 percent in the past decade as trade volumes have increased. With regulations tightening and companies pushing for more surety across the supply chain, S2G believes maritime companies that are early adopters of energy-efficient technologies stand to gain a competitive edge. Near-term solutions are available today that can help improve capital efficiency, bolster supply chain resilience, and help companies future-proof their oper-ations in an increasingly volatile global trade environment. AI-enabled voyage optimization, air lubrication systems, wind-assisted propulsion, and battery integration are currently offering both economic and environmental returns. Regulatory and market tailwinds include the International Maritime Organization’s 2025 draft regulation introducing a global price on carbon, creating a major incentive for energy efficiency adoption. Geopolitical uncertainty, vol-atile fuel markets, and mandates such as the EU Emissions Trading System further amplify the need for innovation. An estimated $1.4 to $1.9 trillion in investment is needed to decarbonize the maritime industry by 2050. Financing strategies from hardware-as-a-service to long-term vessel leasing models can unlock capital efficiency and scale deployment. )) UK Funding for Maritime Upskilling Project. A cross-sector consortium comprising the marine fuels training, conference, and publishing firm ship.energy; the shipping and logistics company DFDS; the International Bunker Industry Association; and the University of Plymouth has received funding in the sixth round of the U.K.’s Clean Mar-itime Demonstration Competition. The Skills 4 Future Maritime Fuels project will be funded by the U.K. government through the U.K. Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) program in the Department for Transport. Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the main delivery partner for UK SHORE interventions. UK SHORE is focused on developing a more sustainable maritime sector while driving economic growth. The program brings together projects throughout the U.K., each taking a different approach to decarbonization. Drawing on the expertise and extensive industry experience of the project partners, the Skills 4 Future Maritime Fuels initiative will address a key challenge in shipping’s energy transition: the upskilling of the workforce at sea, at port, and across the fuel supply chain to enable the use of low-and zero-carbon fuels safely and in accordance with national and global regulatory frameworks. The three-phase project will include a skills gap analysis, the development of modular training programs covering a range of skill competencies, and real-life pilot testing. )) Tidal Power Advances. SKF’s tidal turbine-related systems have reached a milestone with continuous operation for over six years at 1.5 MW with no unplanned or disruptive maintenance. Going forward, SKF will supply fully integrated 3-MW powertrains to Proteus Marine Renewables. SKF will help provide at least a 59-MW addition to the current 6-MW pilot array at MeyGen, operated by SAE Renewables and standing as the world’s largest tidal stream array, located in Scotland’s Pentland Firth. SKF has ambitions to scale in line with further investment and innovation through 2025 and beyond. Tidal energy is one of the most predictable renewable resources on the planet, comple-menting solar and wind power. The U.K. aims to deploy 1 GW of tidal energy by 2035, enough to power 829,000 homes. With the cost of tidal energy declining, it’s expected to become cost-competitive with nuclear energy by 2035. Overall, the global tidal energy market, valued at $1.3 billion in 2023, is poised to grow to approximately $8.1 billion over the next seven years. )) Study Shows Outdated Ship Data Practices Cost Millions. A new report, supported by Danelec, has revealed that outdated ship data practices may cost the global fleet millions of dollars in fuel waste and missed efficiency gains. The study, “From Data to Action,” shows that more than 70 percent of vessels still depend on once-a-day “noon re-ports” as their primary source of performance data, despite the availability of technology that enables second-by-sec-ond insights. The consequences of this data gap are significant. One real-world case cited found that a crew operat-ing without real-time data overlooked an inefficiency that caused an unnecessary fuel burn worth $4,300 on a single voyage. Continuous high-frequency data (HFD) can enable vessels to save up to 29.7 metric tons of fuel per month, equal to roughly 8,967 MT over the ship’s lifetime. At current fuel prices, this translates to several million dollars in savings, along with a substantial cut in emissions. Beyond cost, there’s a growing strategic imperative for adopting HFD. Charterers are increasingly demanding proof of efficient vessel performance. By relying solely on noon reports, shipowners risk losing their competitive edge. Fleets leveraging live data are better positioned to command higher time-charter rates and demonstrate transparency, both of which are key factors in reducing disputes and ensuring operational accountability. As the maritime sector continues to embrace digital transformation, real-time data are becoming a business necessity, within easy reach and scalable at a pace that suits diverse end-users. ST 6 ST | September 2025 www.sea-technology.com
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