As green technologies are commercialized and regulatory pressures intensify, it is becoming increasingly important for the marine industry to understand the array of options for decarbonization. The US Maritime Administration recently published the Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization Technical Guide, developed by Glosten in partnership with the Maritime Environmental & Technical Assistance (META) program, as a reference for owners and operators looking for greenhouse gas emissions-reducing measures that will fit their fleets and operating profiles. The guide includes the following sections:

• Introduction: provides background on regulatory mandates and guidelines, market-based measures, a technology category overview, and a Guide Navigator.
• Part 1 – Evaluation Methodology: describes how each technology or measure is evaluated with respect to energy and emission reduction potential, technology readiness, and overall vessel performance.
• Part 2 – Technology Evaluation: evaluates or overviews all considered technologies, broken down by Efficiency Technology (ET) (including renewable energy), Fuel Technology (FT), and Operational Measures (OM).
• Part 3 – Technology Stacking: explores how some technology combinations can be readily stacked (with complementary outcomes), are practical to stack (no complementary benefits but are compatible), or are impractical to stack (detriment to each technology’s effectiveness when stacked).
• Part 4 – Case Studies: examines six vessel types representative of the US flag merchant fleet, their baseline emissions performance, and possible technology implementation to reduce the vessel’s energy and emissions.

Learn more about the project or download the guide.