Empirical evidence of the interplay of energy performance and the value of ships

Abstract

Few years after the introduction of the first global regulation covering the energy efficiency of ships, this article analyzes status quo of the industry, based on the interplay of different technical measures such as ship age, size, propulsion, speed, and consumption as well as the policy benchmark of Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). This paper is one of the first to introduce a combined Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) approach. The analysis shows that the average vessel age of the most energy efficient cluster of 7 years correlates with the time period since EEDI introduction, thus indicating policy-driven environmental progress. At the same time, results suggest that further action is required. Higher stated energy efficiency is rather exhibited by a smaller part of the world fleet and by vessels characterized by higher commercial value. Two action fields are highlighted by the analysis: Firstly, the elevated role of know-how-transfer by promoting role models and first movers. Secondly, the need for alternative financing models due to significant upfront investments required by the industry to implement green technology and the long time periods between policy introduction and environmental results.