S6 Ep18: Helene Tofte, Executive Director, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association

In this episode, we examine the potential of ammonia to take off as a marine fuel, by considering trends on both the production and demand sides.  Although numbers of ammonia-fuelled vessels are lower at present than LNG or methanol, Sofia sees clear signs in the global orderbooks that ammonia is gaining momentum as a marine fuel.  She believes that the market is likely to first emerge among ammonia carriers, and in regions where infrastructure is already being developed for receiving ammonia as an energy vector, including Japan and parts of Europe.  With future low-carbon ammonia production expected to reach nearly 50 million tonnes by 2030, she highlights that the bulk of that production isn’t earmarked for the maritime sector. Instead, she notes that the lion’s share of investments is for projects using ammonia for energy production and to decarbonise land-based industries.  Sofia urges shipping companies to get involved where potential ammonia production, infrastructure and import ecosystems are already emerging, by joining clusters to co-invest and share risk with other industries. While she is confident that technology developments will meet the challenge of ensuring safe, leak-proof ammonia fuel and bunkering systems, she argues that the bunkering industry needs to step up to ensure operational readiness for ammonia bunkering.  She also insists on the importance of developing robust protocols for verifying and certifying the lifecycle carbon footprint of different ammonia production sources. Finally, she explains why the adoption of the IMO Net-Zero Framework, which is scheduled to take place in October, will be essential for the development of a market for ammonia as a marine fuel. 

The Executive Director of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, Helene Tofte, unpacks some of the main reasons why the country seems to have a head start on the energy transition – from the impact of ownership structures on individual companies’ willingness to invest for the long term, to the presence of industry clusters to foster collaboration on new technologies.  Data from the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association shows that 90% of its members have invested in emissions reduction technologies, including battery and hybrid systems, wind propulsion, and shore power.  Moreover, about 15% of vessels owned by the Association’s members today are powered by alternative fuels, compared to 2% of the global fleet. The orderbook reveals a similar trend, with 72% of newbuilds on order from Norwegian owners set to run on alternative fuels, compared to the global average of 27%.  Helene explains how Norwegian shipowners make business cases work for those investments in new fuels or technologies, and whether those decisions are already paying off in commercial terms.  She also lifts the veil on the challenges faced by the country’s shipowners. While the level of state support for decarbonisation makes Norway the envy of other owners elsewhere in the world, she argues that there is a need to ensure that enough funding is allocated for energy efficiency measures, and not solely for cutting-edge net-zero projects.  Finally, she reflects on the importance of the IMO adopting its Net-Zero Framework in October, but also of the EU harmonising its regulation, to create a level playing field globally.  About the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (Norges Rederiforbund) is a trade and employment organisation representing Norwegian-controlled companies in the shipping and offshore industry. The Association has 128 members, which control a 450-strong offshore fleet, including wind- and subsea vessels, as well as 240 ships on short-sea routes and over 700 vessels in the deep-sea segment. In addition, 50 mobile offshore units are part of its member fleet. 

In this episode, GCMD’s CEO Prof. Lynn Loo unpacks the learnings from two landmark pilots: ship-to-ship ammonia transfers in the Pilbara and a demonstration of an end-to-end value chain for onboard captured CO₂ in China. She describes how safety risks, including toxicity, were managed during the first ship-to-ship transfer of liquid ammonia between two gas carriers, which was carried out in Western Australia. She also shares technical and operational insights from the pilot, which aims to provide guidelines for other ports to conduct trials and ultimately strengthen their confidence to develop ammonia bunkering capabilities. Asked for her views on how and when this might unfold, she explains why she sees large bulk carriers on the iron ore corridor between Western Australia and Northern Asia as probable frontrunners – and why containerships are unlikely to be first movers on ammonia as a marine fuel even though they have been first movers on other fuels and decarbonisation measures.  Lynn then discusses the results from another pilot that saw 25 metric tonnes of liquefied CO2 that had been captured on a ship being offloaded, transported, and used as feedstock in the production of low-carbon calcium carbonate. Demonstrating this possible end use for captured CO2 was a major first step, she highlights, adding that the next trials will focus on lifecycle assessments and solving some technical challenges.  She also emphasises the importance of building trust in existing decarbonisation options, such as biofuels and energy efficiency technologies, to accelerate their uptake by the shipping industry. She outlines how GCMD is currently working on projects to improve biofuel traceability and validate the fuel savings delivered by energy efficiency technologies.  Finally, she reflects on how the financial, operational, technical, and safety risks of the energy transition can be managed through a cross-sector collaborative approach. 

In this episode, BV’s maritime head details why he believes that shipping needs ‘radical ideas’ to achieve its decarbonisation targets.  Speaking after the publication of his second book, titled Toward a sustainable blue economy, in which he calls for ‘a revolution in how we finance, fuel and operate the global fleet’, Matthieu de Tugny outlines what this looks like in practice.  He offers some avenues to reinvent the current economics behind investment and funding decisions in shipping, which are generally geared towards proven technology – often conventional fossil fuels – and tend to incentivise shipowners to ‘sit back and wait’. Describing green financing as a ‘structural enabler’ of decarbonisation, he shares his views on the impact of initiatives such as the Poseidon Principles and the Sea Cargo Charter, and explains what more can be done by regulators to give a competitive advantage to first movers and bring more certainty on broader infrastructure and supply chain investments.  Matthieu de Tugny also shares his advice for owners of smaller fleets or vessels operated on tramp trades. Whilst acknowledging that those companies are unlikely to become early adopters of new fuels such as ammonia or methanol, he emphasised the importance of incremental progress delivered by efficiency improvements or transition fuels such as biofuels. He reflects on how classification societies are set to be transformed by shipping’s decarbonisation transition, helping mitigate risk around new fuels and technologies and taking on a more advisory role.  Finally, he shares his views on the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise the performance and maintenance of fleets, and explains why he believes that training could be the most important challenge for the industry going forward. 

In this episode, we meet the new CEO of the Methanol Institute to hear his gameplan for the development of methanol as a marine fuel. Alexander Döll explains why he is confident that renewable methanol production will be able to meet shipping’s demand. With 240 projects for blue, bio- or e-methanol currently under development, he expects ‘real volumes’ to be available by 2027 or 2028. He discusses the role of China as a first mover, representing 88% of renewable methanol production today, and outlines how he anticipates production and bunkering infrastructure to scale up in more shipping hubs in the short, medium and long term. He also reacts to the latest figures in the global orderbook for alternative-fuelled ships, which showed LNG overtaking methanol from mid-2024, arguing that methanol isn’t losing momentum as a marine fuel option. He reports ‘genuinely encouraging’ results from the practical experience of bunkering, crew training and using methanol as fuel on ships since the entry into service of Ane Maersk in early 2024. He also addresses reports from Maersk of maintenance problems with their methanol dual-fuel engines, which he says were ‘completely expected’ at this stage, and reveals that a solution has been found by the engine manufacturer. Reflecting on the energy transition more broadly, he emphasises that a multi-fuel approach will be needed, and explains why he believes that shipping should stop thinking of the transition as a race or a competition between fuels.

In this episode, we meet the new CEO of the Methanol Institute to hear his gameplan for the development of methanol as a marine fuel.  Alexander Döll explains why he is confident that renewable methanol production will be able to meet shipping’s demand. With 240 projects for blue, bio- or e-methanol currently under development, he expects ‘real volumes’ to be available by 2027 or 2028.  He discusses the role of China as a first mover, representing 88% of renewable methanol production today, and outlines how he anticipates production and bunkering infrastructure to scale up in more shipping hubs in the short, medium and long term.  He also reacts to the latest figures in the global orderbook for alternative-fuelled ships, which showed LNG overtaking methanol from mid-2024, arguing that methanol isn’t losing momentum as a marine fuel option.  He reports ‘genuinely encouraging’ results from the practical experience of bunkering, crew training and using methanol as fuel on ships since the entry into service of Ane Maersk in early 2024. He also addresses reports from Maersk of maintenance problems with their methanol dual-fuel engines, which he says were ‘completely expected’ at this stage, and reveals that a solution has been found by the engine manufacturer. Reflecting on the energy transition more broadly, he emphasises that a multi-fuel approach will be needed, and explains why he believes that shipping should stop thinking of the transition as a race or a competition between fuels.

In this episode, we meet students, tutors and managers at the South Devon College Marine Academy to discuss how maritime training is evolving amid shipping’s digital and energy transitions.  The Academy, on the banks of the River Dart, in South West England, trains between 70 and 100 students and apprentices each year in its maritime programmes.  Join our Senior Editor Ariane Morrissey as she accompanies a group of Maritime Studies pupils on a sea outing on the last day of their year-long programme, in June 2025.  We meet Emma Eggleton and Harry Clayton, both 17, who share their thoughts on the profound changes that the maritime industry will experience during their future careers at sea – and why they feel up to the challenge.  During our visit, learning support technician Shaun Cuming and lecturer Rebecca Sanders explain how they have already started adapting their teaching to prepare their students for the new fuels and technologies that they are likely to encounter on ships. Finally, Paul Singer, business and qualification development coordinator at the Academy, reflects on the challenges that the energy transition is bringing for maritime training institutions, including that of developing new course content, training its own teaching staff, and finding funding for new equipment for its workshops.  He argues that the transition can open up new opportunities, as the industry is already manifesting its demand for training courses to upskill its workforce, and demand for trained maritime workers will grow from emerging sectors such as offshore wind. 

With shipping’s energy transition calling for huge investments in new ships, fuels, technologies and supply chains, Enova’s Rune Holmen discusses how governments can best support – and fund – maritime decarbonisation.  Owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and the Environment, Enova’s mandate is to allocate funds to projects that will help the country reach net-zero by 2050. It manages an annual budget of around $1 billion. A substantial part of this is allocated to maritime decarbonisation initiatives, ranging from battery installations to carbon capture, fuel production, and ships capable of using hydrogen or ammonia as fuel.  In this conversation, Rune reflects on the results delivered by the funds, which have supported more than 900 maritime projects in the past 10 years. He recalls how one of the first projects – charging stations for Norway’s first fully-electric ferries – was initially dismissed by many as ‘science-fiction’, but ultimately helped build the battery value chain in the country, leading to about 45 battery-powered ferries hitting the water since. Today, such electrification projects often materialise without any public funding as they have become financially viable on their own, which he emphasises is Enova’s end goal. Rune describes how Enova is now attempting to replicate this success with ammonia and hydrogen, with funds being allocated for production and bunkering sites at the same time as investments in ships using those fuels. He insists that a ‘whole supply chain’ approach is essential, but explains why directly financing fuel purchases to cover the cost gap between renewable and fossil fuels isn’t the best option in his view.  With public finances around the world feeling the squeeze and many competing demands for funding, he explains how Enova selects the projects it supports – and why it will no longer fund projects to fit wind propulsion or energy efficiency on newbuild vessels powered by LNG or fossil fuels, as those would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but fail to reach net-zero by 2050.  Asked what lessons Enova’s experience can reveal for other countries that don’t have the same level of resources as Norway, he highlighted that even relatively small investments can make a big difference, if targeted wisely. Among his top tips: ‘think systematically and accept that this takes time’.  

In this sixth episode of the First Movers series, Odfjell’s Erik Hjortland discusses the results and lessons learned from the installation of more than 140 energy efficiency technologies across the company’s fleet of 71 chemical tankers.  The Norwegian owner and operator first embarked on an energy efficiency programme in 2007, using enhanced data collection to drive operational improvements, before rolling out a retrofitting programme to upgrade rudder systems, propellers and main engines across its fleet from 2015.  In this conversation, Erik comments on the results achieved by the programme, which has improved the energy efficiency of Odfjell’s managed fleet by 53% compared to a 2008 baseline. He also sheds light on the company’s approach to selecting what technologies to install on its vessels, and shares his insights into which ones have delivered the best return on investment in real-life operations. He argues that the business case for energy efficiency is clear, revealing that Odfjell has invested $40 million in energy efficiency technologies since 2014, which led to $108 million in savings in the past five years.  Erik also explains why Odfjell decided to move one step further with the installation of suction sails on the Bow Olympus, and the completion of a near carbon neutral transatlantic voyage which combined wind propulsion and biofuels. He calls on the industry to do more to harness the emissions reduction potential of existing technologies. *** First Movers puts the spotlight on maritime companies that that were among the first to trial and adopt new fuels or technologies. The series goes beyond initial big announcements and headlines, and asks what happens in the months and years that follow. It aims to unpack the practical challenges that first movers experience, and implementing new fuels or technologies have transformed their operations and business.  Listen to the previous episodes in the First Movers series:  Episode 01: Rasmus Nielsen, Naval Architect / Officer at Scandlines, one of the first companies to install rotor sails on their ships Episode 02: Andrew Hoare, Group Manager of Green Shipping at Fortescue, which pioneered the world’s first ship to use ammonia as fuel Episode 03: Jordan Pechie, President of Seaspan Marine Transportation, about the deployment of fully-electric tugboats in their fleet Episode 04: Femke Brenninkmeijer, CEO of NPRC, which spearheaded the world’s first newbuild inland vessel that can use hydrogen as a fuel Episode 05: Henrik Røjel, Head of Decarbonisation & Climate Solutions at Norden, which became one of the first companies to trial 100% biofuels on a large ocean-going vessel

In this edition of the ship.energy podcast, Lesley Bankes-Hughes talks to a very well-known and proactive leader in the maritime industry, Pia Meling. Pia has had an extensive career in shipping and the imperatives of sustainability and decarbonisation have informed and underpinned her job choices, including working on good practice in ship recycling and on zero emission, autonomous shipping. In March this year, she left Grieg Green where she was Managing Director, and she is now leading the team at EVIGO, the green services offshoot of the ship management company, OSM Thome. One of the largest global ship managers, OSM Thome handles the operations and crewing of around 1,000 vessels across a range of segments, and when it launched its EVIGO division in late 2024 one of its mission statements was ‘to tackle environmental targets head-on’. In this podcast, Pia discusses the business culture and values she is looking to inculcate in this new venture and also explains why she decided to take the job is its MD. She explores a changing relationship between shipowner and ship manager in the context of shipping’s decarbonisation, the challenges as well as the positives of stakeholder collaboration, the GHG emission reduction options available to the existing global fleet, fuel ‘demand signals’, and the importance of training the maritime workforce to be able to deliver the energy transition onboard and landside. She also offers her ‘take’ on EU regulation and the outcomes of IMO MEPC 83, as well her views on what leadership should be as shipping navigates its course through one of the biggest changes in its history.