Role of transitional fuels in decarbonising shipping Transitional fuels are vital for meeting the energy transition targets for international shipping within the Net-Zero Framework set by the IMO’s MEPC
Eddy Van Bouwel EvBo Consult
W hen the International Maritime to reach net-zero emissions by or around 2050 ( IMO, 2023 ), it was clear that a transition to zero or near-zero (ZNZ) carbon fuels would be needed to reach this objective. Some have argued that regulations should therefore prioritise creating incentives for e-fuels based on renewable power, such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol, while discouraging any further investment in fossil fuels, even if such investments could lead to reduced emissions versus current practices. This article looks at the role transitional fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuel blends, and blue fuels could play in achieving the energy transition targets for international shipping in the context of the Net-Zero Framework (NZF) that was agreed at IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in April 2025. The formal adoption of NZF is still pending following the adjournment for a year of the extraordinary session of MEPC, which was due to adopt the NZF in October 2025. Organization (IMO) adopted its 2023 greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy, aiming Evolving fuel mix Data collected under IMO’s Data Collection System (DCS) ( IMO, 2024 ) provides some insights into the evolving marine fuel mix (see Figure 1 ). Not surprisingly, oil fuels remain the dominant fuel in international shipping, representing around 94% of the total. LNG is by far the largest alternative fuel in use, around 6%, while all other alternative fuels together represent less than 1% of the total. Interestingly,
2021
29.65%
12.71%
0.07%
6.02%
0.11%
0.03%
51.53%
0.01%
2022
26.62%
13.31%
0.11%
5.21%
0.23%
0.10%
54.64%
0.02%
2023
18.99%
12.66%
0.13%
6.12%
0.36%
0.18%
61.88%
0.04%
HFO LFO MDO LNG Methanol
Biofuel
LPG & ethane
LNG use decreased slightly in 2022. This can undoubtedly be explained by the substantial increase in the natural gas price that year, prompting some dual-fuel ships to switch back to fuel oil. The longer-term trend, illustrated from data provided by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ( Xiaoli Mao, 2024 ), shows that the use of LNG doubled from about 8.5 million ton fuel oil equivalent (FOE) Figure 1 Global marine fuel mix in 2021, 2022, and 2023 based on IMO DCS data
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