Page 26 - 2021 - Q3 - Minerva in Focus

GHG EMISSIONS: NEW REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPPING

Energy Efficiency Planning Index (EEDI)

The end of the non‑regulation era for GHG

emissions from shipping

As acknowledged by the Kyoto Pro- The EEDI provides a specific figure for an individual ship design, expressed in grams of
tocol, due to the global activities and carbon dioxide (CO 2) per ship’s capacity-mile (the smaller the EEDI, the more energy-ef-
complex operation of international ficient the ship design) and is calculated by a formula based on the technical design
shipping, its international CO 2 emis- parameters for a given ship.
sions cannot be attributed to any It basically boils down to the ratio of fuel consumed at 75% installed power to speed at
particular national economy. For this that power and the ship’s deadweight at summer draft. It is based on the initial assess-
reason, the International Maritime Or- ment at the design stage and the final verification during sea trials.
ganization (IMO) has introduced and The regulation requires new ships of 400 gross tonnage and above, built after 1st January
put into effect the Energy Efficien- 2013, not to exceed certain index thresholds. The minimum mandatory energy efficiency
cy Design Index (EEDI). The adoption performance levels decrease by 10% over time in different phases. This is necessary in
of the EEDI marked the end of the order to keep pace with technological developments of efficiency improving technolo-
non-regulation era for GHG emissions gies and emission reduction measures (Phase 0: 2013-2015, phase 1: 2015–2020; phase 2:
from shipping. 2020–2025; phase 3: 2025–2030).
In 2025 and onwards, a 30% reduction is mandated from a reference line representing
the average efficiency for ships built between 2000 and 2010.
The reference line value is formulated as: a * (100% deadweight) where “a” and “c” are
C
parameters determined from a regression curve fit from the IHS Fairplay database.

The purposes of EEDI are:
• To achieve a minimum energy efficiency level for new ships
• To stimulate continued technical development of all the components influencing
the fuel efficiency of a ship
• To separate the technical and design-based measures from the operational and
commercial measures
• To enable a comparison of the energy efficiency of individual ships to similar
ships of the same size, which could have undertaken the same transport work
(moved the same cargo).
RINA.
Despite the good intentions, the EEDI formulation has been reported to suffer from
deficiencies that, in the quest for EEDI compliance, could involve potential risks in terms
of inefficient and less safe (very big and very slow) designs. Excellence
For this, additional regulation was developed, which requires assessment that the
installed propulsion power shall not be less than the power needed to maintain the
by Antonios Trakakis maneuverability of the ship under adverse conditions. Behind
In May 2019, IMO’s MEPC approved amendments to MARPOL Annexe VI to strengthen the
Technical Director- Marine EEDI requirements. The enhancement of the EEDI and the development of a Ship Energy
RINA Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) to reduce ships’ energy consumption are the main Excellence.
measures on which the IMO Initial Strategy focuses on the short-term (2018–2023).
24 MINERVA IN FOCUS – ISSUE 17 / Q3 2021 rina.org