Lookout Maritime, a new company formed by ex-RightShip supremo Martin Crawford-Brunt, has formed a strategic partnership with Hong Kong shipmanagement giant Anglo-Eastern to support shipowners with both the prioritisation and implementation of sustainability initiatives.
The initial focus of the partnership will be on delivering a sustainability review at a fleet level for shipowners, including the impending Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations.
Detailed recommendations on identified conversion candidates are provided after consideration of a range of factors and drivers. This includes the future tradability of the vessels and other commercial implications, as well as a business case if required. Project teams at Anglo-Eastern will then manage the conversion project on behalf of the owner.
Commenting in a release on the partnership, Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO of Lookout Maritime said: “It is critical that, as an industry, we move beyond the rhetoric to the tangible implementation of solutions that will accelerate shipping’s decarbonisation pathway and the route to widespread sustainability.”
Crawford-Brunt was CEO of online vetting company RightShip from 2018 to December last year. Prior to that he was with class society DNV.
Bjorn Hojgaard, CEO of Anglo-Eastern, said Lookout Maritime had been selected as a strategic partner because of its wider stakeholder perspective and experience.
Speaking with Splash today, Crawford-Brunt said Lookout Maritime has been established to help the industry on its sustainability journey. He warned there was too much inertia among shipowners today in terms of setting their green goals. The impending CII regulation in particular is likely to be a far greater headache for owners than many imagine, Crawford-Brunt said.
“It’s wrong to sit and wait. Owners should benchmark now to see where their ships stand,” Crawford-Brunt said, advising owners to act now to avoid a scrubber-like scramble for yard space as the regulation comes into view 15 months from now.
Crawford-Brunt said he did not see the creation of Lookout Maritime as any conflict with his previous employers, RightShip, arguing it was a continuation of his career journey over the past 25 years.
As shipping comes to terms with the impending EEXI and CII regulations, a host of advisories and consultants have come to the fore, offering some startling statistics on how ill-prepared the global merchant fleet is for their implementation.
Regarding CII, analysis conducted by class society ABS this June using 2019 EU-MRV data suggests that to achieve the desired A, B or C energy efficiency categories by end of 2030, based on anticipated reduction factors, 92% of the current containership fleet will require some kind of operational change, with the figures for bulk carriers at 86%, tankers at 74%, gas carriers at 80% and LNG carriers 59%.
Meanwhile, brokers Simpson Spence Young (SSY) warned last month less than 25% of bulkers and tankers will attain EEXI compliance leaving most of the global merchant fleet facing either engine power limitation (EPL) options or another form of CO2 abatement.
