{"id":55129,"date":"2025-07-16T11:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T06:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=55129"},"modified":"2025-07-16T11:51:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T06:21:46","slug":"decarbonising-global-shipping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/decarbonising-global-shipping\/","title":{"rendered":"Decarbonising Global Shipping: India\u2019s Role, Green Fuels, and Shipbuilding Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Global Shipping Decarbonisation Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global shipping aims for decarbonisation by 2040\u201350, shifting from Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), diesel, and LNG to green fuels like green ammonia, e-methanol, and biofuels.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This transition offers significant opportunities for India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Production of Green Fuels<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Green hydrogen is produced via water electrolysis using renewable energy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For shipping, more stable alternatives like <\/span><b>green ammonia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (from green hydrogen and nitrogen) and <\/span><b>green methanol<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (from green hydrogen and industrial carbon dioxide) are preferred.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India promotes green ammonia to reduce LNG imports in fertilizer production.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Green Methanol as Shipping\u2019s Preferred Transition Fuel<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shipping is gradually adopting <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">green methanol as its primary decarbonisation fuel due to its ease of use and lower carbon emissions<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014about 10% compared to conventional fuels.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Green methanol can largely replace VLSFO without major engine modifications, unlike green ammonia, which, despite emitting no greenhouse gases, requires complex onboard handling.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 360 methanol-capable ships are already operational or on order, supported by major companies like Maersk, CMA CGM, and Evergreen.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">green e-methanol is significantly more expensive<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014costing $1,950 per tonne in Singapore as of February, compared to $560 per tonne for VLSFO.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This price gap is driven by high renewable electricity requirements (10\u201311 MWh per tonne of methanol) and the substantial upfront cost of electrolyser facilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demand for green methanol is projected to exceed 14 million tonnes by 2028, while supply is expected to lag at around 11 million tonnes, adding further price pressure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Shipping Decarbonisation Strategy and Global Green Fuel Ambitions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India plans to decarbonise its domestic shipping by promoting green fuels for container ships and establishing green fuel bunkering hubs at ports like Tuticorin (V.O. Chidambaranar) and Kandla.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government also aims to produce and export green fuels to Singapore, a major global ship fuelling hub handling nearly 25% of the world&#8217;s ship fuel needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With its large solar power capacity and expertise, India is positioning itself as a key global supplier of green fuels to support international shipping\u2019s shift towards sustainability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Building India\u2019s Green Marine Fuel Hub: Challenges and Solutions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India aims to become a major producer of marine green fuels like green methanol but faces challenges such as dependence on imported solar panels and electrolysers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, India\u2019s solar power growth\u2014from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 105 GW in 2025\u2014shows how sovereign guarantees and strategic policies can overcome such hurdles.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sovereign guarantees help lower project costs by enabling cheaper international financing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For large-scale green methanol production, India needs innovative financial tools, including Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for electrolysers and incentives for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS).\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These measures would support local value chains, reduce raw material transport costs, and make green methanol production from captured CO\u2082 feasible.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government&#8217;s push to <\/span><b>establish 1.5 GW local electrolyser manufacturing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> capacity and <\/span><b>expanded industrial CO\u2082 sourcing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> positions India well for developing integrated green fuel hubs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Multilateral development banks offering low-interest financing (around 4% compared to 11\u201312% from Indian lenders) can also be leveraged to scale up efforts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Reviving Indian Shipbuilding Through Green Fuel Initiatives<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To boost shipbuilding and shipowning, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is offering demand-side support and incentives for<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> foreign partnerships, especially with South Korean and Japanese shipbuilders.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The focus is on building new ships and retrofitting existing ones for green fuel compatibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has committed $10 billion to purchase over 110 ships, with plans to ensure 10\u201320% of these are green fuel-capable, built in Indian shipyards, and fly the Indian flag.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This strategy aims to scale up local shipbuilding while aligning with global decarbonisation goals.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/india\/the-hindu-thiruvananthapuram-9WWe\/20250716\/282415585311803?srsltid=AfmBOorE4VSX2bOHMWjDu26GuP_LsR4xYPKUk0soSK0aCiYlsQTprGwT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PR<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0| <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unctad.org\/news\/decarbonizing-shipping-how-speed-transition-and-ensure-its-fair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCTAD<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explore how global shipping is adopting green fuels like green methanol. Learn about India\u2019s decarbonisation plans and shipbuilding strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":55147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1568,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-55129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-global-shipping-decarbonisation","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}