Shipping cannot allow dark fleets to emerge again

The maritime industry has yet to settle on a name for the dark/shadow/parallel fleet, those ships trading outside of the international regulatory system, but speakers at the Tradewinds Shipowners Forum agreed on the risks posed by the fleet, and the need for action.

Harry Conway, Chair of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), said: “We should be concerned by dark fleet activity because of the safety of vessels and crew, as well as the protection of the marine environment. If elements within the industry circumvent the rules and regulations, we have a problem. Dark fleet vessels have no accountability because they operate under the radar; they don’t respect the rules, and the IMO is taking measures and actions to tackle the issue.”

Michael Parker, Global Industry Head of Shipping & Logistics at Citi, agreed that the problem is profound, and reminded the audience of the geopolitical origins of the parallel fleet.

“I am concerned, but we have to call it out; we are at war, and until the war is over and issues are resolved, it won’t be easy to find solutions. The IMO is powerless to enforce various things to improve transparency unless others are willing to take more impactful steps.

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“Sanctions are not proving to be effective, but I am optimistic that we are in an age of regulation and transparency, and climate change and data are going to drive positive change. It’s really a question of enforcement. We hope peace will bring the restoration of more normal behaviour. We cannot allow the creation of shadow fleets to happen again,” said Parker.

Steering clear of the political and focusing on the safety considerations around the parallel fleet, Christopher J. Wiernicki, Chairman and CEO of ABS, said: “A new age of safety, commercial compliance, and government accountabilities is here. This is a shared responsibility; the onus should not be just on the commercial side.

“The shadow fleet is a matter of concern. It has a different perspective compared to the rest of us; they have old vessels, poor inspections, lack insurance, and are riddled with mechanical failures and oil spills, which they simply regard as collateral damage. But as we move forward, environmental regulations are going to be global shipping shapers, so as we move forward, environmental regulations will be a big part of commercial decision-making."

Wiernicki added: “Our industry is divided into three types: the leaders who are taking decisions and placing bets today; then we have the fast followers, those doing some piloting and experimenting around fuels; and we have the very many who are actually doing nothing, waiting to see what will happen.”

Related:The dark fleet - creeping anarchy in the world’s oceans

Wiernicki was not alone in raising the impact of decarbonisation. Charis Plakantonaki, Chief Strategy Officer, Star Bulk Carriers Corp called for more clarity and greater incentives from regulators.

“If the carbon cost is passed onto the supply chain and then to consumers, we are not making any progress toward shipping decarbonisation; instead, we should be using proceeds from the EU ETS to subsidise the industry in our quest to decarbonise. Other incentives could include the reduction of waiting times at ports for vessels that are more energy efficient. We need the IMO to provide more clarity on the measures they are planning and what the impact on our industry will be,” said Plakantonaki.

Dr Conway concluded, “Clarity, pragmatism, uncertainty, shared responsibility – these are the key words of the industry, and these are the things we at the IMO strive to provide. The clarity the industry is craving is our priority as we study a lot of proposals on the table, each having its own implications for the transition, which is not going to be cheap. We have done comprehensive impact assessments, and come September, we will be able to make informed decisions as we try to provide the certainty the industry needs to make the right investment decisions.”