Norway's chief IMO negotiator finds new ways to motivate owners to decarbonise

Mr Oftedal, the chief negotiator for green shipping in Norway’s Department of Marine Management and Pollution Control, who is well-known as an active architect of decarbonisation regulation within the International Maritime Organisation’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, said shipping will be encouraged to cut GHG emissions using both regulation and incentives to attract investment in decarbonisation technologies.

On the regulatory side, Mr Oftedal said that the Norwegian Government is introducing rules for zero-emissions ferries and cruise ships.

“We have climate targets, and domestic shipping is important in order to have significant emissions reductions to meet our targets,” he said. “We also work in the global arena, at IMO, and work with other countries in order to decarbonise shipping.”

Speaking at Riviera Maritime Media’s Maritime Hybrid, Electric & Hydrogen Fuel Cells Conference 2023 in Bergen, Norway, Mr Oftedal said there the Norwegian Government will assist, support and encourage domestic shipping to decarbonise during this decade and beyond.

“We will require emissions reductions, [and] we will support [shipping decarbonisation] through a scheme for climate reductions. We will stimulate [decarbonisation] through carbon pricing and coordinate and partner with shipping to make this happen,” said Mr Oftedal.

He said the introduction of electric ferries in Norway has already enabled the development and field testing of technologies that could be used for the decarbonisation of shortsea shipping.

Mr Oftedal said he expects to see zero-emissions offshore supply vessels operating from Norwegian bases in 2029 along with zero-emissions passenger ships. He said he also expects new contracts that include requirements for electric power and for domestic ferries to be awarded in 2024, and for high-speed vessels in 2025.

Norway and others will also collaborate to introduce green corridors in coming years to lower emissions from shortsea shipping, Mr Oftedal said.