Sustainable Maritime Fleet Management in the Context of Global Sulphur Cap 2020

Since the implementation of Emission Control Areas (ECA) in 2015, investment decisions related to abatement technologies represent a crucial task in the maritime industry. Currently, the focus in the maritime sector is on Sulphur reductions due to SECA regulations and the legislative of Global Sulphur Cap that started in 2020. A special challenge appears in maritime fleet management where sets of ships have to be considered, representing portfolios of assets that have to be equipped with a variety of different options of abatement technologies.

Modern portfolio theory has been applied to various economic decisions to achieve an optimal allocation of resources among different investment opportunities. The research investigates and discusses the application of the Markowitz´ optimization in the context of SECA regulations for maritime fleets. The optimal investment portfolios are taking into account the three most important compliance options based on the use of low Sulphur fuel, the use of LNG fuel and the use of HFO with a scrubber. The theoretical results are empirically validated by a case of a shipping line operating 10 vessels.