Sustainability in shipping spans emissions reporting, compliance, and the practical levers operators can pull. The EU MRV system requires ship reports for each calendar year by 31 March of the following year, and the EU ETS ties allowance surrender 1:1 to verified CO2 tonnes. Globally, the IMO’s DCS measures annual fuel use to calculate attained energy efficiency feeding CII.
Key Takeaways
- EU ETS shipping sector includes intra-EU and certain extra-EU voyages covering 100% of reported emissions under the monitoring and reporting regulation scope.
- EU MRV requires reports for each calendar year by 31 March of the following year (timelines in the MRV regulation).
- 33% of global fleet (by capacity) was reported as ‘ready’ for alternative fuels in 2023, while 19% was ‘planning’ and 48% was ‘not started’ (industry benchmarking).
- Fuel switching costs under FuelEU are affected by the carbon intensity premium/credit mechanism; the regulation sets a default pathway with quantified penalty/bonus mechanics from 2025 (legal text includes formula).
- IMO 2020 fuel sulphur compliance increased global marine fuel costs by an estimated single-digit percentage range in 2019–2020 depending on bunker region (IEA analysis of fuel switching economics).
- Scrubber installation CapEx ranges commonly around US$1–3 million per vessel (cost ranges described in IHS Markit / industry cost modeling for open-loop/closed-loop systems).
- US$20.6 billion 2023 global marine fuels market value (bunkering and related services) as reported by IMARC Group for marine fuels market sizing.
- US$3.2 billion global market size for LNG as a marine fuel in 2023 (IMARC Group estimate).
- US$7.8 billion global market for marine battery technology expected by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets forecast).
- 92% of surveyed shipping companies reported using at least one energy-efficiency measure in 2021 (Drewry survey results summarized in trade coverage).
- 3,000+ ships have installed or are installing scrubbers to comply with sulphur regulation (global count reported by industry tracker sources and compiled in trade reporting).
- Nearly 1,500 container vessels were ordered with energy-efficiency features under newbuild standards from 2020–2023 (Alphaliner newbuild sustainability reporting).
- A 10% reduction in ship speed can reduce fuel consumption by roughly 27% due to the cubic relationship between speed and required power (widely used in marine engineering energy-efficiency guidance).
- The Data Collection System (DCS) measures annual fuel consumption and calculates attained energy efficiency values used in CII for each ship (IMO DCS technical requirements).
- 12.1 billion tonnes of seaborne trade in 2023, illustrating the scale of the sector where efficiency and decarbonization measures must be applied.
Shipping is tightening emissions rules while adoption of efficiency and alternative fuels grows, but costs and infrastructure must scale fast.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size7 stats
01
US$20.6 billion 2023 global marine fuels market value (bunkering and related services) as reported by IMARC Group for marine fuels market sizing.
02
US$3.2 billion global market size for LNG as a marine fuel in 2023 (IMARC Group estimate).
03
US$7.8 billion global market for marine battery technology expected by 2030 (MarketsandMarkets forecast).
04
US$4.1 billion global market size for ship energy efficiency management systems (SEEMS) in 2022 (estimated by Allied Market Research).
05
US$2.3 billion global market size for ship management software in 2022 (estimate by Fortune Business Insights).
06
US$14.2 billion global market size for ballast water treatment systems in 2022 (estimated by Fortune Business Insights).
07
US$9.3 billion global shipping decarbonization technology investment market forecast for 2030 (estimated) (TechSci Research).
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, the data shows that sustainability related segments in shipping are already substantial, with global marine fuels at US$20.6 billion in 2023 and ballast water treatment systems reaching US$14.2 billion in 2022, underscoring rapid commercial momentum across key decarbonization and compliance categories.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
Fuel switching costs under FuelEU are affected by the carbon intensity premium/credit mechanism; the regulation sets a default pathway with quantified penalty/bonus mechanics from 2025 (legal text includes formula).
02
IMO 2020 fuel sulphur compliance increased global marine fuel costs by an estimated single-digit percentage range in 2019–2020 depending on bunker region (IEA analysis of fuel switching economics).
03
Scrubber installation CapEx ranges commonly around US$1–3 million per vessel (cost ranges described in IHS Markit / industry cost modeling for open-loop/closed-loop systems).
04
Under the EU ETS, shipping operators must surrender allowances equal to verified emissions; the regulation ties surrender obligation 1:1 to tonnes of CO2 reported.
05
IEA reported that carbon capture and storage costs vary widely by region; for shipping decarbonization, cost modeling uses quantified ranges for CO2 capture €/tCO2 that affect feasibility of e-fuel/capture pathways.
06
Payback periods for scrubbers depend on fuel price differentials; ClassNK and trade publications quantify payback under typical 2020/2021 fuel spread assumptions in case studies (quantified payback ranges).
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From 2019 to 2020 IMO 2020 compliance was estimated to raise global marine fuel costs by a single-digit percentage range and scrubber installation typically costs about US$1 to US$3 million per vessel, showing that for the Cost Analysis category the biggest financial pressure in shipping sustainability is driven by fuel compliance premiums and substantial upfront abatement CapEx with payback linked to fuel price differentials.
03 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
92% of surveyed shipping companies reported using at least one energy-efficiency measure in 2021 (Drewry survey results summarized in trade coverage).
02
3,000+ ships have installed or are installing scrubbers to comply with sulphur regulation (global count reported by industry tracker sources and compiled in trade reporting).
03
Nearly 1,500 container vessels were ordered with energy-efficiency features under newbuild standards from 2020–2023 (Alphaliner newbuild sustainability reporting).
04
In 2022, 74% of the world’s fleet (by deadweight) met the required EEXI baseline reduction levels in initial compliance assessments described by ClassNK/cross-industry summaries.
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption of ship sustainability measures is clearly accelerating, with 92% of surveyed shipping companies already using at least one energy efficiency step in 2021 and widespread compliance following through as 74% of the world’s fleet met EEXI baseline reduction levels in initial 2022 assessments.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends3 stats
01
EU ETS shipping sector includes intra-EU and certain extra-EU voyages covering 100% of reported emissions under the monitoring and reporting regulation scope.
02
EU MRV requires reports for each calendar year by 31 March of the following year (timelines in the MRV regulation).
03
33% of global fleet (by capacity) was reported as ‘ready’ for alternative fuels in 2023, while 19% was ‘planning’ and 48% was ‘not started’ (industry benchmarking).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In industry trends for shipping sustainability, the EU’s ETS and MRV frameworks are set up to cover 100% of reported emissions and require yearly reporting by 31 March, while the fuel transition is still early with only 33% of the global fleet ready for alternative fuels in 2023 and 48% not started yet.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics2 stats
01
A 10% reduction in ship speed can reduce fuel consumption by roughly 27% due to the cubic relationship between speed and required power (widely used in marine engineering energy-efficiency guidance).
02
The Data Collection System (DCS) measures annual fuel consumption and calculates attained energy efficiency values used in CII for each ship (IMO DCS technical requirements).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Under Performance Metrics, even a modest 10% reduction in ship speed can cut fuel consumption by about 27%, and systems like the IMO Data Collection System track annual fuel use to calculate attained energy efficiency for CII reporting.
06 · Category
Industry Overview5 stats
01
12.1 billion tonnes of seaborne trade in 2023, illustrating the scale of the sector where efficiency and decarbonization measures must be applied.
02
EEXI and CII apply to the bulk of the world merchant fleet; under the IMO DCS, ships report annual fuel consumption leading to their attained energy efficiency metrics used for CII.
03
The IMO’s DCS has been implemented so that ships submit annual fuel consumption data used to calculate attained energy efficiency for each vessel.
04
Alternative fuels in shipping require infrastructure scaling; a 2024 review by the Global Maritime Forum estimates that ports need to scale alternative fuel bunkering capacity substantially to enable uptake, with the near-term gap described for several fuel pathways.
05
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported that investments in shipping-related renewable fuels (e-fuels and sustainable biofuels) increased through 2023, supporting alternative fuel projects for maritime use.
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
In the industry overview, the sheer scale of 12.1 billion tonnes of seaborne trade in 2023 shows why global shipping is pressing ahead with measurable efficiency and decarbonization, backed by IMO reporting such as EEXI and CII across most of the merchant fleet and the need to expand alternative-fuel and renewable-fuel infrastructure.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Sustainability In The Shipping Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-shipping-industry-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Sustainability In The Shipping Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-shipping-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Sustainability In The Shipping Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/sustainability-in-the-shipping-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)