In February 2010, SNAME and the Marine Board of the National Academies' Transportation Research Board (TRB) convened a symposium: "Climate Change and Ships: Increasing Energy Efficiency." A major recommendation of the symposium was to "conduct an analysis of the marginal abatement costs for vessel owners and operators to employ technologies or operational measures to increase a vessel's energy efficiency and reduce itsCO2 emissions.” A T&R ad hoc panel was established to conduct a study and report on its findings to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), this was done in the report Marginal Abatement Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of Energy-Efficiency Measures (versions of which were delivered to IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 62 INF.7). Another recommendation of the symposium and ad hoc panel was to study IMO’s then proposed Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and report its findings to IMO, An Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Baseline for Tankers, Containerships, and LNG Carriers, reports, MEPC 60/4/33 and MEPC 60/4/34.

All of these papers were well received at IMO, in particular, the Chairman of IMO’s MEPC 62, Mr. Andreas Chrysostomou of Cyprus, specifically mentioned the marginal abatement cost effective papers in plenary session of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee in London, July 2011, and cited them as “excellent” guidance on regulating and reducing marine greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, David St. Amand presented the findings at MEPC 62 in a well attended technical session.

The ad hoc panels were dissolved and merged into one standing environmental engineering committee panel, EC-11. The mission and work plan of the panel is evolving, and will build and expand on earlier work. In particular, the panel will update the technology and operational measures assessment of energy efficiency measures by evaluating/verifying where possible the manufacturers’ representations of both costs and expected energy-efficiency improvements and in turn; evaluating corresponding barriers to implementation of measures.

The panel also plans to examine black carbon a short term climate change “forcer” that is estimated to constitute between 5%-15% of shipping particulate emissions.

The panel is seeking funding for this work and received approximately $650 from SNAME to purchase a publication.

Panel Chair is Dave St Amand (Navigistics).