Fathom Unveils New Technology in 2nd Edition of Ship Efficiency: The Guide

Business is ever-cyclic and one man’s misery is another man’s opportunity. Whilst ship operators and owners have been feeling the pinch from over-tonnage, a global downturn, ever-increasing bunker prices, tightening environmental regulations, drops in freight rates and more, another sector of the industry has the opportunity to capitalise on this.

Fathom, the maritime eco-efficiency specialists, have just completed the gargantuan task of updating, re-writing and refreshing their flagship publication Ship Efficiency: The Guide. This substantial update, coming two years after it’s first publication, has revealed a significant change in the fuel and emissions savings technology market in shipping in the last two years.

First published in 2011, The Guide independently profiles and critically examines the entire  maritime fuel and emissions savings sphere and each technology provider offering clean technology solutions to the market.

The new edition of The Guide is almost double the lengrth of the previous.  Catherine McMillian, Editorial Director commented:

“Despite being immersed in the minutiae of shipping’s clean technology market on a day-to-day basis, the changes seem sometimes creeping. It is at moments like this however, when we hold the proof of the final version in our hands, that we are suddenly and starkly aware of the Guide’s growth in depth and volume; and thus just how much the industry has grown in the past two years since we wrote the first edition.”

“The maritime clean technology market has developed at such a formidable rate that we have had to go back to the drawing board for each technology sector and application and completely re-write every section! We have researched, investigated, interviewed, written, edited and re-written until our brains ached and our fingertips blistered (nearly!). ”

In order to make profits healthier, ship operators must work smarter, not necessarily harder- ‘efficiency’ technolgies are vital in supporting this. Operators need to cut costs just as much as regulators want emissions to be reduced.

The new Guide clearly shows an increase in technologies that have reached commercialisation and also a significant increase in trials of both new and existing technolgoies. However technologies, such as the Mewis Duct, that have seen a great change in upake in the last two years are still in a minority.

In many ways, the clean technology sector has never been so much in demand, or so drastically needed. However, it is also a sector without a global standard, a widely recognised ‘stamp of approval’ that owners and operators can rely on as proof of efficacy; this can be perceived by owners as offering a wide open door for larger-than-life promises and significant under-deliveries.

Suspicion can reign and uptake slowed as a result; a situation perhaps not helped a great deal by some of the technology companies themselves in earlier years.

The question for technical managers is how to sort the wheat from the chaff? How on earth can they find the time to research and assess all of the possible solutions that are mushrooming into existence in this booming industry?

“We know from the hundreds of hours that we put in to each edition of The Guide just how difficult this is.” says McMillan.

Clear and simple, yet highly detailed, the Guide is a fantastic roadmap to this complex market.

It is not just Fathom’s content however, The Guide is backed by contributions from BIMCO, Andreas Chrysostomou, and Howard Fireman of ABS, who share key insights and advisory information to and from across the industry.

Fathom describe its partners with the deepest respect and admiration for their work within this expanding sector.

“Our lead sponsor, ABS, walk as well as talk. Their support of the Guide celebrates the founding of a dedicated Operational and Environmental Performance (OEP) department to develop cost effective, fuel efficient measures for owners across the vessel lifecycle.”

Fathom’s Final Thoughts

So as the champagne flows in the office, Fathom are extremely proud to share with you a short sample from the newest Ship Efficiency: The Guide.

Cheers!

Click here to see an exclusive preview sample of our latest Guide.

The complete Ship Efficiency: The Guide, 2^ndEdition, is available now with a pre-order discount. See here for details.