Historically, the price of fuel has been the primary driver for improved efficiency and reduced fuel consumption on commercial ships. The IMO is developing the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, which is a gauge of a ship’s CO2 efficiency. The EEDI is a simple formula that estimates CO2 output per tonne-mile. Market mechanisms will be attached to the EEDI, providing ship owners with another economic driver for reducing CO2 emissions. There are challenges in creating an EEDI and associated baseline that are straightforward enough to be enforceable and sophisticated enough to promote emissions reduction in a cost-effective manner.
ABS and HEC have jointly conducted a study which investigates the robustness of the EEDI and the potential shortcomings of the index by evaluating a parametric series of designs for three different ship types: tankers, containerships, and LNG carriers. This report summarizes the findings from this study, which were submitted to SNAME T&R Ad Hoc Panel 18 tasked with investigating the EEDI. The results are summarized in document MEPC 60/4/34, which has been submitted to IMO for consideration. Please click here for write-up on Influence of Design Parameters on the EEDI.