Review of environmental indices in the maritime sector – with focus on heating and cooling systems onboard cruise ships

Abstract

The objective of the CruiZE project is to develop innovative, integrated and environment-friendly concepts for supplying heating and cooling needs for the hotel facilities on board cruise ships. As in other sectors, there are non-technological barriers which must be addressed to pave the way for implementation of new technology. For example, increased knowledge is needed on the environmental indices that are applied by different stakeholders to assess a ship's environmental performance. In this memo such indices are reviewed, with a focus on cruise ships, and how the heating and cooling systems are addressed. This will form a basis for further work in CruiZE, aiming at suggesting recommendations on how to modify such indices, to encourage the implementation of innovative heating and cooling technologies. Included in the review are compulsory regulatory indices issued by IMO, voluntarily indices offered by classification societies, and indices applied to offer port fee reductions. The review shows that there is a need to adapt these indices to enable a more equitable assessment of new heating and cooling technologies