Course content

The course has its focus on the transformation from the present high-efficiency ships and shipping towards full sustainability. In the course various technological trends must be identified.

Shipping moves 90% of the world’s trade. Ships are responsible for approximately 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations International Maritime Organization, IMO, has recently developed a strategy to reduce these emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008. The Nordic countries with their high level of maritime engineering and being representatives of high-quality and high-efficiency shipping should be forerunners in the development of shipping towards the highest level of sustainability. This process will require not only further development of existing technologies but also new technologies or adaption of land technology to maritime application.

Learning outcome

General course objectives:
- To give the student the ability to assess the realism of technological trends and emerging technologies within maritime engineering. The assessment must be done on a technical basis with consideration for sustainability.
- To improve the students’ ability to work in groups and their ability to communicate between groups geographically far apart and create feasible solutions through group project work.

Learning objectives:
- Explain the environmental impact of ships and shipping
- Describe the demands to technologies that can contribute to greater sustainability
- Analyze strong and weak points of such technologies and in this assess the realism of technologies and their potential
- Outline further development of technologies for practical use
- Evaluate the performance of the selected technology
- Applying knowledge and the ability to solve problems in new, unfamiliar areas

Learning methods and activities

What must be done during the course:

- Status of the sustainability of ships and shipping and the goals to be reached. Floating offshore installations including wind turbine and conventional offshore structures may be suitably addressed.
- Methods for reducing the environmental impact. These can be from industry, academia or found by the students.
- Selection of cases and technologies (contributions from industry or cases by students, for instance if they are working on a ship design or have worked on one) and their justification
- Further development of selected case and technology as far as time permits.
- Conclusion and presentation.

Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

NMME entrance + first semester studies. For non-NMME students: Naval architecture corresponding to the former.

Course materials

The following textbooks will be used :

Harilaos Psaraftis, Sustainable shipping, Springer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sustainable-Shipping-Cross-Disciplinary-Harilaos-Psaraftis-ebook/dp/B07NPFLJ5L

Andersson et al: Shipping and the environment, Springer, https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783662490433

A short summary of approx. 20 pages will be provided by teachers.
The students may find and read 6-7 papers and include a summary in their work.