Nor-Shipping 2027 Thought Leader – Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO Maritime at DNV

In an age of regulatory shift, geopolitical uncertainty and commercial pressure it can be difficult to keep decarbonisation efforts on track. How can you plan for tomorrow when today’s realities are so demanding? With the theme of Nor-Shipping 2027 front of mind, Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO Maritime at DNV, believes the NEXT thing shipping companies should address is also the most obvious. While a wide range of new fuels and technologies will ultimately drive shipping towards its ambitious goal of achieving net-zero by 2050, she says, energy-efficiency measures are the key to unlocking valuable gains in the short term across the current fleet, from operational improvements to advanced retrofit technologies and capital-intensive upgrades...Saenz de Santa Maria argues that all fuels and technologies have a role to play on shipping’s road to net zero. However, many will take time to mature and scale. Low-greenhouse gas variants of fuels such as ammonia and methanol, for example, are still far from reaching the volumes needed to make a meaningful impact, while most of the global fleet is not yet equipped to use them. While progress continues on these fuels and technologies, Saenz de Santa Maria points to a more immediate opportunity: Tools that already exist to deliver significant impact across around 90% of today’s global fleet, which still runs on conventional fuels, including both operational measures and larger-scale retrofit solutions.      According to DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050 (2025 edition), energy-efficiency measures can deliver up to 16% reductions in fuel consumption by 2030, equivalent to reducing emissions from around 55,000 of the smallest vessels in the global fleet.Or as de Santa Maria explains: “In my view, energy-efficiency measures have the potential to become one of the most scalable decarbonisation levers...     Less fuel use obviously means less fuel cost. And in today’s topsy turvy geopolitical landscape, where energy security and prices are no longer a given, that’s arguably more important than ever. “Improved energy-efficiency measures reduce exposure to fuel price volatility as you obviously need less of whatever you’re burning,” she states. “It’s also worth noting the impact on the investment rather than the operational side. As fuel prices move, as we’ve seen recently, the payback time on energy-efficiency measures changes too.”      Here Saenz de Santa Maria introduces a powerful example. DNV modelled an existing VLCC with a scrubber considering a shaft generator retrofit...Saenz de Santa Maria brings up another modelling exercise to demonstrate – this time of a Capesize bulker on a Brazil-Rotterdam route that has achieved a 20% efficiency gain.      Using marine gas oil (at today’s prices) that equates to a USD 60,000 saving per voyage. However, if the owner was using green methanol the saving leaps to USD 300,000.      Something the DNV chief says, “is not a marginal difference, but a strategic advantage… and it’s available now.”        With a range of factors at play – fuel choices, a menu of energy-efficiency measures, regulatory change, geopolitics – what advice does de Santa Maria have for shipowners looking to optimise gains?      “Resist the temptation of a fragmented approach.”  She explains: “Picking individual measures in response to immediate compliance pressure is the most common pattern we see, and it is also the least effective. What works is having a strategy. That means understanding where your fleet actually stands today – you cannot manage what you cannot measure, so reliable data is critical – and then building a roadmap that reflects the specific characteristics of your vessels, your trading patterns, and your commercial structure. There is no universal playbook.” But she does have a universal recommendation: “Shipping’s transition to net zero will depend on a combination of fuels, technologies and operational measures — but that doesn’t mean waiting for those solutions to fully mature. Energy-efficiency measures are something companies can act on today, creating both immediate impact and a stronger foundation for what comes next. What matters is taking a strategic approach. Rather than holding back in the expectation that alternative fuels will solve everything later, companies should start implementing energy-efficiency measures now and build from there. Those that delay and then rely on expensive fuels to close their compliance gap might end up paying significantly more over time. So the priority is to build a clear strategy and pathway today – one that is realistic for both your fleet, operational needs, and balance sheet...Thankfully, Saenz de Santa Maria says it’s here where Class Societies such as DNV are on hand to help. Third party verification of solutions, to open, agreed standards can, she stresses, “convert claimed savings into bankable evidence.” She continues: “DNV offer advisory services and publishes recommended practices for verifying hull performance, wind-assisted propulsion, and air lubrication specifically to address this. The industry cannot build commercial models for financing energy-efficiency measures, like pay-as-you-save schemes, without transparent, independently assessed data. So, in my view, getting the verification framework right is as important as the technologies themselves.”      On the subject of technology, Saenz de Santa Maria and DNV have AI front of mind. “What AI can enable is continuous, data-driven decision-making across an entire fleet, at a precision and speed that simply wasn’t achievable before. However, AI is only as reliable as the data and organisational processes behind it. Shipping still has gaps in data quality and transparency, and without addressing these, AI can become a source of added complexity rather than a driver of improvement.” Again, she stresses, organisations such as DNV have a key role to play here – “making sure      what AI systems produce can be independently validated and relied upon as a basis for investment and compliance decisions.” The technology is moving fast, she says, and standards have to do the same.      The conversation draws to a close with a shift from technology, fuel, emissions and regulations to the industry’s (arguably) most important factor – human collaboration.       DNV moved early to confirm its position as Lead Partner, alongside DNB, of Nor-Shipping 2027, Saenz de Santa Maria explains, because the event week enables cooperation, knowledge sharing and progress in a way that few other arenas can.   She describes it as “bringing together the full value chain”, from shipowners and operators to financiers and policymakers, with a focus on maritime’s next steps – which chimes perfectly with Nor-Shipping’s theme for the 2027 programme, NEXT. A strategic, systematic approach to energy-efficiency measures should, Saenz de Santa Maria concludes, be the NEXT move not just for individual owners, but for the entire industry.   And Nor-Shipping is the ideal platform to facilitate meaningful progress.          “The conversations required are not purely technical,” she says: “They involve investment decisions, contract structures, the question of who actually benefits from fuel savings when owner and charterer are separate parties, and a shared understanding of what works in service, as opposed to what is claimed on paper. Nor-Shipping brings us together in the same room to have these discussions. I look forward to these vital conversations in Norway next year.”