The prioritization of alternative energy sources for sustainable shipping is the theme of the latest study by PortEconomics co-director Theo Notteboom – along with Ziaul Haque Munim, Mojahid Chowdhury and Hasan Mahbub Tusher.
The research assesses seven energy sources for shipping with a view to ranking their prospects based on sustainability as well as identifying the energy transition criteria. Data were collected from maritime industry experts, including seafarers, shipping company executives, government representatives, and academics.
The Bayesian Best-Worst Method (BWM) was used for ranking nine criteria related to the suitability and viability of the considered alternative energy sources. Next, the PROMETHEE-GAIA method is applied for priority analysis of the seven energy alternatives.
The findings reveal that capital cost, alternative energy price, and safety are the most critical factors for the alternative energy transition in Bangladesh.
Apart from the benchmark HFO, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), HFO-Wind, and LNG-Wind hybrids are considered the most viable alternatives.
The full authors’ paper, which is now published in the scholarly journal Marine Policy – is freely available via PortEconomics here.
