Lloyd’s Register (LR) has completed an independent review of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation’s (GCMD) methodology for quantifying fuel savings from wind-assisted propulsion systems (WAPS), supporting efforts to accelerate investment in maritime energy-efficiency technologies.
The review comes as the Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET) becomes the first fund to adopt the second edition of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (SAT). The revised taxonomy recognises qualifying vessel retrofits and energy-efficiency technology installations that deliver measurable greenhouse gas emissions reductions, providing a framework to direct sustainable finance towards decarbonisation projects in the maritime sector.
GCMD’s methodology, independently reviewed by LR, provides a structured approach to measuring and attributing fuel savings to wind-assisted propulsion technology. It is intended to underpin the financing of WAPS projects supported by FEET, which uses a pay-as-you-save model to link shipowners’ payments to verified fuel and regulatory savings.
LR’s review concluded that the methodology aligns with relevant industry standards and incorporates current best practice for assessing WAPS performance. It examined the approach used to isolate fuel savings attributable to the technology, helping distinguish its contribution from other operational factors that can influence vessel fuel consumption.
The methodology draws on GCMD’s operational pilot with Eastern Pacific Shipping aboard the MV Pacific Sentinel. Over four months of trading in the Americas, GCMD collected 276 million data points and screened more than 3,000 on-off transitions. This analysis identified 203 instances where operating conditions remained sufficiently consistent to isolate the fuel savings delivered by the vessel’s wind-assisted propulsion system.
The findings provide an evidence-based foundation for assessing technology performance under real operating conditions, an important consideration for shipowners and financiers seeking confidence in the benefits of energy-efficiency investments.
Under FEET’s financing model, the methodology will establish how fuel savings are calculated for supported WAPS projects, with assumptions, data collection and analysis agreed contractually between the parties. Project data will then be audited and calculated savings independently verified, with the results determining shipowners’ payments under the pay-as-you-save arrangement.
Professor Lynn Loo, CEO, GCMD, said, “Even small gains in fuel efficiency can deliver meaningful fuel cost savings over a vessel’s operating life, but financing them depends on confidence in the numbers. Trust in data is what accelerates adoption. By placing robust MRV at the heart of FEET, and now aligning it with the revised taxonomy and an independently reviewed methodology, we hope to give shipowners and financiers confidence to deploy these solutions.”
Goh Chung Hun, Regional Commercial Manager (Singapore), Lloyd’s Register, said: “Who pays and who saves has long held back energy-saving investment in shipping. By linking payments to verified fuel savings, this work can help tackle that divide. LR’s independent review of GCMD’s methodology strengthens the evidence owners, charterers and financiers need to turn fuel-saving potential into commercial decisions.”
