Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The Schulte Group has unveiled its latest venture, Ocean Opt, a company designed to provide a comprehensive, one-stop solution for emissions management. This initiative is geared toward ship managers, owners, and charterers, offering independent consultancy, data management, and platform-based services tailored for fleet performance optimization, emission trading systems, and regulatory compliance, including the forthcoming FuelEU Maritime regulation.
Ocean Opt epitomizes the Schulte Group’s dedication to sustainability and innovation, a timely move as the maritime industry faces increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable progress toward climate neutrality. The introduction of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating scheme and Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) in 2023 marked significant steps in this direction. Additionally, the shipping industry’s inclusion in the European Union’s emissions trading system (EU ETS), effective this year, is expected to have a substantial financial impact starting in 2025. As the industry grapples with EU ETS adjustments, the impending FuelEU Maritime regulation looms, requiring monitoring plans for ships calling at EU ports to be submitted to authorized verifiers by the end of August.
Ian Beveridge, CEO of the Schulte Group, emphasized the urgency and importance of these initiatives. “Efforts to decarbonize the shipping industry keep intensifying. Within the Schulte Group, we have over 300 vessels under contract for performance optimization. In addition, we already had 200 vessels under EU ETS subscription before the 2024 implementation of the EU ETS directive and we see more and more requests coming in from the market. This is why Ocean Opt has been established. Our aim is to offer our services to a broader client base, including, for example, ship owners who do their ship management in-house,” he stated.
Anil Jacob, Managing Director of Ocean Opt, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the company’s mission to simplify the complexities of emissions management. “Decarbonizing the shipping industry is here to stay and rightly so. Building on our team’s expertise, Ocean Opt’s focus lies on empowering our clients to navigate the complexities of emissions tracking, reduction, and compliance with ease,” he said.
Jacob further detailed the support behind their services, noting the collaboration with MariApps Marine Solutions. “All our services are supported by our bespoke performance analysis and emissions management platform that is based on our fleet performance and emissions monitoring software developed by our cooperation partner MariApps Marine Solutions. The more precise the data, the more realistic and cost-efficient are our recommendations for the concrete actions needed to optimize performance, reduce emissions, reach compliance and, most importantly, stay competitive,” he concluded.
