Paper Title
THE RIGHT CHOICE OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN SHIPPING: A STUDY OF BIOFUELS FROM INDUSTRIAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract
With ever increasing trading volume transported by sea, global carbon emissions are moving in the same increasing direction. Hence, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is enforcing various environment protection initiatives, like IMO 2020, revised IMO Strategy, etc. to the maritime industry to reduce its carbon footprint. This research paper explores the environmental considerations that ship owners would take to select their specific type of alternative fuel, with special focus in theadoption of biofuel. No previous studies have holistically investigated the adoption of alternative fuel from an industrial perspective. Hence, this research paper addresses the research gap by looking from the industrial player perspective via conducting quantitative survey as well as qualitative interviews. A survey questionnaire is administered to different stakeholdersworking in the maritime industry, including but not limited to ship owners, ship managers, cargo owners, classification societies, freight forwarders, etc.3 Interviews are also conducted to provide insight for the decision on adopting different alternative fuels. It is found that biofuel rated poorer than both methanol and ammonia in the feasibility to become an alternative fuel option. The highest rated challenging factor in adopting biofuel is the production and availability of the fuel. In terms of environmental consideration, a majority of 48% respondents rated “lower toxicity” than traditional fuels to be the most beneficial factor, whereas the lower emissions than traditional fuels to be the least beneficial factor. The greatest challenge of adopting biofuel is the availability and scalability of the fuel, and hence more fiscal policies and government spending must be in place to support and fund research trials to tackle the issue. Keywords - Alternative fuel, biofuel, right choice, green shipping