The pros and cons of energy efficiency regulations

Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI)

EEDI stands for Energy Efficiency Design Index. It is an index quantifying the amount of carbon dioxide that a ship emits in relation to the goods transported. The actual EEDI of a vessel is called the “attained EEDI” and is calculated based on guidelines published by IMO.

The first phase of the EEDI was impacted by poor market conditions and high bunker costs, which led to the introduction of slow steaming across the industry and thus significantly reduced the installed power needs on board new vessels, MMMCZCS notes and points out that this reduction in installed power made it easy for new designs to comply with EEDI targets.

In later phases, the EEDI has proven to be an effective mechanism for promoting the adoption of energy efficiency technical measures. The MMMCZCS study shows that the introduction of dual-fuel vessels during EEDI Phase 2 is blurring the picture on energy efficiency improvements, as a better EEDI rating can be gained using the conversion factor for the fuels the vessel is capable of consuming, thus missing the opportunity for greater energy efficiency improvements.