Sustainable Maritime: From Electrification to Education

From electrifying ships and ports to creating a stronger pipeline of maritime engineers, the global maritime industry is facing significant challenges in moving towards more sustainable operational practices to align with international sustainable development goals.

Maritime is comprised of both shipping and port aspects. IEEE has a number of committees and programs associated with maritime technical issues, each working on specific topical areas in their respective domains.  An IEEE SA Industry Connections activity has been under way with the goal to bring together these areas of domain expertise and build a collaborative IEEE community of interest around maritime issues, and investigate opportunities for new standards, reports, events and thought leadership to support these ambitious goals of the maritime industry.

A number of trends are shaping the sustainable maritime industry in 2026.

1. Reducing ship and port emissions – The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is requiring countries to reduce ship and port carbon emissions. In April 2025, the IMO announced plans to establish “a legally binding framework to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships globally, aiming for net-zero emissions by or around, i.e close to 2050.” According to the IMO, “The IMO Net-zero Framework is the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and GHG pricing across an entire industry sector.”
2. Achieving compliance – The IMO regulations notably impact the United States, all 27 countries in the European Union, and three affiliate countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as United Kingdom. Those countries are obliged to comply with these new emissions rules, which, among others, means they need to develop an electrification plan for the ships coming to ports and are subject to regulations by 2030.
3. Becoming electrified – Reducing emissions, at the end of the day, means that ports and ships are subject to electrification. Achieving this electrification will be no small feat. The challenge is not just to distribute power from the port to the ship, but from the power grid to the port. With that in mind, there has been a lot of discussion about whether there needs to be so-called “port distribution networks” to deliver that power from the grid. This will be an essential issue to study this year.
4. Transitioning to direct current (DC) systems – Renewables and batteries need to merge into all grids in both ships and ports. Compounding matters, batteries are large, heavy and costly and dependent on rare earth materials. Further research will be needed to address these systems. 
5. Dealing with the saltwater environment – Ocean water causes corrosion on electrical conductive systems. To address the challenges, engineers will aim to identify and find models and mechanisms to develop solutions in compliance with the electrification plan.
6. Boosting the engineering pipeline – On Jan. 12, consulting firm McKinsey & Co. published a report stating that the maritime ecosystem faces “critical talent gaps.” The report is attracting media attention from outlets such as National Defense Magazine. The magazine cites dates from the U.S. Department of Labor, stating “…an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 additional maritime workers will be required to satisfy demand over the next decade, and the labor gap could widen further still if the demand for ships increases.” The maritime industry will be developing strategies to address this further. 
7. Blending AI with practical experience – While artificial intelligence promises to support many of the maritime challenges, many students are lacking the background and fundamental research needed to address real-world problems. There are signs of a renewed push for solid backgrounds in mathematics, physics and other disciplines.
8. Managing the threat of global wars – Electrical grids could be targeted during wars, or even cybersecurity attacks, causing major disruptions for ships and ports and, in turn, the global supply chain. A Sept.14, 2025, article in the BBC highlighted just how at risk the maritime industry has become for hackers. According to London-based commercial law firm HFW, “data shows that such hacking is a growing problem for the shipping sector, both attacks on ships and ports. It says that between 2022 and 2023 the cost of dealing with an attack doubled to an average of $550,000 (£410,000).”

In 2025, IEEE, IEEE SA, and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on issues including maritime electrification and sustainability via standards development, joint workshops, publications, and more. 

In addition, IEEE is seeking to grow the IEEE cross-collaborative community of interest in maritime sustainability issues. This initiative brings together existing IEEE committees to share information and develop a work plan in support of IEEE sustainability related support to the maritime industry. Based on the needs and goals identified in the work plan, a follow-on activity may include identifying and inviting external organizations for collaboration in achieving mutually beneficial goals.

There is no question that reducing carbon emissions, moving toward electrification systems, improving and growing the education ranks, and achieving other sustainable goals will be paramount for the global maritime industry in 2026. By placing resources in each of these areas and staying aware of the latest innovations, the maritime industry is poised to manage those challenges and become even stronger. 

IEEE SA encourages participation from industry and governmental organizations involved in the operations and management of the shipping industry, maritime system providers, and port operation.

To learn more about IEEE SA’s work in sustainable maritime activities and to explore opportunities to participate in standards development, please visit the IEEE SA website and the IEEE SA’s Sustainable Maritime page.