Odfjell outlines key measures behind fleet-wide energy savings

The Norwegian chemical tanker operator has become the by-word for fleet-wide efficiency through the company’s programme launched in 2007 to cut costs and emissions.

Erik Hjortland, vice president of technology at Odfjell Ship Management, told RINA that the company has reduced the equivalent of 21 ships’ greenhouse gas emissions from its fleet of 77 vessels by utilising existing technologies to improve efficiency.

Operational and technological changes to the tanker operator’s fleet cut fuel costs by an independently corroborated margin of more than 50%.

“We have done that without putting any stress on the renewable electricity infrastructure in the world, which we would have to do if we had gone through alternative fuels,” said Hjortland.

He added: “I mention this because according to a Clarkson study [in 2025], 63% of the world’s fleet has not installed any energy saving devices. Imagine the potential, that our sector could have accomplished if everybody had made similar changes.”

The carrier’s fleet decarbonisation strategy combines