Global ship repair work spiked 7% in the first nine months of 2025 following a surge in aging ships along with installations of energy saving devices.

According to data released by Clarksons Research last year, following surges in vessel building in the first 10 years of this century, vessels are now approaching their third, fourth or fifth surveys and that, along with the race to install energy saving devices, has prompted the increase in demand for yard space.

China’s repair yards accounted for 17 of the top 20 busiest repair yards in the world with some 4,841 ships completing repairs, aggregating nearly US$5 billion, up 13.14% during up to and including the third quarter of last year.

Scrubber units fitted during 2019–2020 saw the last major upsurge of retrofit activity, however, decarbonisation is the new driver, with a rapid uptick in efficiency upgrade orders recorded following the postponement of the IMO’s Net Zero Framework (NZF) in October.

More than 540 ships completed efficiency upgrades in 2025, with many retrofitting carbon capture and storage systems and fuel conversions.

Hanwha’s Hyoung‑Seog Kim, argues that there are two types of retrofit projects, those driven by regulation and those that offer improved vessel performance.

Kim, head of the South Korean yard’s Marine Solution Business Division at Hanwha Power Systems and head of Commercial Ship Engineering and Technology at Hanwha Ocean, noted that the retrofit of ballast water treatment systems and scrubbers meet regulations on invasive species and SOx emissions respectively, and these are effectively cost driven.

This first type of retrofit is essentially a cost to the owner, with the main benefit being that the vessel owner or operator does not pay a penalty for non-compliance.

Retrofits that improve efficiency such as wind-assisted propulsion systems, air lubrication and any hydrodynamic device that reduces resistance and cuts fuel use and emissions will have a period where the capital cost of the system is repaid through reduced operating costs.

“I think verification of effectiveness is paramount. While the theoretical benefits are quite clear, the burden to prove real-world gains is on the technology providers,” said Kim, adding, “Until the firm contract is made, the primary hurdle is how we can provide the owner with confidence on the ROI.”

Container shipping is the leading shipping sector, as far as shipping’s decarbonisation is concerned, driven mainly by the demands of the sector’s customer base, which is largely consumer facing.

Chen Bing, president and CEO of independent ship owner Seaspan Corporation, believes that the decarbonisation process in shipping is not a revolution, but a gradual evolution.

“Facing further enhanced green decarbonisation targets and unclear green energy supply, we should focus more on feasible, affordable, and sustainable development,” added Chen.

Chen’s colleague at Seaspan Corporation, COO Torsten Holst Pedersen identified a third retrofitting sector, to add to Kim’s decarbonisation and regulation driven modernisation, that of safety systems.

Human error, according to many experts, is the major cause of maritime accidents, minimising the incidence of such incidents can save lives, the environment, and money by destressing watchkeeping.

For some years Seaspan has been actively retrofitting Orca AI technology to its ships as an aid to navigation, and Pedersen argues: “The system is specifically designed for use in challenging navigational conditions, such as low visibility and crowded waters, but the crew is encouraged to utilise it consistently for better situational awareness around the vessel.”

According to Pedersen, the Orca AI system uses thermal imaging too, so it can see in dense fog, in regions such as the East China Sea, “where you'll have vessels that are not necessarily on AIS or ‘forgot’ to switch on any lights because they're illegally fishing”.

In fog, said Pedersen, often you see fishing boat lights, and they look like they are on the horizon. “But when you see it with the thermal imaging, then you notice that there are loads of ships before you get to the light and you didn't notice them and you can't see which way they're going, but with Orca AI it gives you that information,” he explained.

Yarden Gross, CEO and founder of Orca AI, told The Naval Architect that the average installation time for Orca AI is six hours.

In addition, the system is easy to use, and Orca offers a crew training session lasting 15-20 minutes, followed by a five-minute computer-based training.