The majority of shipping companies want centralised standards to measure fuel consumption.

Research carried out by the University College London's Energy Institute (UCL-Energy) found that 87 per cent of respondents thought it was important to measure emissions with a standard methodology. However, only one-third of those questioned believed it should be a mandatory requirement.

Some companies advised they had already set up a team to improve the efficiency of their fleet, while 71 per cent felt that the subject was a boardroom agenda point. 

97 per cent of businesses thought standardisation would be useful to identify potential cost-saving opportunities, while a further 67 per cent would use it for target-setting purposes. Meanwhile, only a small proportion of firms admitted they were not monitoring fuel consumption at all.

Report authors Isabelle Rojon and Tristan Smith commented: "The results highlighted the need that any measurement methodology be inclusive of all stakeholder's measurement technologies and techniques can be applied to assess any retrofit technology."

The study collated information from 130 ship owners, operators, charters and management companies based mainly in Europe and Asia.