For African shipping, the IMO Net-Zero Framework should not be understood only as a future carbon rule. It is also a technology deadline.
The International Maritime Organization’s proposed framework is designed to push international shipping toward lower greenhouse-gas emissions through two linked mechanisms: a progressively stricter marine fuel standard and a global GHG emissions pricing mechanism. The draft legal text was approved at MEPC 83 in April 2025, but formal adoption was not completed at the extraordinary MEPC session in October 2025. Negotiations have continued through 2026, with Member States working toward renewed consideration later in the year.
That distinction matters. The framework is not yet a binding final regime. But the direction of travel is clear enough for vessel owners, operators, ports, regulators and maritime technology providers to start asking a more practical question: what capabilities will shipping companies need if carbon performance becomes measurable, reportable, verifiable and financially consequential?
The IMO framework is not only about fuel
Much of the public discussion around maritime decarbonisation focuses on alternative fuels: methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, biofuels, LNG pathways and other lower-emission energy options. Fuel choice is crucial, but it is only one layer of the transition.
The proposed IMO Net-Zero Framework would assess ships using a metric called GHG Fuel Intensity (GFI), expressed in grams of CO₂-equivalent per megajoule of energy used. Importantly, the calculation is intended to cover greenhouse-gas emissions across the fuel lifecycle — from production and supply through use onboard the vessel — commonly described as a well-to-wake approach.
This means that compliance will increasingly depend on data: what fuel was used, where it came from, its certified emissions characteristics, how much energy the ship consumed and how vessel operations affected overall performance.
The proposed framework principally applies to ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above, subject to specified exceptions. IMO has stated that ships in this size category account for more than 85% of CO₂ emissions from international shipping.
Carbon regulation is becoming a data problem
Once emissions performance has a compliance value and potentially a financial cost, the quality of vessel data becomes commercially important.
A shipowner cannot optimise what is not measured. A fleet manager cannot reliably compare vessels when fuel, engine and voyage data are fragmented. A regulator cannot verify claims without credible records. And an operator cannot make a sound retrofit or fuel-switching decision without understanding where inefficiencies actually occur.
This is why the technology implications of the IMO framework deserve more attention.
The decarbonisation conversation is moving from broad targets toward systems that require measurement, traceability and verification. IMO’s 2026 work programme has included further discussion of “chain of custody” models for tracking fuel origin and movement through supply chains, with the purpose of ensuring that emissions attributes can be properly traced and verified.
That is not simply an environmental accounting exercise. It points toward a shipping market in which trusted operational and fuel data could influence compliance exposure, financing decisions, chartering preferences and investment priorities.
Africa’s first decarbonisation investment may be digital
African shipowners and maritime operators do not all begin this transition from the same technological baseline as the largest global fleets.
Many operators face constrained access to capital, ageing assets, fragmented data systems, manual reporting processes and limited integration between shipboard and shore-based operations. In that environment, the immediate answer cannot always be “replace the vessel” or “install a completely new propulsion system.”
A more realistic first step is to improve visibility.
Digital monitoring, sensor systems, connected engine data, voyage analytics, fuel-consumption tracking and automated reporting can help operators understand where emissions and costs are being generated before committing scarce capital to major hardware changes.
This does not eliminate the need for cleaner fuels or new propulsion technologies. It improves the quality of the decisions that come before them.
Africa’s first decarbonisation technology may therefore not be a new engine. It may be the digital infrastructure that tells an operator where fuel is being wasted, what that inefficiency costs and which intervention produces the greatest operational improvement.
Five technology layers African shipping should be building
1. Measurement
The foundation is reliable data collection. Fuel use, engine load, speed, distance, voyage conditions and other operating parameters need to be captured consistently enough to establish a credible performance baseline.
For some vessels this may involve advanced sensors and integrated automation systems. For others, the starting point may simply be replacing fragmented manual records with structured digital data collection. The level of sophistication can vary; the need for trustworthy information does not.
2. Analysis
Raw vessel data has little value if operators cannot interpret it. Fleet dashboards, analytics tools and performance models can help identify abnormal fuel consumption, inefficient operating patterns, maintenance problems and differences between comparable voyages or vessels.
This is also where artificial intelligence may become useful — not as a substitute for engineering expertise, but as a tool for detecting patterns, forecasting maintenance needs and supporting faster operational decisions when sufficient quality data is available.
3. Optimisation
Not every emissions reduction requires a new fuel.
Voyage planning, speed management, hull and propeller condition, machinery efficiency, trim optimisation, maintenance timing and route decisions can all affect fuel consumption. Digital systems can help operators determine which interventions are commercially sensible for a particular vessel and trading pattern.
For African operators working with limited capital, this is particularly important. Efficiency gains can become part of a staged transition rather than waiting for a full fleet replacement cycle.
4. Verification and reporting
As maritime climate regulation becomes more sophisticated, simply claiming an emissions improvement will not be enough. Data needs to be credible, traceable and suitable for regulatory verification.
The proposed IMO approach to sustainable fuel certification and lifecycle emissions reinforces this point. Shipping companies will increasingly need systems that connect fuel records, vessel consumption and emissions calculations into defensible reporting processes.
This creates an opportunity for African maritime technology companies, classification partners, software providers and regulators to develop locally relevant compliance infrastructure rather than relying entirely on imported systems.
5. Decision support
The most valuable technology layer may ultimately be the one that helps management decide where to spend money.
Should a vessel be retrofitted? Should an operator change fuel? Is poor fuel performance caused by machinery condition, route choice, speed, hull fouling or operating practice? Does a particular investment reduce emissions enough to justify its cost?
When the regulatory environment places a financial consequence on carbon intensity, these questions become balance-sheet questions as much as engineering questions.
The technology gap could become a cost gap
One risk for Africa is that the global maritime decarbonisation transition moves faster than the region’s ability to digitise its fleets, ports and compliance systems.
If that happens, African operators could face two disadvantages at once: the cost of adopting lower-emission technologies and the cost of operating without the information needed to use those technologies efficiently.
The reverse is also possible.
African maritime markets can use the transition to build new capabilities in emissions monitoring, fleet analytics, fuel traceability, compliance software, retrofit engineering, port energy systems and operational optimisation. The proposed IMO Net-Zero Fund is intended, among other objectives, to support innovation, infrastructure, capacity building and technology transfer, particularly in developing countries.
The strategic question is therefore not only whether Africa can comply with global maritime decarbonisation rules. It is whether African companies can build part of the technology stack that makes compliance possible.
Ports will also become part of the digital carbon chain
Vessels cannot decarbonise in isolation.
Ports will increasingly interact with fuel certification, bunkering records, energy infrastructure, vessel-arrival optimisation, shore power, cargo-flow efficiency and emissions data. That means port digitalisation and shipping decarbonisation should not be treated as separate policy agendas.
For Nigeria and other African maritime economies, investments in port community systems, interoperable data standards and digital vessel-port coordination can therefore support more than trade facilitation. They can become part of the infrastructure needed for lower-carbon shipping.
The deadline is technological before it is regulatory
The final form and timing of the IMO Net-Zero Framework are still being negotiated. Following the adjournment of the October 2025 adoption session, IMO continued discussions in 2026, with further intersessional work and MEPC 85 scheduled ahead of a possible resumed extraordinary session.
African operators should not confuse regulatory uncertainty with an absence of direction.
Whether individual thresholds, pricing levels or implementation details change, international shipping is moving toward tighter emissions accountability. The vessels and companies best positioned for that environment will be those that can see their performance clearly, test interventions intelligently and produce data that others can trust.
That is why the IMO Net-Zero Framework is also a technology deadline.
For African maritime companies, the opportunity is not simply to purchase whatever decarbonisation technology the rest of the world develops. It is to build the monitoring tools, analytics, compliance systems, optimisation platforms and operational knowledge that make the transition work in African conditions — and eventually export those solutions beyond the continent.
At AD Marina, our focus is on that intersection: where maritime operations, regulation and technology meet. Navigating the next era of shipping will require more than new fuels. It will require better information, better systems and solutions designed for the realities of African maritime operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the IMO Net-Zero Framework already entered into force?
No. The draft framework was approved at MEPC 83 in April 2025, but the extraordinary session convened for adoption in October 2025 was adjourned. IMO negotiations have continued in 2026.
What are the two main parts of the proposed framework?
The proposed framework combines a goal-based marine fuel standard designed to reduce GHG fuel intensity with a global pricing mechanism for maritime greenhouse-gas emissions.
Why does technology matter for compliance?
Because emissions performance increasingly depends on reliable fuel, energy and operational data. Measurement, analytics, traceability, verification and reporting systems can help operators understand and demonstrate their performance.
What should African operators do first?
Before making major capital decisions, operators should establish reliable vessel-performance baselines, improve fuel and operational data collection, identify avoidable inefficiencies and assess which digital monitoring and reporting capabilities will be needed for future compliance.
