Why the IMO Net Zero Framework delay must be used to prepare technology, business models and people.
BIMCO Regulatory Manager Katerina Elikonida Maroudi spoke to four industry experts and asked them to reflect on what the one-year delay to the IMO Net Zero Framework means for technology, commercial strategy, offshore operations, people, and collaboration.
The IMO’s decision to delay the implementation of the Net Zero Framework (NZF) by one year has triggered mixed reactions across the maritime sector. Some view the postponement as breathing space, others as a source of additional uncertainty at a critical moment. Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that this delay must not be misinterpreted as a pause. Instead, it should be used as a strategic window to consolidate knowledge, mature technologies, reinforce safety, align regulatory clarity and prepare our people for a transition that is too complex to rush and too critical to postpone.
The path to net zero is not merely a regulatory development. It is a systemic reshaping of maritime operations, investment decisions, supply chains and human competencies. And it demands coordinated readiness.
