2021 World of Shipping Portugal : an International Research Conference on Maritime Affairs Editorial

Currently, the shipping industry is at a crossroads. Although it has overcome numerous technological barriers and finance and economic crises over the years, the industry is facing its most prominent challenge, which rests on finding the most feasible solutions to deal with industry decarbonisation until 2050. Within this scope, the current Editorial addresses the issue of sulphur emissions that the industry faced with the entrance of the sulphur regulation on 1 January 2020 and draws attention to the road that the industry players need to cover to decarbonise the shipping industry. Innovative measures like the Poseidon Principles or the Sea Cargo Charter are in place, and industry players are coming together to find feasible solutions. Within this regulatory environment, the shipping industry also had to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, some market segments, such as the container and dry bulk ones, have managed to survive, which is not the case with the tanker market. Altogether, these events draw the industry to deal with the market, technology, and regulatory challenges and risks whose outcome is yet to be seen. The Editorial concludes by presenting briefly the papers published in this Special Issue, which were selected among the ones presented at the 2021 World of Shipping Portugal, an international research conference on maritime affairs, 28-29 January 2021, that took place online from Portugal to the World due to the Covid-19 pandemic.