Our first research area

Maritime Decarbonization

Developing more detailed ways to measure the emissions of maritime transport, using real operational data on vessels and cargo.

The challenge

From the total to the detail of each shipment.

Today, most estimates of shipping emissions start from averages per ship or per route. Our approach goes into the detail: every leg of the voyage, every stay in port, every cargo on board. That is the level at which you can see where emissions actually arise, and where they can be reduced.

Every vessel its size, its engines and the state of its hull since the last dry-docking
Every voyage leg the distance, the speed and how long the ship spent in each port
Every cargo on board its weight, its type and the extra energy of reefer containers

Our approach

From average factors to the real voyage.

Conventional estimate

Fleet average × distance × cargo

Useful at a high level, but it can flatten operational differences.

DatamarLab approach

Voyage leg
Port call
Cargo on board

Real voyage, calculated leg by leg

Detailed operational data linked to the cargo carried on each leg.

What the report reveals

Six questions the report answers.

Scientific research needs a method that can be applied in the same way to any scenario. In the first report, we applied ours to a full rotation from South America to Asia.

Fuel and emissions
How much the voyage burned and emitted, tank-to-wake and well-to-wake, and its intensity per TEU.
Where emissions concentrate
The weight of the South American coastal calls and the Asian port calls against the ocean crossing.
Each shipment’s footprint
Each cargo accounts only for the legs it was on board.
Reefer containers
How much of the voyage’s emissions come from reefers.
Time in port
How long the ship spent at berth and what it emitted standing still, against sailing.
Alternative fuels
Emissions, GFI and cost of the voyage on LNG, methanol, e-methanol and e-ammonia.

Read the results in the Executive Report, Vol. 1

Research in progress

From one voyage to a 50-vessel fleet in the coming months.

Single-voyage study
One voyage analysed leg by leg, per shipment.
Demonstrated
50-vessel study
50 ships, transshipment and biofuels.
In progress
Next frontier
Maritime and Port Analytics.
Next streams

Who it is relevant to

Evidence for decisions across the system.

Shipping lines
Understand operational and voyage-level emission patterns.
Terminals and ports
See how port and berth operations connect to journeys.
Cargo owners
Build a more detailed view of transported cargo emissions.
Regulators and policymakers
Ground standards and policy in transparent methods.

Team

Scientific rigor. Shipping in our DNA.

Chief Scientist

Prof. Walter Teixeira Lima Jr., PhD

Professor at Unifesp and researcher in artificial cognitive systems, leading DatamarLab’s scientific program with rigor, transparency and practical relevance.

Teaches: Science and Technology at Unifesp’s Institute of Science and Technology, and in its graduate program in Technological Innovation
Researches: Technology, communication and artificial cognitive systems
Postdoctoral: Human-Computer Symbiosis at the University of São Paulo (USP), and Cognitive Systems and Communication at the University of Aveiro, Portugal
Leads: Doctoral researchers from USP and Unifesp working on complex systems and Collaborative Decision-Making in decarbonization and shipping

CIO, Datamar

Marcos Silva, M.Sc.

The mind behind DatamarLab, CIO at Datamar and a technology executive in data intelligence for foreign trade and maritime logistics, leading the databases and platforms that support decisions for companies, government authorities and trade agents.

Studied: Master’s in Production Engineering (Optimization and Strategic Decision-Making), Universidade Federal Fluminense; MBA in Management and Technology; Advanced Board Leaders Program, ISE Business School
Researches: Strategic prioritization in digital product development, and multicriteria methods combined with generative AI
Member of: DAMA International and The Operational Research Society

CEO, Datamar

Andrew Lorimer, MA

CEO of Datamar since 2007, leading strategy, product development and international expansion, with a focus on turning complex trade data into practical intelligence for decisions across the maritime and logistics sectors.

Experience: 29 years in shipping, international trade and data intelligence, including six years at Lloyd’s List Intelligence developing global maritime databases for oil majors and large shipping and trading companies
Studied: Economics; Master’s degree, Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, UK)
At Datamar: Since 2005, and earlier from 1997 to 1998; CEO since 2007

Partnerships

Partnerships that extend the research.

In each research area, DatamarLab seeks partners who extend the reach of the work. In decarbonization, we partner with the RCGI-USP Carbon Registry, Brazil’s first national carbon credit registry, based at the University of São Paulo’s Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation.

Visit the RCGI-USP Carbon Registry