POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Affairs and Policy
This article is part of the Research TopicChallenges and Opportunities for Decarbonizing the Maritime IndustryView all 15 articles
Seafarers in Shipping's Decarbonization: Role Transformation, Protection Deficits, and Just Transition Pathways
Provisionally accepted
Juntao Gao*
Jing Zhou- Shanghai Maritime University, pudong, China
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[Abstract] The shipping industry is undergoing a critical phase of green transition, in which seafarers constitute the core driving force of decarbonization. As this transition deepens, seafarers' roles are undergoing a dual transformation: from reliance on traditional mechanical labour to functions empowered by digital and intelligent technologies, and from exclusively shipboard operations to integrated cooperation with shore-based control and support. However, seafarers are confronted with multiple protection deficits throughout the green transition, with issues of energy justice becoming increasingly prominent. Specifically, complex combinations of alternative fuels intensify seafarers' operational burdens, safety risks associated with clean fuels threaten their physical and mental health, and the fragmented landscape of global emissions regulations significantly heightens their exposure to legal liability. In response, this paper advocates for the Just Transition principle as the guiding framework: adopting fixed-route operation models to alleviate seafarers' fuel-handling pressures, implementing specialized training schemes to mitigate health risks, and promoting a cautious application of criminal liability and reasonable exemptions for seafarers within evolving decarbonization-related liability regimes. This paper provides a valuable contribution to advancing the global shipping decarbonization process while balancing environmental sustainability with the protection of seafarers' rights and interests.
Keywords: alternative fuels, Energy justice, Green transition, Just Transition, Seafarers' rights
Received: 13 Jan 2026; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Gao and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juntao Gao
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