service employee walking on the Wallenius SOL RoRo vessel
Navigating regulation, risk and ROI

Practical guidance on balancing compliance and operational complexities while driving growth.

Maritime industry insights: how to navigate regulation, risk and ROI

Maritime leaders are balancing decarbonisation rules, increasing operational complexity and volatile economics – all while being expected to deliver returns.

We commissioned an independent survey of 225 maritime leaders to map how the industry is balancing regulatory pressure with operational reality. 

In the era of volatile economics and tightening mandates, short-term fixes create long-term liability and erode predictability and performance.

This report provides the insights you need to validate your strategy, help de-risk your investments and ensure your decisions are data-led and commercially defensible.

Cover eBook 50 great ways the maritime industry could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
video

At the helm with Utkilen: making confident decisions when predictability is the real challenge

In shipping, you commit for decades – and yet, regulations, fuels and technology can shift within a vessel’s lifetime. This creates real investment uncertainty. In this video, Utkilen’s CEO Siri‑Anne Mjåtvedt and Wärtsilä’s Roger Holm discuss how leaders manage that predictability gap with lifecycle thinking, flexibility and round‑the‑clock support.

A practical guide to steering through regulation, risk and ROI

Decisions you make today will shape vessel competitiveness for years – yet the environment is becoming harder to predict. Regulations are tightening, technology choices are multiplying, and stakeholders increasingly expect progress on emissions without sacrificing performance.

When priorities collide, it’s easy to default to short-term fixes that look safe now but cost more later.

What you need is clarity: insight into what your peers are most concerned about - and what’s working in practice.

This can help you set direction with confidence and align compliance, operational reliability and long-term returns.

Key findings

Business pressure

42%

of surveyed leaders say they struggle to balance investment costs with meeting return on investment (ROI)

Regulatory focus

55%

of surveyed leaders say ensuring compliance with maritime regulations is a top priority

What helps leaders navigate complexity

88%

of surveyed leaders agree that service agreements significantly enhance operational efficiency and fleet uptime

This report will give you:

  • Maritime industry insights: Explore which pressures your peers find most disruptive today, and how they show up in real decision‑making.
  • Practical advice: Discover data-driven ways to reduce uncertainty and comply with decarbonisation-focused maritime regulations.
  • Guidance: Identify where operational predictability is most at risk, and what leaders can do to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime.  
  • Strategic ROI: Understand how to strengthen long term returns while meeting decarbonisation expectations.

This download gives you a fact based view of what leaders are prioritising and the practical actions that help protect compliance, uptime and long term value.

It also shows why many operators are turning to trusted, long term service partnerships to bring more predictability through data, expertise and lifecycle support

Frequently asked questions

What does the report cover - and who is it for?

The report summarises findings from a third-party survey of 225 maritime leaders and explores the pressures they say are most disruptive today, grouped around regulatory compliance, operational risk and ROI.

It then outlines practical, data-driven ways leaders can navigate these pressures — including approaches to compliance reporting, risk reduction and improving long-term returns through a lifecycle view of vessel performance.

It’s designed primarily for CEOs, C‑suite leaders and ship owners who need to set priorities and make defensible decisions under uncertainty.

What makes this report relevant for maritime CEOs and ship owners right now?

Many maritime leaders are facing demanding decarbonisation expectations while also dealing with rising complexity in technology choices, operations and stakeholder requirements.

Yet, as decisions about compliance, risk mitigation and ROI become increasingly interconnected, choices that improve efficiency and uptime can also support emissions performance and protect long-term value.

This report highlights how the current landscape is affecting leadership priorities, and explores how long-term OEM partnerships and service-based approaches can help reduce uncertainty.

How does the report help me avoid costly missteps in compliance, uptime and ROI?

The report explains how short-term fixes can increase long-term cost and risk when regulations tighten and operational complexity grows.

It outlines practical ways to strengthen decision-making using better operational data, proactive maintenance approaches, and lifecycle planning that links compliance confidence, reliability, and long-term value.

If you need more clarity on prioritisation – and what “good” looks like across regulation, risk and ROI – this report can give you a structured starting point.

Navigate regulation, risk and ROI with confidence - practical guidance for maritime leaders

How our customers are navigating complexity

Viking Line ferries
Viking Line ferries
Viking Line operates ferries in the Baltic Sea region. Wärtsilä’s expert support helps keep operations smooth and efficient.
LNG carrier Dapeng Princess at the terminal
Dapeng Princess LNG carrier
An engine problem takes your ship out of service – who do you call? CLSICO called Wärtsilä, who fixed its LNG carrier in...
MMS Co., Ltd.
By spotting a lubricating system anomaly, Wärtsilä Expert Insight service prevented tens of thousands of euros worth of damage to an...

Find out more

ship in the fjord
10 Oct 2023 · Article
7 min read
EU Emissions Trading System: how to understand it and save money
Get four top tips on the EU Emissions Trading System that will help you to...
Decarbonisation and future fuels
Decarbonisation and future fuels
Container ship in the harbor on the quay
20 Aug 2024 · Article
6 min read
Three simple but effective ways to prevent vessel downtime
Looking for easy ways to avoid unscheduled vessel downtime? Here are three common causes...
Lifecycle services
Lifecycle services
View from bridge from Harmony of the Seas
3 Dec 2025 · Article
6 min read
From big data to lifecycle optimisation – 4 trends that will affect shipping in 2026
Take a deep dive into four trends and technologies that our...
Decarbonisation and future fuels
Decarbonisation and future fuels

When you order a ship today, you don’t know the changes you’ll need to make over its lifetime. The lack of predictability makes decision‑making far more complex.

Siri‑Anne Mjåtvedt, CEO, Utkilen

-----------

The contents on this page were drafted with the help of AI. The contents have been reviewed for accuracy by Wärtsilä experts.