“We all know that adoption of wind propulsion has been held back by lack of trust in data,” one leading pioneer in wind tech told me the other day. It is true, and it is gratifying that our sister title, SplashTech, has been able to report so many class-backed data showing fuel savings for a wide variety of technology onboard – class must been making hay these days with shipping’s green transformation. With verifiable data, the sales pitch ought to be easier than ever right now with bunker prices at record highs – the return on investment for a widget even saving a percent on a fuel bill should be rapid and visible. I do get frustrated, however, at shipping’s failure to share data findings. We could be a heck of a long way toward meeting whatever goals the International Maritime Organization has penned down for the industry if the big boys were more willing to impart some of their findings from their exhaustive research. Take Cargill, for instance, one of the industry’s most important shippers. The commodities giant has trialled a variety of different wind propulsion systems in recent years – were it to reveal how each technology performed, it’d help demystify the confusion surrounding the sheer volume of similar fuel-saving stuff being marketed. The tech providers do not help themselves when they, all too often, go for a nice, round number when making fuel claims. Hats off to UK consultancy Thetius for their new 43-page report entitled The 5-10% Illusion which observed how vendors keep making unverified fuel savings claims – almost always in the 5 to 10% range – and shipowners are losing trust. The so-called 5-10% problem in the shipping industry, where frequent claims of minor fuel savings by technology vendors often lack transparent, empirical proof, has created a credibility gap, leading shipowners to become increasingly sceptical of new efficiency solutions, the report argued. “The result is a market that optimises for marketing numbers rather than verifiable, repeatable improvements,” the study notes, adding: “The 5-10% claim has become a red flag for many owners.” Contents Front page: Bunker tightnessEditor’s Comment: Vendors’ misleading numbersMarch 2026 ReviewMarkets TankersMarkets Dry BulkMarkets ContainersAnalyst AbstractMonthly BrokerFeature: AI’s pitfallsInterview: GeoServe’s Sanjay KapoorDataOpinion: War-time messaging TagsSplash Extra March 2026