Shipping Executive: We Can't Order New Tonnage While Carbon Rules Are So Uncertain by Ship & Bunker News Team Thursday January 21, 2021 Shipowners ordering new vessels today face a smorgasbord of options with little guidance over how their choice will be viewed in the decades to come. File Image / Pixabay A shipping executive has lifted the lid on the chronic uncertainty owners currently face over decarbonisation while pondering new additions to their fleet. Hamish Norton, president of Star Bulk Carriers, told a podcast this week that orders across the shipping industry were being held back by indecision over future regulation. “ We're not brave enough right now to order a newbuilding in the face of environmental regulations that are clearly, let's say, unstable.