In maritime transport, progress towards a reduction in the environmental
impacts, and responses to more recent calls for corporate social responsibility
(CSR) have been slow and geographically highly uneven. In
this paper the multi-level perspective of transition studies is used as an analytical
setting to understand the drivers and barriers for the environmental upgrading of
maritime transport in the Baltic Sea region. The specific focus of the analysis
is on energy questions in the shipping industry. A case study methodology is
followed in gathering and analysis of the data. With a company case, a
possible path to biofuel use in maritime transport is illustrated; and, in the
light of the sustainability transition framework, the potential barriers that
new renewable energy niches are currently facing - before they can become
mainstream technologies - are discussed. The results show that at a landscape level, low fossil fuels prices
reduce the economic profitability of using non-fossil energy sources in
maritime transport, and inhibit the development of related infrastructure. At
a regime-level,
the limited demand for low-emission, non-fossil fuel based maritime transport
from the side of the cargo-owners, lack of interest, and maritime
regulations that do not currently support greenhouse gas reduction or energy efficiency
strongly enough, hinder the transition.  The
paper ends with a discussion and a conclusions section, summarizing the research
and highlighting policy implications.