In this fast-paced simulation, participants step into the role of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at Meridian Global Maritime, a container carrier operating 380 vessels handling 12% of Asia–Europe trade. Following sustained missile strikes in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 45 line-haul vessels must divert around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 3,500 nautical miles and 10–14 days per voyage.
Participants face sharp internal conflict: Fleet Operations wants to force the Suez route under armed convoy; Commercial Sales demands a 21-knot sprint neutralized with voluntary carbon offsets; Regulatory Affairs insists on unilateral slow steaming at 14 knots despite $18.5M per month in contractual delay penalties; and Marine Engineering advocates a collaborative Scope 3 compact with cargo owners, dual-ledger accounting, and modular dual-fuel retrofits funded by Cape surcharges.
Learners analyze operational telemetry, maritime insurance notices, IMO Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rules, and customer ESG audit mandates before defending their strategic directive in an AI-driven executive interrogation with CEO Lars Kjeldsen. Facilitators can use this case to explore Planetary Boundaries-Based Strategy, non-linear propulsion physics (V^3 fuel burn law), Scope 3 supply-chain governance, and the danger of paper offsets during acute disruption.
Learning objectives
- Highlight why non-linear physical constraints (V^3 cubic fuel consumption law) make operational acceleration an unsustainable 'speed trap.'
- Explore why voluntary paper carbon offsets fail legally and commercially under EU CSDDD, SBTi, and IMO CII regulatory frameworks.
- Examine how collaborative supply-chain agreements (buffer windows) align customer Scope 3 compliance with carrier operational realities.
- Demonstrate how crisis revenues (Cape disruption surcharges) can be ring-fenced to build permanent structural resilience through alternative-fuel retrofits.
- Contrast unilateral compliance sacrifice with multi-stakeholder value-chain adaptation.
About the authors
LiveCase Studio develops scenario-based simulations for management and executive education. In collaboration with leading industry experts and academic faculty, the studio creates high-stakes learning environments centered on real-world decision dynamics.
LiveCase Studio
LiveCase Studio designs immersive, decision-driven executive simulations that place leaders inside complex operational, regulatory, and ethical crises.
Who is this for?
Executive leaders, corporate sustainability directors, supply-chain strategists, and MBA/EMBA students tackling sustainability governance, crisis leadership, and operational strategy under severe external shocks.
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