Anchoring current arrival practices in rhetoric: A study of just-in-time arrival of tanker ships

• Challenges to implement Just-in-time to reduce maritime emissions, relate to control. • Pioneering how institutional rhetoric can offer insights into sustainability challenges. • Empiric evidence that Just-in-time arrival to port occurs in tanker shipping. The shipping industry urgently requires new ways to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this, literature has identified the necessity for integrating technical and operational measures, which require organization through management strategies. In recent years, Just-in-time (JIT) has been discussed as a potential solution to cut fuel consumption by slowing down ships and having them arrive just-in-time at ports, instead of waiting at anchor for berth. Analyzing this option requires defining the unit of change, a task that can benefit from institutional rhetoric to provide structure, highlight institutionalized myths, and identify potential avenues for implementing change. This study takes an empirical approach, incorporating extensive interviews and field observations. Through this, it becomes possible to identify four arguments against the use of JIT and two counterarguments in its favor. The concepts of trust and distrust become useful constructs in this argumentation concerning control and external circumstances. This study contributes to the advancement of sustainable practices in the maritime shipping industry by shedding light on JIT as a widely discussed fuel-efficiency strategy that demands further investigation.