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Source: Carbon Positive
International shipping giant Maersk has lopped up to 30 per cent off fuel consumption and carbon emissions by halving the cruising speed of many on its container ships and bulk carriers over the past two years. In an initiative that was initially prompted by skyrocketing oil prices in mid-2008, it’s fleet speed reduction programme is significant amid international moves to regulate emissions in the maritime sector.
Shipping is estimated to account for 3.3 per cent of global human-related greenhouse gas emissions, a share that is growing as world trade expands and other carbon-intensive sectors begin to rein in emissions growth.
Up to now, the industry had strived to operate ever faster for quicker delivery in a competitive market. But now shipping companies are finding that “slow steaming” can be more profitable given lower fuel costs – and making them more competitive. Cruising speeds of up to 25 knots are being pared back to 20 knots, or even as low as 12 knots in some cases at Maersk.
The practice is not welcomed by all shipping customers, for some of whom speed is the essence. But Maersk says it now has hundreds of ships on slow steaming and is considering a new variable schedule of charges to customers, based on speed of delivery. Part of the motivation for the company is the growing push to regulate shipping emissions which is not going to go away, Soren Stig Nielsen, Maersk’s director of environmental sustainability, says in a New York Times feature story.
Options being discussed at UN level for global regulation include a bunker fuel levy, mandatory energy efficiency design standards, and emissions trading schemes. A report for the European Commission released this week found a cap and trade scheme would be best way to reduce maritime emissions.
International shipping giant Maersk has lopped up to 30 per cent off fuel consumption and carbon emissions by halving the cruising speed of many on its container ships and bulk carriers over the past two years. In an initiative that was initially prompted by skyrocketing oil prices in mid-2008, it’s fleet speed reduction programme is significant amid international moves to regulate emissions in the maritime sector.
Shipping is estimated to account for 3.3 per cent of global human-related greenhouse gas emissions, a share that is growing as world trade expands and other carbon-intensive sectors begin to rein in emissions growth.
Up to now, the industry had strived to operate ever faster for quicker delivery in a competitive market. But now shipping companies are finding that “slow steaming” can be more profitable given lower fuel costs – and making them more competitive. Cruising speeds of up to 25 knots are being pared back to 20 knots, or even as low as 12 knots in some cases at Maersk.
The practice is not welcomed by all shipping customers, for some of whom speed is the essence. But Maersk says it now has hundreds of ships on slow steaming and is considering a new variable schedule of charges to customers, based on speed of delivery. Part of the motivation for the company is the growing push to regulate shipping emissions which is not going to go away, Soren Stig Nielsen, Maersk’s director of environmental sustainability, says in a New York Times feature story.
Options being discussed at UN level for global regulation include a bunker fuel levy, mandatory energy efficiency design standards, and emissions trading schemes. A report for the European Commission released this week found a cap and trade scheme would be best way to reduce maritime emissions.
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