Cargo ships are the primary mode of international trade today, carrying above ninety percent of all products. In fact, the screen you’re looking at right now very certainly travelled to you via water.

The majority of raw materials are transported over great distances by shipping. Transport of various commodities and finished goods in sea containers is also referred to as maritime freight. Green shipping is the application of the idea of sustainable development to the shipping industry while adding social and environmental responsibilities.

According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the world’s commercial fleet generates roughly 3% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, which is comparable to Germany’s yearly emissions. Despite its widespread use, the shipping sector only accounts for 3% of global CO2 emissions. However, with the global economy expected to expand by 130% by 2050, shipping emissions are expected to skyrocket along with the expansion of world trade. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that CO2 emissions may rise by 50 to 250 percent throughout that time. The business has other environmental issues besides CO2. Additionally, shipping must limit the quantity of additional hazardous materials that its freight carriers release into the environment, including nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides.

In order to combat this, shipping firms are looking for alternatives to the heavy fuel oils that are often used by carriers as well as strategies to remove toxic particles from exhaust emissions from ships.

Liquefied natural gas is one of the most apparent alternatives for heavy fuel oils (LNG). Around 150 ships already utilise LNG as fuel, and the number is increasing. This is partly because LNG boats generate almost no sulphur oxides (SOx) compared to diesel-powered ships. Sulphur oxides have been connected to both environmental phenomena and health issues (respiratory sickness) (acid rain). The shipping industry has imposed limits on important shipping routes all over the world in an effort to reduce its SOx emissions. The IMO has so far established four Emission Control Areas with 0.1 percent sulphur caps, spanning from the Baltic Sea to the shores of North America. The cap is in effect across the whole European Union. 2020 will see the implementation of new IMO standards requiring marine gasoline sulphur content to be less than 0.5 percent in all international waterways.

Within these restrictions, ships have two alternatives for reducing their sulphur emissions. The Large-scale Rectangular Marine Scrubber created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group is an example of desulfurization equipment that can be installed first. It reduces emissions from cheap heavy fuel oil to a level comparable to costlier low-sulphur fuels by removing SOx from the exhaust gases released by marine diesel engines.

Utilizing fuels with less sulphur, like LNG, is the second choice. In addition to reducing SOx emissions, LNG also emits less CO2 and nitrogen oxide, making it a preferred fuel for shipping businesses looking to minimise their environmental effect. Although LNG offers benefits over diesel, it also has disadvantages. In addition to being reliant on a significant bunkering infrastructure, LNG pollutes more than diesel in terms of one specific greenhouse gas: methane.

Some maritime operators are trying to follow the car industry’s transition to electric vehicles in order to reduce methane emissions, which are 30 times more powerful than CO2 in trapping heat in the atmosphere. In actuality, boats utilised power prior to diesel.

The motor industry’s significant advancements in lithium-ion battery technology have highlighted electricity as a viable fuel source for transportation. For long-distance ocean lines, however, frequent nightly charging is not an option, and the battery technology required to power large ships is not yet available. Another reference to the car sector, hybrid electric boats could be a solution.

The use of renewable fuels for shipping, which was formerly solely driven by the wind, has not yet fully recovered. But it’s certainly travelling in the right direction, supported by innovation.

Marex Media