World Maritime News
WMNF 26/07/2023
ICS and IAPH launch clean energy marine hubs to support shipping decarbonization
Addressing challenges in infrastructure, including production, storage, and transport, is among the main targets of the initiative backed by several countries worldwide. The International Chamber of Shipping has launched the Clean Energy Marine Hubs initiative in cooperation with several other partners, including the International Association of Ports & Harbors, to support clean fuel production and infrastructure in shipping. ICS and IAPH launched the initiative during the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial, a government-led clean energy platform. It aims to ensure private sector and government cooperation across the energy and maritime value chain, transforming maritime transportation and production hubs for low-carbon fuels. Some initiative participants mentioned ammonia and hydrogen as key fuels in shipping’s decarbonization.
Read more: Lloyd’s List | WPSP
EU shipping emissions reached three-year high in 2022
Liner giants MSC, CMA CGM, and Maersk were the top three emitters last year, according to an environmental group Transport & Environment analysis. Shipping emissions from voyages that included a European Union port on at least one leg reached 128.6m tonnes of CO2 in 2022, up from 126.3m tonnes a year earlier, according to EU MRV data that includes vessels 5,000 gross tons.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Europe urged to do more to secure emissions reductions
Despite efforts to reduce emissions, European shipping will depend on fossil fuels well beyond 2050, and the sector will likely overshoot the Paris target of keeping global warming to 1.5°C. A new report from the environmental lobby group Transport & Environment claims that by 2040, three-quarters of European shipping needs will continue to be met by fossil fuels. Under current regulations, 6% of shipping will run on green e-fuel by 2035, rising to 24% by 2040. “To ensure the sector decarbonizes on time, the share of green e-fuels will need to be at least 18% and 85% in 2035 and 2040, respectively, alongside strong energy efficiency measures,” T&E said.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Slow steaming reduces box carrier emissions
Slower steaming and improving load factors helped carriers reduce emissions per tonne of cargo carried during the first quarter of 2023. The carbon emissions index produced by Xeneta and Marine Benchmark saw improvements on most of the top 13 trades covered in the first quarter. “The biggest quarterly CEI ‘winner’ was the US west coast to the Far East trade, where an 11.3% fall from the fourth quarter of 2022 brought the score down to 88 points,” Xeneta said. “Not only did the average size of ships deployed on this trade increase, while the filling factor stayed stable, but more importantly, average speed decreased by almost 1 knot.”
Read more: Lloyd’s List
MEPC80 explained: What the IMO’s revised climate strategy means for shipping
The IMO’s newly revised strategy will have serious implications for the shipping industry in the coming years, affecting thousands of investment decisions and reverberating across other sectors. The IMO’s decision will be judged on how it triggers shipping companies to boost investment in key decarbonization strategies, such as dual-fuel optionality and alternative fuel bunkering infrastructure. At the same time, energy producers will likely try to see whether the revised strategy sends the necessary demand signals from shipping for them to start producing zero GHG fuels. Banks represented by the Poseidon Principles said they required a fully aligned strategy with 1.5°C. But it remains to be seen whether the compromise at the UN agency was sufficient for them.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Falling LNG price justifies carrier choices
Container shipping invested heavily in LNG to meet IMO2020 obligations. It may have been a wise choice since the fuel cost is sometimes below very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO). LNG saw a huge spike in price at the outset of the Russian incursion into Ukraine, but in the second half of 2022, the fuel cost fell back and, by some metrics, has become cheaper than VLSFO. While LNG is a viable fuel for reducing SOx emissions, its long-term future is less secure, and while it reduces carbon emissions, it is still a fossil-based fuel. Longer-term, owners will have to turn to bio-LNG or green LNG to fulfill their decarbonization goals.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Methanol could account for a fifth of new buildings by 2030
Methanol could account for a fifth of new building orders by 2030, but many serious hurdles remain in the way of widespread adoption of the fuel. A new report from Lloyd’s Register says that the technology for methanol as a marine fuel is “feasible, available, and mature.” Engine makers have dual-fuel models available, and there is significant interest from shipowners. But LR also identifies many obstacles to developing methanol as a future fuel, particularly in its pricing, availability, and carbon accounting. LR regional advisory services manager for Asia Douglas Raitt said, “While there is no single fuel which will provide a silver bullet for decarbonization, methanol has the potential to play a key role in a multi-fuel future as part of the maritime industry’s ambition to decarbonize.”
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Antwerp-Bruges and Rotterdam post a sharp drop in H1 volume
Lackluster container demand weighed on the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in the first half of 2023, with throughput falling 5.2% to 6.4 million TEUs compared with the year-ago period, the port said on 18 July. Container volume continues to fall at Europe’s main ocean gateways, with Rotterdam following neighbor Antwerp-Bruges posting a sharp drop in first-half throughput amid the loss of Russian cargo and weak demand for Asian imports. Rotterdam said first-half throughput was 6.7 million TEUs, down 8.2% from 7.3 million TEUs in the year-ago period. Europe’s largest port is not expecting any significant rebound for the rest of the year.
Detention and demurrage fees fall
Average demurrage and detention charges have fallen 25% year on year in 2023 and now stand 14% below the level seen in 2020, according to a new report into fees by container logistics platform Container xChange. Based on combined detention and demurrage for imports and exports of 20 ft and 40 ft boxes, average fees across the world’s largest ports stood at $586 in 2020 and rose to $684 in 2021 during the peak of supply chain disruption and congestion. By this year, however, the average had fallen back to $501. But the averages hide some extreme outliers. The report’s data shows that New York, the most expensive port in the world, clocked up fees worth $2,478.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Forwarders eager to transition to digital ocean freight booking: study
The percentage of ocean freight bookings made via digital channels will double by the end of 2023, according to forwarders surveyed by the neutral non-vessel-operating common carrier ECU Worldwide. The Freight Forwarder Survey Health Improvement Report 2023 research was conducted recently and released by ECU on 20 July. The research found that forwarders anticipate 70% of bookings will be conducted via apps and portals by the end of the year, compared with just 35% currently. Almost 50% of freight bookings are still made via email. ECU said it highlighted the importance of integrating email systems with booking systems. It also found that digital quoting, bookings, and tracking solutions remain the most valuable services for forwarders to add.
Read more: JOC