World Maritime News
WMNF 14/06/2023
Panama Canal draft restrictions could cut boxship loads by 40%
According to marine insurance sources, draft restrictions on the Panama Canal could force a 10,000 teu boxship to offload around 4,000 teu before transiting the key waterway. The maximum draft was set at 13.56m until 12 June, then falling further to 13.41 m. On 25 June, the limit will be lowered again to 13.26 m. These drat adjustments directly affect vessels transiting the neopanamax locks. Ships arriving with draft exceeding the authorized limits may be required to adjust their cargo or offload some of it to ensure safe passage.
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Long-term demand for shipping to fall, says Nobel Prize-winning economist
Demand for shipping will drop in the long term, and decisions taken today must consider the challenges ahead, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz warned an audience at Nor-Shipping. According to him, a slowing global economy, climate change, the reorganization of supply chains and logistics routes arising from geopolitical tensions, the uptake of artificial intelligence to increase efficiency, including in the use of natural resources and minerals, and a broader shift in the structure of economies towards services are five major challenges the industry faces.
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Hutchison brings autonomous trucks to Felixstowe
Hutchison Ports signed a deal with Chinese developer and manufacturer Westwell Technology to supply 100 battery-powered autonomous trucks to its Felixstowe facility in the UK. Hutchinson first trialed the “Q-Trucks” at Terminal D at Laem Chabang in Thailand in 2020, where they have handled more than 334,000 teu in moves since their introduction. The latest generation Q-Trucks have a 150 km cruising range and 75 tonnes loading capacity. They are equipped with sensors that allow them to operate autonomously in mixed-traffic environments without separating them from other vehicles.
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Top 10 carriers’ market share drops after the pandemic
The top 10 container shipping carriers have dropped their combined market share since 2019, indicating a dilution in the sector following the Covid era. Based on analysis by Sea-Intelligence, the result also contradicts the impression of many shippers that the increased monopoly power of container lines was behind the elevated freight rates seen in the past two years. According to a report by the consultancy, 2.4% of the global market share in terms of fleet capacity in service has shifted away from the top 10 carriers between the first quarter of 2019 and the corresponding period of 2023.
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Topics regarding IMO MEPC 80 in July
Next month, International Maritime Organization (IMO) member states have the chance to send a powerful message to shipowners, energy majors, bunker providers, and capital markets on the pace, scale and timeline of decarbonization investments. The July 3-7 MEPC 80 meeting could do more than just set more aggressive greenhouse gas reduction cuts, boosting the current goal of 50% by 2050 to as much as 100%. The committee could also end its meeting by agreeing to medium-term measures on fuel standards and economic ones, namely a carbon tax. Under the current strategy, the IMO is set to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared with 2008 levels.
The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said on 8 June that IMO must set a zero-emissions target for 2050, bring in a market-based CO2 emissions levy and improve energy efficiency rules at the MEPC 80 meeting. Shipowners strongly support a carbon levy to build a multi-billion-dollar global fund to reduce the cost differential. Maersk has stated that a carbon tax of at least $150 per ton of CO2 emitted is needed to equalize the costs and stimulate demand, while Seaspan COO Torsten Holst Pedersen believes a carbon emissions penalty or a tax of $200 to $300 per ton of CO2 would be more realistic.
Alternative fuel vessel orders steady in May
Alternative fuel vessel orders continued to rise in May, with companies opting for more methanol dual-fuel ships last month than in April, DNV’s monthly analysis showed. There were 12 methanol dual-fuel vessel orders in May, up from nine last month, which brings the total order number of such ships to 101. Meanwhile, the port authority of Antwerp-Bruges has announced that its first methanol bunkering had taken place on 1 June. The port authority said a methanol carrier refueled with grey methanol marking the first such operation at the terminal. DNV has reported seven dual-fuel liquefied natural gas vessel orders in May, compared with ten a month earlier.
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Topics on ammonia as an alternative marine fuel
Ammonia produced via the electrolysis of renewable energy needs a carbon tax of around $200-$250 per tonne to be competitive, according to ammonia producer Yara which will start operations at its first green ammonia facility this fall. Other stakeholders in the ammonia supply chain were also optimistic about ammonia’s price competitiveness with conventional fuels if introducing a carbon tax and scaling up production.
Ammonia bunkering could become a reality in the next couple of years on the back of developments in engine technology and production facilities nearing completion, despite some testing delays along the supply chain related to safety issues.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
Capacity and competition limit the role of biofuels in shipping
Class society DNV has downplayed the future role of biofuels in decarbonizing shipping, saying that production capacity constraints and competition from other industries, such as aviation, will limit available supplies. Current sustainable biofuel production capacity worldwide was measured at 11m tonnes of oil equivalent per year, with the potential to reach 26m tonnes of oil equivalent annually by 2026, DNV said in a White Paper on biofuels published today. By 2050, shipping would need some 250m tonnes of oil equivalent a year if it fully decarbonized primarily using sustainable biofuels, according to DNV estimates.
In the meantime, permit delays for a methanol supplier, European Energy in Denmark, caused Maersk to sign a stopgap deal with a Dutch producer OCI Global to secure the green bio-methanol required to power its first methanol-driven container ship that will soon embark on its maiden voyage to Copenhagen.
Read more: Lloyd’s List | JOC
Shipping industry no longer an emissions laggard, says ClassNK chief
The ClassNK sees increasing value in certifying innovative technologies’ actual performance and benefits as owners pursuing sustainability move beyond minimum compliance requirements. The ClassNK president disagrees that the shipping industry is moving too slowly in the battle against climate change. He told Lloyd’s List that shipping was one of the few globally operating industries making collective efforts to cut emissions under a global regulatory framework.
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IMO and EU eye convergence of regional and global regulation
The European Commission and International Maritime Organization have both voiced optimism that a convergence of regional EU decarbonization regulations and global IMO measures could be initiated by 2030. Suppose sufficient progress is made within the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in July. In that case, the commission has confirmed that the review mechanism to consider aligning EU measures with IMO standards will remain open.
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Small shipowners must not be forgotten in the zero-carbon race
The initial findings of a new survey monitoring the progress of industry decarbonization suggest that small- and medium-sized shipowners are falling behind their larger counterparts in the zero-carbon race, a trend that, if it continues, could have significant repercussions for the success of shipping green transition. With the average shipowner owning around four and a half ships, and approximately 60% of vessels on the water today owned by shipowners with fewer than 20 ships, the role these less visible players will play in achieving shipping’s decarbonization goals through 2030 and similarly 2050 cannot be understated.
Small or medium-sized shipowners should start adopting the technology available today to reduce emissions aided by industry groups, as delaying investment in energy efficiency measures puts the whole industry at risk of missing short-term targets.
Read more: Lloyd’s List1 | Lloyd’s List2
GSBN and GCMD join forces to enhance data sharing for green shipping
Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) and Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) have signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on solutions for tracking and sharing emissions reduction and green fuel data. The two organizations, backed by a group of shipping and port companies, will work together to identify use cases and co-design studies and pilots to demonstrate the effectiveness of sharing the data via a blockchain platform, according to a statement. The partnership deal will enable the secure and scalable exchange of data about decarbonization initiatives, which is crucial to ensure compliance, access to green financing, and provide accountability of related investments, according to the statement.
Read more: Lloyd’s List