Danish shipowners’ solutions to environmental and climate challenges

Almost everything that surrounds us has been on board a ship. Your phone, your tablet and probably your table. Your refrigerator and the rest of your kitchen. And the building materials for your house. Many things you eat and most of what you wear. The petrol for your car and the gas used for producing your electricity and your heating. Efficient transportation leads to cheaper goods for consumers and gives producers access to the global value chains that fuel globalisation and economic development.

Shipping distance for a banana

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Shipping distance for a tablet

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Shipping distance for grain

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Shipping distance for diesel

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Yet, this does not exempt the sector from addressing its CO₂ footprint as transporting most of the world’s goods by sea also impacts the environment and the climate. The industry has responsibility for minimizing this footprint by designing more environmentally friendly ships and by operating the ships more efficiently.

The most climate friendly mode of global transportation

The amount of carbon emitted when transporting one person from one part of the world to another by plane is about the same as transporting a 20-foot container the exact same distance by ship. The container could for example be filled with 48,000 bananas or 6,000 pairs of sneakers. In other words, shipping is a very energy efficient way to transport goods. But with close to 90 percent of the world's’ goods being transported by sea, shipping obviously has an impact on the global emission of CO₂ and the climate challenges we are facing.

International

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An increase in world trade does not automatically lead to a similar increase in CO₂ emissions from merchant vessels. From 2007 to 2012, international shipping lowered its share of the total, global CO₂ emission from 2.8 to 2.2% – while the amount of transported goods by ship grew by almost 20% according to CPB World Trade Monitor and Third IMO GHG Study.

Danish Shipping has been collecting fuel consumption data from its members since 2008. Danish shipping companies have kept their CO₂-emissions constant despite a significant increase in the size of the Danish fleet. This has been possible because of sustained focus on identifying measures to improve the efficiency of maritime transport. The financial crisis also plays a role in the reduction. Improved fuel efficiency is not only good for the climate; it also represents an important tool in terms of reducing costs.

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A recent study from UN’s International Maritime Organization, IMO, shows that shipping’s CO₂ emissions may increase by as much as 50-250% ahead of 2050 if no measures are taken. As an influential contributor to the global carbon emissions shipping and transport in general must be part of the solution to limit the increase in the global temperature to no more than 2,0°C – or even 1,50°C as set out at COP21. Unfortunately, shipping was not included in the Paris Agreement in the sense of a clear mandate to the IMO to establish a uniform CO₂ regulation. Meanwhile, the EU has adopted the MRV-regulation (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) which makes it mandatory for ships calling European ports to report their CO₂ emissions and energy efficiency, starting in 2018. Hopefully, the EU regulation can also be lifted into global regulation by the IMO as uniform regulation is the most climate effective solution while maintaining a level playing field.

Improving the quality of the air we breathe

Merchant ships have a history of being powered by so-called heavy fuel oil which leads to high emissions of sulphur (SOx) and particles. The air pollution causes lung diseases and asthma and also impacts oceans, lakes and forests. Strict sulphur limits have been introduced from 2015 for ships sailing in coastal areas such as the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the English Channel. Next step will be a similar regulation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and later on particle pollution.

Ships in the SECA zones are now required to reduce the sulphur content of their fuel to a limit of 0.1% – which corresponds to a ten-fold decrease. This has already had a measurable effect on air quality in Northern Europe. From 2020 or 2025 the regional rules will be supplemented with a global 0.5% limit instead of the current global 3.5% limit.

To comply with the sulphur requirements, shipping companies face the choice between installing relatively expensive scrubber systems that remove the pollutants, or switching to costly low-sulphur fuel, when entering the specific zones. Alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), which greatly reduce air pollution are also being used on some ships, and the use of these fuel types could increase considerably.

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Strict enforcement is essential to Danish shipowners, as there are significant savings to gain by not complying with the regulation. Several instances of severe non-compliance have already been witnessed across the low-sulphur zone. Ignoring the regulation harms the competitiveness of responsible shipping companies and undermines the environmental and health benefits of the regulation.
As for the limitation of NO_x the goal must be to agree on more Emission Control Areas – specifically in the Baltic Sea – and ensuring that these come into force by no later than 2021.

Dismantling with respect for the environment and ensuring decent working conditions

Breaking up a ship, which is often several hundred meters in length and weighs more than 50,000 tons, is a large-scale operation that comes with a lot of risks which need to be addressed.

Today 2 out of 3 merchant ships are recycled in South Asia, and the focus here on the environment and working conditions is not always satisfactory. But things are changing under international regulatory pressure, and a growing number of yards are striving to comply with the demands from shipping companies for safe and environmentally responsible recycling.

of

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The International Maritime Organization, IMO, adopted the Hong Kong Convention in 2009 to secure global rules for the recycling of ships. The convention addresses environmental issues as well as the working conditions for the workers at the recycling yards. However, the convention has not yet come into force, as an insufficient number of countries, representing both the world fleet and the recycling capacity, have ratified the convention. This is not acceptable.

The typical lifetime of a cargo ship

With proper facilities and management ships can be recycled in a responsible way that ensures environmental protection as well as health and safety of the workers. Danish Shipping has since the adoption of the Hong Kong Convention recommended its members to follow the requirements stipulated in the convention. An essential part of the requirements is to possess an inventory of the ship’s hazardous materials, which in turn enables the recycling facility to take the necessary precautions.

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Danish Shipping believes that recycling of ships should be done in a responsible way. Denmark and other shipping nations – as well as countries that recycle ships – must speed up their ratification of the Hong Kong Convention to ensure a legally binding global framework and to avoid regional regulation, which will not raise global standards.

Protecting local marine environments

Most ships use ballast water to stabilize the ship and to keep the propeller under water when not fully loaded. Ships will often take in ballast water in one part of the world and release it in another, potentially spreading invasive species such as microbes, plankton, jellyfish and crabs in the process. This can disturb the ecological balances in the discharge area.

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In 2004 the International Maritime Organization, IMO, adopted a convention requiring ships to process their ballast water before releasing it back into the sea. Denmark ratified the ballast water convention in 2012. A number of other countries have done the same, yet the regulation still needs to be ratified by a few more countries in order to come into force.

The Ballast Water Convention was adopted to prevent the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from one region to another. Danish Shipping fully supports the convention, but advocates for a pragmatic approach for short sea shipping. One example is the ferries operating on very short yet international distances, like the ferries sailing between Elsinore in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden – a 5 km trip. The environmental impact from the ballast water on areas with identical marine ecosystem should be analyzed further.

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When the Ballast Water Management Convention becomes effective, the ship-owners will have up to seven years to install the required IMO approved equipment. With a fleet of around 68,000 ships being included in the future regulation, one could foresee a bottleneck situation. Furthermore, the ship owners who operate in the US, are required to install a system that is also approved by the US authorities and, despite the fact that more than 50 systems have been approved by the IMO, no system has at this point been approved by the US.

Chapters

Climate

The most climate friendly mode of global transportation

Air Pollution

Improving the air quality we breath

Recycling of Ships

Dismantling with respect for the environment and ensuring decent working conditions

Ballast Water

Protecting local marine environments

Future Responsibility

Smarter thinking and ambitious global standards