Maersk cuts CO2 emissions
Maersk Line has increased its previous target of reducing CO2 emissions. DANISH shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk is increasing its self-imposed target of reducing carbon dioxide emmisions from the world’s largest container shipping fleet.
Displaying its ‘green’ credentials, Moller-Maersk has issued an environmental report for 2007 which says that emissions from its containership fleet were cut by about 3% last year.
The report covers a fleet of 323 owned vessels, which also includes tankers, gas carriers, supply vessels, and ferries.
As the the world’s leading container line it is not surprising that Moller-Maersk highlights the performance in this sector, where it says that in the six years from 2002-2007 average CO2 emissions for transport of a container decreased by 8.9%.
The report says this corresponds to a total reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 2m tonnes during that period.
Maersk Line has increased its previous target of reducing CO2 emissions from containerships in 2008-2012 by 5% - the target is now a decrease of 10%.
Moller-Maersk director of technical organisation Robert Pedersen said the environment was “a focus area” for the group, which had set up an innovation team working on more than 100 projects targeting increased environmentally friendly shipping.
These included optimising hulls, propellers and paint, he said.
Moller-Maersk acknowledges that concentrating on environmental issues can be good for both the planet and the profit and loss account.
“The environment/profit correlation is evident in that a reduction of the fuel consumption in the container business of merely five percent would result in a saving of DKr1.5bn at the current fuel prices and the US dollar rates.”
The group also notes that the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions has been especially helped the use of larger and more modern vessels.
Last year alone, 30 newbuildings were added to the fleet.
“The largest PS-class container vessels, such as Emma Maersk, which has room for 11,000 containers, has set a new standard for energy efficiency,” Moller-Maersk states.
“These emit only half as much CO2 per container transported as the considerably smaller L-class vessels, which have room for 3,700 containers.”
A younger, generally meant increased energy utilisation, it added, while a slight slower average service speed for containerships in 2007 also contributed to lower emissions.
Newbuildings also helped cut CO2 levels in the group’s VLCC fleet by 11% in 2007, with similar reductions for product carriers and semi-refrigerated gas carriers.
One negative development was in supply vessels, where CO2 levels rose.
But this largely reflected switching cable layers to platform supply vessels and changing their operating pattern.
Displaying its ‘green’ credentials, Moller-Maersk has issued an environmental report for 2007 which says that emissions from its containership fleet were cut by about 3% last year.
The report covers a fleet of 323 owned vessels, which also includes tankers, gas carriers, supply vessels, and ferries.
As the the world’s leading container line it is not surprising that Moller-Maersk highlights the performance in this sector, where it says that in the six years from 2002-2007 average CO2 emissions for transport of a container decreased by 8.9%.
The report says this corresponds to a total reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 2m tonnes during that period.
Maersk Line has increased its previous target of reducing CO2 emissions from containerships in 2008-2012 by 5% - the target is now a decrease of 10%.
Moller-Maersk director of technical organisation Robert Pedersen said the environment was “a focus area” for the group, which had set up an innovation team working on more than 100 projects targeting increased environmentally friendly shipping.
These included optimising hulls, propellers and paint, he said.
Moller-Maersk acknowledges that concentrating on environmental issues can be good for both the planet and the profit and loss account.
“The environment/profit correlation is evident in that a reduction of the fuel consumption in the container business of merely five percent would result in a saving of DKr1.5bn at the current fuel prices and the US dollar rates.”
The group also notes that the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions has been especially helped the use of larger and more modern vessels.
Last year alone, 30 newbuildings were added to the fleet.
“The largest PS-class container vessels, such as Emma Maersk, which has room for 11,000 containers, has set a new standard for energy efficiency,” Moller-Maersk states.
“These emit only half as much CO2 per container transported as the considerably smaller L-class vessels, which have room for 3,700 containers.”
A younger, generally meant increased energy utilisation, it added, while a slight slower average service speed for containerships in 2007 also contributed to lower emissions.
Newbuildings also helped cut CO2 levels in the group’s VLCC fleet by 11% in 2007, with similar reductions for product carriers and semi-refrigerated gas carriers.
One negative development was in supply vessels, where CO2 levels rose.
But this largely reflected switching cable layers to platform supply vessels and changing their operating pattern.