Could Cargo Ships Get a Speed Limit?

One of the primary problems with our time is climatic change. The ocean freight sector of the international shipping industry, in particular, faces an unbelievable challenge of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to assist fight the changing of our planet’s climate.

Needs to be fact, the most significant problem ocean freight carriers presently face is meeting the IMO 2020 cleaner fuel requirement that drops the sulfur cap on fuel for cargo ships to 0.5% effective January 1st, 2020. Even though carriers are now likely to recoup the significantly higher fuel costs of IMO 2020 through BCO contracts, achieving compliance with this requirement won’t be any simple feat for container carriers.

Now there’s another carbon exhaust decreasing necessity that the IMO has been inspired to placed on container carriers: an important speed measure on ships.

In a wide open notice to the IMO member states signed by 113 cargo services and 9 environmental groups, the signatories “express [their] strong support for the IMO implementing mandatory unsafe effects of global ship speeds differentiated throughout ship size and type categories.”

Despite the fact that a mandate requiring ships to decelerate, slow steam (SS), or even super slow steam (SSS) doesn’t only affect containerships, this blog article will concentrate on exactly what a posted speed limit on containerships means for the international shipping industry.

Debate for Regulating Containership Speed

At the conclusion of 2007, the Great Recession hit the U.S. economy and spread to the global economy by 2009. Ocean freight desire was way below formerly expected levels, adding to huge overcapacity, downward stress on freight rates, and big financial struggles for container carriers.

SS and SSS became frequent exercise by container carriers following the downturn in the economy hit in order to save cash on gas. Sailing at slower speeds meant using less fuel and, consequently, decreasing carbon emissions on sailings.

Slow Piping-hot Likely Remains Without Regulation

Regardless of the letter to IMO member states saying studies suggest ships are accelerating, there’s need to think containerships will lessen the pace of in the upcoming year anyway.

Fuel pricing is escalating significantly with IMO 2020 and carriers still find it difficult to maintain profitability. Carriers will be searching for not only BCO contracts to recoup fuel costs. SS and SSS are predicted to get used for containerships to lose less fuel as well as enable them to reach required emission levels normally.

Reducing ships is among the easiest strategies carriers employ to economize. And service providers are searching for any means easy to improve profitability.

On the other hand, SS and SSS wouldn’t be applied on all shipping routes, and regulating speed should certainly reduce containership speed a lot more than the standard forces of business would cause. At the same time, as the industry adapts as time passes to more costly, cleaner fuel, SS and SSS may get utilized less, which regulation would help prevent.