4 Strategies To Make the Shipping Industry Sustainable

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Overseas shipping plays a crucial role in spreading and maintaining the benefits of trade and commerce around the world. Thanks to the industry’s efficiency, availability of options, and fewer restrictions on permitted goods, it is one of the key sectors that drive worldwide economic growth.

But as much as it presents a plethora of benefits, the shipping industry also faces major problems — the most glaring of which are the environmental issues that surround it.

For instance, maritime transport is responsible for around 3% of global GHG emissions annually as per recent estimates. It’s expected that this number will grow and lead to worse emissions that will surpass the 1.5-degree threshold established in the Paris climate pact.

As this issue — along with other environmental problems such as water pollution— continues to increase, the sector is expected to adopt sustainable practices in its operations.

With that said, here are some strategies the shipping industry and its stakeholders can undertake to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint and make way for greener business operations.

Switch to Renewable Power Sources

One way shipping companies can make their operations more sustainable and reduce their impact on the environment is by looking into renewable energy sources.

Using wind power is a great strategy for shipowners to minimize their carbon emissions, and companies like Sailcargo are creating waves in harnessing this energy by creating wind-powered solutions for shipping vessels.

Sailcargo is building a ship called Ceiba, which primarily relies on wind power and rechargeable batteries to power its auxiliary electric engine for maneuvering in ports and low winds. It is expected to support up to 250 tons of dry goods.

While it barely makes a ripple to the capacity of the largest container ships, which can carry over 150,000 tons of weight, Ceiba shows a rising interest in utilizing wind as an energy source.

Another sustainable alternative the shipping industry can use is green hydrogen. This type of fuel, when used on a full cycle basis, can become an emission-free power source for container vessels.

Despite the transition to sustainable operations, the need for these alternatives remains to be on the low side. They will require significant demand from the shipping industry to encourage fuel producers and ship manufacturers to invest in their production.

Increase the Demand for Green Fuel

The industry mostly uses heavy fuel to run its operations since it is more affordable compared to sustainable alternatives. Aside from the immense price gap, companies also have to order new ships fitted to use green energy sources but have little incentive to do so.

Despite these reasons, there is a growing demand from regulatory bodies and consumers for the shipping sector to make sustainable changes in their operations. This call is now becoming the driving force for the industry to invest and accelerate its transition to low-emissions fuels.

Biofuel is currently the most promising and cost-efficient alternative to heavy fuel. It can significantly reduce carbon emissions since it is biodegradable and is essentially free of sulfur. Another advantage of this option is that it doesn’t require expensive modifications to existing shipping vessels for it to be compatible with their engines.

Similar to the situation regarding the use of wind energy and green hydrogen, the shipping sector and other stakeholders need to increase the demand for biofuel to encourage the commercial production of this sustainable energy source.

Doing so will lower its cost, make biofuel widely available to power more marine engines, and ultimately reduce emissions.

Make Shipping Vessels More Sustainable

Investing in the development of ships and other shipping infrastructures is another strategy that the maritime transport sector can focus on to make the industry more sustainable.

One way vessel manufacturers can make their products more sustainable is by reducing the ship’s weight. For instance, cargo vessels made from composite materials like fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) are lighter and easier to operate compared to those made from heavier steel.

The lightweight design of such ships means lower fuel consumption and less emission of harmful gasses. Using composite materials could also result in longer-lasting ships since they don’t erode as fast as their steel counterparts.

Offset Carbon Emissions

Completely switching to clean energy sources and making shipping infrastructures more sustainable will take time, but the industry’s impact on the environment will not wait. Members of the sector need to adopt environmentally friendly strategies now, and they can start by offsetting their carbon emissions.

Carbon offsetting does not reduce the emissions coming from shipping operations. What it does is that it allows companies to purchase carbon credits and counterbalance their emissions. The money collected from this program is then used for various efforts to remove or eliminate carbon from the atmosphere.

Many companies outside the shipping industry use this strategy as part of their efforts of establishing a carbon-neutral business operation. Shipping organizations can also achieve carbon neutrality if the number of carbon offset credits they obtain amounts to the emissions they produce.

Conclusion

As the effects of global warming continue to heighten, so does the growing awareness and call for sustainability in various industries. The maritime trade sector is no exception to this demand — and it seems to be working as shipping companies are now rethinking and reconstructing their operations to make them more eco-friendly.

Still, there is a long way to go before every player in the industry fully operates on sustainable solutions. What the shipping sector can do now is continue its existing efforts to reduce carbon emissions and develop new strategies to meet sustainability goals.