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Super-sized shipping: The impact of new mega ships, trucks and tunnels
photo by tyler_haglund (Flickr CC)
But freight companies are also developing and implementing ways to become more energy efficient and lower their emissions. Danish shipping giant Maersk has ordered 10 new mega ships (with an option for 20 more) to be used between China and Europe. These floating blocks of skyscrapers can carry 20% more than the largest freighters currently at sea and are too big to be used at ports in the Americas.
Ocean freight has largely “flown” under the radar in terms of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, but reports in recent years have shown the industry to be a huge emitter – each mega ship emits about as much as a small developing country. This attention has helped to spur Maersk to invest in fuel saving and emissions reduction:
We have rethought the whole ship. We are setting a new bar, or standard. These ships will operate at fuel consumption of 50% less than the industry average and 20% better than the existing best. They will travel at 19 knots (21.8mph) rather than 23 knots (26.5mph) and the emissions will be 50% less [per container]. The ships could travel even slower but you reach a point when transit time becomes an issue.
–Maersk chief executive officer Eivind Kolding (quoted in the Guardian)
Though improvements are welcome, pollution from diesel engines is poorly regulated in Europe and in international waters, and the technology to make ocean freight sustainable is still lacking. Nonetheless more ships will be hauling more goods from China to Europe, increasing trade and overall emissions.
Read more on the story in the Guardian.
In the meantime, Europe’s rail and road freight are doing a bit of super-sizing themselves. Trucks are getting bigger and tunnels are being drilled through the Swiss Alps to facilitate train routes.
Though the Gottard tunnel has plenty of environmental impact of its own (pollution, massive water consumption, waste rock) it may end up halving the amount of road freight traveling through the Alps. The trains would actually haul trucks through the Gottard tunnel. Rail produces only 1/12 of the emissions of trucks, and Switzerland is already a clear leader in rail freight for the region.
Click below to watch a video report from France 24 on the environmental pros and cons of Europe’s freight development, including the introduction of mega trucks in Norway.
Tags: China, emissions, Europe, freight, Gottard, Maersk, ocean, rail, shipping, trains, trucks, tunnel
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