Sunday, October 12, 2014

Ship Owners Representatives Lobby for Sea Freight as Emissions Reduced

ICS Calls on IMO for Unilateral Action on Greenhouse Gases
Shipping News Feature

WORLDWIDE – The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the organisation which represents the ships owners responsible for over 80% of the world’s merchant fleet, has recently produced a report demonstrating the improvements the industry has made recently with regard to the emissions produced by a form of transport responsible for carrying about 90% of freight around the globe.

According to the ICS, which spends much of its time lobbying governments, the latest calculations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) show the industry managed a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the five years up to 2012, dropping from 2.8% of the global total in 2007 to the 2.2% seen in 2012. This estimate is to be considered by the IMO’s own Marine Environment Protection Committee at their next session between 13 and 17 October 2014 as detailed in our story last week.

The ICS study calls on the IMO to take firm unilateral action to ensure a level playing field in terms of emissions reduction and briefly covers subjects such as oil spillage history, future emission reduction, alternative fuel sources etc. Speaking at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, commented:

“The latest IMO study, which uses satellite tracking, suggests there has been a significant reduction in absolute CO2 emissions from ships due to the introduction of operational efficiency measures across the whole fleet. This includes operating at slower speeds, combined with more fuel efficient designs on board the large number of new build vessels that have recently entered the market. The reduction in CO2 per tonne of cargo carried per kilometre by ships is even more impressive than the headline IMO figure for absolute greenhouse gas reduction because cargo moved by sea has continued to grow since 2009.”