More needs to be done to cut carbon emissions in shipping, says Hapag-Lloyd

Climate change will continue to be the biggest challenge for the container shipping industry in the years ahead, according to Hapag-Lloyd, which has published its latest sustainability report.

The carrier said more will have to be invested in research and development related to propulsion concepts if the industry as a whole will reach its goal of climate neutrality in shipping.

It notes that while container shipping has reduced its contribution to global emissions to 3% in recent years, this figure should be cut again.

“We have made a lot of progress in all sustainability dimensions. At the same time, we are conscious of the fact that we also have a very great responsibility when it comes to climate protection,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO, Hapag-Lloyd.

“We will therefore continue to work hard to modernise our fleet and to reduce our carbon footprint.

“This will likewise remain an essential part of our new sustainability strategy, which we will be publishing later this year. At its core, it is about continuously increasing our contribution to sustainability-related efforts and making incremental improvements.”

Hapag-Lloyd said its fleet operates using IMO 2020-compliant low-sulphur fuel oil, thereby reducing its sulphur-oxide emissions by roughly 70% compared to 2019.

In addition, fuel savings of around 15% were achieved on 39 vessels by removing fouling from their outer hulls. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd is the first shipping company in the world that has converted a large container ship to dual-fuel propulsion, which can operate using liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Moreover, orders have been placed for six state-of-the-art container ships – each with a capacity of more than 23,500 TEU – whose fuel-efficient high-pressure dual-fuel engines will also be able to operate using LNG, thereby reducing CO2 emissions by between roughly 15 and 25 percent.

These newbuilding projects geared towards sustainability have been financed by two green financing transactions, which were concluded according to the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association (LMA).

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/more-needs-to-be-done-to-cut-carbon-emissions-in-shipping-says-hapag-lloyd/