Read an interesting article today: hypermiling for ships (Hypernauticalmiling? Hyperknotting?)
Slow Trip Across Sea Aids Profit and Environment
(
NY Times)
Quote:
It took more than a month for the container ship Ebba Maersk to steam from Germany to Guangdong, China, where it unloaded cargo on a recent Friday — a week longer than it did two years ago.
But for the owner, the Danish shipping giant Maersk, that counts as progress.
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Article goes on to describe how the Maersk ship line has made a concerted effort to slow down, anticipating both emissions regulations and rising fuel prices:
Quote:
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By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
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The fuel savings more than make up for the additional crew hours of a longer journey.
The hard part, not surprisingly, has been working with its clients to present slower shipping as a positive thing in an age where "faster! faster!" is the rallying cry of global consumer culture.
Quote:
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In what reads as a commentary on modern life, Maersk advises in its corporate client presentation, “Going at full throttle is economically and ecologically questionable.”
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The obvious answer is to bring tiered shipping prices to, well the
shipping world - similar to how we pay the post office or courier companies different rates depending on how fast we want our package delivered. And that's what they're doing.
One interesting tidbit to me is that in addition to "slow steaming" (20 knots instead of 24-25), Maersk is also trying “
super slow steaming”, which is
12 knots (13.8 mph).
12 knots is the speed of a big
sailing ship with a decent sailing rig in moderate wind. Makes you wonder what contingency plans they're mulling over in the Maersk boardroom.
Full article:
Slow Trip Across Sea Aids Profit and Environment - NYTimes.com