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High utilisation a key factor in reducing box ship emissions

Higher levels of vessel utilisation onboard containerships has been revealed as one of the most important factors in reducing shipping emissions, according to new research published by freight intelligence platform VesselBot. VesselBot analysed 86,389 voyages by 6,523 box ships over Q2 this year and discovered that, while overall emissions measured on a well-to-wake basis grew 1.5% year on year, the increase was solely due to more feeder vessels being used, while every larger ship category saw reduced emissions. "Overall well-to-wake intensity rose 1.5%, to 231.7g CO2e per teu km. But five of the six vessel-size categories tracked in the report improved over the same period - from a 0.9% gain for panamax vessels to a 10.6% gain for the largest ships," noted the report. "Only feeders, which carried out 63.9% of all Q2 voyages, got less efficient, and that one segment's decline was enough to pull the fleet-wide number in the wrong direction." Ships of 14,000 teu and above made up just 7.4% of all voyages in the quarter, but carried 43.5% of total volumes, "accounting for only 27.4% of emissions". This is likely due to the far higher ship utilisation levels seen on deepsea trades compared with feeder services, with voyages in the most efficient emissions-intensity category averaging 80% utilisation, while the least-efficient saw just 31% utilisation. The report also revealed stark differences in emissions between vessels plying the same route with similar port rotations. For example, on the North Europe-North America transatlantic trade, the average emission intensity was 138g of CO2 per teu/km. The greenest transatlantic carrier was Hapag-Lloyd, which recorded an average well-to-wake emissions intensity of 80.7g CO2e per teu/km, 59% below the trade average, while CMA CGM was in second place with 105g CO2e per teu/km, 15% below the trade average. Hapag-Lloyd's sailings produced 31.3% less emissions than MSC voyages, which averaged 117.5g CO2e per teu/km, despite similar voyage distances and port pairs, "highlighting how operational choices can produce materially different emissions outcomes on comparable trades", noted the report, "A tradelane average tells a shipper what a route looks like on paper - it does not tell them what happened on their shipment," commented Constantine Komodromos, CEO and founder of VesselBot. "On the Northern Europe to North America East Coast tradelane, we observed a 31.3% efficiency gap between carriers for the route, despite similar voyage distances and port pairs. "Distance alone cannot explain that spread; the difference is in how those voyages were executed," he added. He said a similar pattern was seen at the global fleet level: "A fleet-wide number moving 1.5% in the wrong direction suggests the industry lost ground this quarter, but five of the six vessel-size segments actually became more efficient. "Feeders moved in the opposite direction, and because they accounted for nearly two-thirds of all voyages, were enough to pull the aggregate number higher. "That is the risk of managing to an average; it can point you in the opposite direction of what is actually happening," explained Mr Komodromos.

Rhine at low ebb - finding Plan B is getting harder

Low water on the Rhine is back, and with it come the usual consequences: barges taking less cargo, higher rates and surcharges, while shippers start asking what can be moved by rail or truck instead. We have seen all this before. Eventually it rains, water levels recover* and the subject disappears again. (*There has been some recent improvement, but 'shipping problems [are] not yet over') For retailers and importers using Rotterdam and Antwerp, however, the issue deserves more attention. The ...

Bullish Robinson getting 'through the fog of war on Montgomery and Lipe'

Citi analyst Ariel Rosa had quite a few good questions for the management team of CH Robinson (CHRW) at the bank's 2026 Global TMT Conference held yesterday. (The management trio - CEO Bozeman, CFO Lee and Rajan, the AI tech guru - were as usual upbeat about what will come next; there'll be more coming from them at the 2026 Jefferies Global Industrials Conference taking place today.) The last five minutes of the call, however, were by far the most interesting as ...