April 8 (Reuters) – The shipping industry\’s pledge tolimit its carbon footprint may suffer a setback as the currentRed Sea crisis prompts it to use more vessels and take longerroutes to ensure the smooth sailing of global maritime trade.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants\’ attacks on vessels passingthrough the southern Red Sea have choked trade through the SuezCanal, driving many container shipping companies to add 10-14days to the voyages between Asia and Europe and add morevessels.
The disruption has raised doubts about the sector\’s abilityto stay on track to meet the International MaritimeOrganization\’s mandate for a 20% reduction by 2030. The shippingindustry accounts for nearly 3% of global carbon dioxideemissions.
\”The extended travel times necessitate adding at least twomore ships to maintain weekly Asia-Europe services per operator,further increasing the total emissions from the fleet for thesame amount of cargo,\” said Yiannis Parganas, head of shipbrokerIntermodal\’s research department.
The re-routing, which is leading to higher fuel consumption,is projected to result in a 42% rise in emissions per ship for astandard Asia-North Europe weekly liner service, Parganas said.
Emissions from container ships hit 231 million tons in 2023,touching pre-pandemic levels.
Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at ship-ownerassociation BIMCO, said the longer route has necessitated an8-10% increase in container ship usage, compared with a yearearlier, leading to an equivalent rise in emissions.
Container ship emissions could rise by as much as 11% to 257million tons in 2024 if disruptions including in the Red Sea andPanama Canal continue, according to consultancy firmAlixPartners.
The Red Sea crisis has also put plans of some operators toreplace aging fleets with newer more fuel-efficient ships on thebackburner.
\”The numbers (freight rates) are very healthy and those whointend to scrap their ship have deferred their decision,\” saidSymeon Pariaros, chief administrative officer of ship-ownerEuroseas.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; editing by ArpanVarghese and Anil D\’Silva)
