Tag: speed reduction

During the annual assembly of the members of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Theodoros Veniamis, President of UGS, provided his comment on the 2020 sulphur cap, which is already in place. To reduce shipping emissions, UGS has backed the reduction of the maximum propulsion power of ships.

In this article, Alvin Forster, Loss Prevention Executive, North P&I Club, addresses the issue of speed limits. As he says, this method has positively affected greenhouse gas emissions in shipping, but wonders if, after all, the speed limit is the answer for a greener sector.

In line with the stricter environmental regulations applied in 2020, South Korea has introduced domestically new environmental laws applying voluntary speed limits for ships and emission control areas, according to data provided by North P&I Club.

Last month, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority-led Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program celebrated its five years of collaboration and research to better understand the effects of marine shipping on at-risk whales.

The IMO met in London this week, in order to discuss how the shipping industry can continue with its decarbonization plan. IMO agreed that a goal-setting approach is the best way to reduce carbon emissions in the short-term, while full details of the approach will be resolved next year.

A newly-launched study focuses on the importance of reducing shipping emissions and its benefits in favour of humans' health, nature and the environment by reducing vessels' speed. The report highlights that a 20% reduction in vessels' speed would decrease GHG emissions, as well as curb pollutants that pose great risks on human health, as black carbon and nitrogen oxides.

A New Zealand ferry company was fined with the amount of NZ $380,000 because the company's ferry "City Cat" grounded on April 2017; The fine was also issued because the company failed to ensure the safety of the passengers' and other sea users.

BIMCO submitted a proposal to the IMO that aims to help curb emissions by regulating ships’ power, rather than focusing on raw speed limits, and presents a way to cut emissions based on the average performance of each ship type trading at target operational speeds for the past three years.

During the G7 summit in Biarritz, the French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that reducing ships' speed would be one way to decrease maritime transport's carbon emissions footprint. This is a proposal that Greece has supported as well.

The Government of Canada has introduced several measures to address the risks endangered whales face from both marine and fishing activity. For this reason, Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, announced that the department has fined a vessel for alleged non-compliance of a temporary mandatory speed restriction.