{"id":11258,"date":"2016-11-04T10:10:08","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T14:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T10:10:08","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T14:10:08","slug":"shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/","title":{"rendered":"Shipping: Global trade’s dirty secret"},"content":{"rendered":"

Approximately 90 percent of world trade is carried by sea [1], yet shipping remains an industry poorly understood and away from the public conscious. This outsized role in the economy comes with a massive economic impact. Because ships burn high sulfur content \u201cbunker fuel\u201d \u2013 some of the cheapest fuel available \u2013 they are responsible for 18-30 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions and 9 percent of sulfur oxide emissions. Nitrogen and sulfur oxides cause acid rain and respiratory problems, resulting in 60,000 deaths per year and annual health costs of $330bn according to US academic research [2]. Further, illegal dumping of hydrocarbons is rampant among ships. Conservative estimates put the amount of hydrocarbons ejected from ships at 660,000 tons, more than the amount of oil released in the Deepwater Horizon spill, every year<\/em> [3].<\/p>\n

Emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change are similarly impactful \u2013 0.8 billion tons of CO\u00ad\u00ad2<\/sub> in 2012, equating to 2.2% of worldwide emissions, and on par with the entire carbon output of Germany [4].<\/p>\n

Shipping is a highly concentrated industry, with the ten largest operators accounting for over 65 percent of market share [5]. APM Maersk, a Danish conglomerate, is the industry leader with 15.3% market share and revenues in 2015 of $23.7bn for its Maersk Line operating unit [6].<\/p>\n

Because shipping emissions take place on international waters, environmental regulation of shipping has been excluded from UN climate agreements. Currently, shipping is regulated under the UN International Maritime Organization, which has agreed to a roadmap to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of ships. However, the roadmap does not set specific targets for emissions, nor does it commit the sector to setting such targets before 2023 [7].<\/p>\n

Maersk has garnered respect in the industry for its own commitment to emissions reductions, and expressed disappointment with the result of COP 21, stating that, \u201cMaersk acknowledges the need to regulate the environmental impact of shipping and emphasizes that any future regulation… We are ready to compete in a level playing field, carbon constrained economy.\u201d As a company, Maersk has committed to a 30% relative CO2<\/sub> reduction by 2020 (2010 baseline), and had achieved a 23% reduction by 2015 [8].<\/p>\n

There are two main ways that the shipping industry is mitigating climate change \u2013 increased efficiency and the search of alternative fuels. Maersk has been a pioneer in increasing the efficiency of its fleet using a method called \u201cslow steaming\u201d. Slow steaming is an operating method of running ships at less than their highest engine load in order to reduce the amount of fuel used. Slow steaming also results in a net cost reduction for ships. In 2007, Maersk won an award from Sustainable Shipping for its slow steaming initiative, which showed that fleets can safely operate at low engine loads without damaging the ship [9].<\/p>\n

Alternative fuels are an interesting area of exploration that seek to get ships off of the dirty bunker fuel. Ideas include onboard power generation with wind turbines, the use of cleaner fuels such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), and in the long-term the use of nuclear propulsion. Maersk is currently exploring the use of biofuels \u2013 targeting lignin, an organic polymer found in plants, as a fuel of interest. In 2013 Maersk announced a partnership with Progression Industries to buy 50,000 tons of lignin for use as fuel in its fleet [10].<\/p>\n

On the adaption side, shipping will benefit from new trade routes opening up in the thawing Arctic sea. The Arctic is experiencing warming at a rate faster than anywhere else on earth, and scientists forecast ice-free summers in the Arctic within decades. The result is the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which connects the Atlantic to the Pacific across the rim of Siberia. The main beneficiary will be Europe, with the NSR reducing the distance between China and Germany by 30 percent, compared to a trip via the Suez Canal. The use of the NSR is increasing rapidly, growing from four trips in 2010 to 71 in 2013 [11]. For Maersk, the NSR is a long-term prospect. In 2013 Nils Anderson, company head, said \u201cthe reality is, for commercial shipping\u2026 this is not something that will happen within the next 10 to 20 years\u201d [12].<\/p>\n

Shipping is an ancient industry, and in many ways feels ancient in its response to climate change. This is partially due to the unique cross-border nature of the industry, but also to its success in staying out of the public spotlight. Maersk is changing the conversation \u2013 slowly. For all of their talk I think they are comfortable being the fastest in a pack of slow horses. Advances are being made, but only real disruption in the space of alternative fuels will change the climate profile of the industry.<\/p>\n

(Word count: 788)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cInternational shipping \u2013 facts and figures\u201d. International Maritime Organization. March 6, 2012. http:\/\/www.imo.org\/en\/KnowledgeCentre\/ShipsAndShippingFactsAndFigures\/TheRoleandImportanceofInternationalShipping\/Documents\/International%20Shipping%20-%20Facts%20and%20Figures.pdf.<\/li>\n
  2. Vidal, John. \u201cHealth risks of shipping pollution have been \u2018underestimated\u2019\u201d. The Guardian. April 9, 2009. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2009\/apr\/09\/shipping-pollution.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cThe dumping of hydrocarbons from ships into the seas and oceans of Europe.\u201d Oceana. http:\/\/eu.oceana.org\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/oil-report-english.pdf.<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cShipping and Climate Change: Where are we and which way forward?\u201d. International Transport Forum. October 2015. http:\/\/ppmc-cop21.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/10\/Shipping-and-Climate-Change-Where-are-we-and-which-way-forward.pdf.<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cLeader ship operator\u2019s share of the world liner fleer as of October 10, 2016\u201d. Statista. https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/198206\/share-of-leading-container-ship-operators-on-the-world-liner-fleet\/.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cAnnual Report 2015\u201d. Maersk. 2016. http:\/\/files.shareholder.com\/downloads\/ABEA-3GG91Y\/3130730410x0x874219\/9643DB80-2142-4D2F-8FCE-F5DB67E26B70\/Maersk_Group_Annual_Report_2015.pdf.<\/li>\n
  7. Upton, John. \u201cShipping industry: Climate change? What\u2019s the big rush!\u201d. Grist. October 29, 2016. http:\/\/grist.org\/climate-energy\/shipping-industry-climate-change-whats-the-big-rush\/.<\/li>\n
  8. Hui, Tan Yi. \u201cPositive outcome of COP21 conference\u201d. Maersk. December 14, 2015. http:\/\/www.maersk.com\/en\/industries\/2015\/12\/positive-outcome-of-cop21-conference.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cMaersk Line wins award for super slow steaming initiative.\u201d Finch & Beak. September 4, 2009. http:\/\/www.finchandbeak.com\/388\/maersk-line-wins-award-for-super.htm.<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cThe Group\u2019s search for alternative fuels.\u201d Maersk. March 27, 2013. http:\/\/maerskstories.maersk.com\/post\/46421870120\/the-groups-search-for-alternative-fuels.<\/li>\n
  11. Masters, Jonathan. \u201cThe Thawing Arctic: Risks and Opportunities\u201d. Council on Foreign Relations. December 16, 2013. http:\/\/www.cfr.org\/arctic\/thawing-arctic-risks-opportunities\/p32082.<\/li>\n
  12. Milne, Richard. \u201cArctic shipping routes still a long-term proposition, says Maersk\u201d. Financial Times. October 6, 2013. https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f44bd53a-2e74-11e3-be22-00144feab7de.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Shipping plays a key role in global trade, but it is environmentally unregulated and a major contributor of carbon emissions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1903,"featured_media":11259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1218,1709,1062,1708],"class_list":["post-11258","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-maersk","category-shipping","category-trade"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nShipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shipping plays a key role in global trade, but it is environmentally unregulated and a major contributor of carbon emissions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ship-6.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"797\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/ship-6.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-04T14:10:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/ship-6.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/ship-6.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":797},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Shipping: Global trade’s dirty secret\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Shipping plays a key role in global trade, but it is environmentally unregulated and a major contributor of carbon emissions","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":797,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ship-6.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/","name":"Shipping: Global trade's dirty secret - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ship-6.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-04T14:10:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ship-6.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ship-6.jpg","width":1200,"height":797},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/shipping-global-trades-dirty-secret\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Shipping: Global trade’s dirty secret"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/11258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/11258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}