A recent announcement of improving transit times on selected services could put an end to slow-steaming, according to The Loadstar.
Kenneth Glenn, President of APL, said: “We are committed to adding robustness to the supply chains of our customers. Whether it is shipment to the US west coast or its inland destinations, time-sensitive shippers can now take advantage of superior transit times and on-time assurance.”
The practice aims to reduce service speed to around 15 knots and was adopted by carriers over previous years to lessen the effect of the spiralling cost of fuel.
If ships reduce their speed by as little as 10%, this could equal an engine-power saving of around 25%, thereby cutting fuel usage by 20%.
Ending this practice could potentially raise emissions at ports. However, with the latest technologies available to commercial shipping lines, ships could utilise such practices as shore power in order to avoid pumping enormous amounts of harmful substances into the sea while docked at a port.
To read a Technical Paper on the Port of Bergen’s slow-steaming practices, click here
