Surging demand on the Far East-South America east coast trade lane has increased the average speed of vessels, according to Xeneta, leading to higher emissions from ships on the route.
Decline in performance
The latest Xeneta carbon emissions index (CEI) ranking, released on Tuesday, demonstrates “an underlying decline in performance” for vessels operating this trade between Q2 and Q3, in response to a 20% increase in demand.
PIL
Interestingly, Xeneta’s Q2 winner on this trade lane was Pacific International Lines (PIL), with a CEI score of 69.5; this time, PIL has not even placed among the top three, implying a CEI gain of several points.
Xeneta attributes this decline to increasing speeds, with the top three carriers all exceeding the trade lane overage of 16.1 knots – top performer Hapag-Lloyd with 16.3, Yang Ming with 16.9, and Wan Hai Lines with 16.5 knots.
The willingness of shipping to increase speeds, at times when it is likely to confer a commercial advantage, leaves serious questions about the effectiveness of slow-steaming as a long-term remedy for ship emissions.
Mr Sand explained that an increase in demand, such as that exhibited in South American countries, often corresponded with a speeding-up of vessels. “It goes for many trades – it is one of the stronger trends,” he said.
“We see that demand for Chinese goods in South and Central America is up by 20%. These trades are where carriers really need to need to deliver a service which seems to require defensive times, which means speeding up.”
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Source : Loadstar
