Maersk which is known as the biggest container shipper in the world is about to place an order of 1.4 billion$ in order to produce 8 new carbon-neutral fuelled ships.
According to the Guardian, the move taken by the company is one of the largest steps that have been taken for decarbonizing the shipping industry of the world. This is much of the needed move because the container ships do not only photo bomb the beach selfies but also act as primary contributors to global climate change. The shipping sector is responsible for somewhat 3% of the emissions of greenhouse gases in the world.
- The ships which would be delivered within 2024, are going to be more electric F-150 compared to Nissan Leaf. The ships will be capable of handling 16,000 containers and are just a bit smaller compared to the huge Ever Given, which got stuck mobile caring 18,300 containers in Suez Canal.
Bigger picture
It is a challenge to power big ships with a source of clean energy that is inexpensive. Electric sounds are exciting till people learn that a huge container ship will require 10,000 batteries of Tesla S85 regularly.
- The new ships of Maersk use carbon-neutral methanol produced by natural resources such as biomass to run.
- There are also other options of fuel that have low carbon content like hydrogen, ammonia, nuclear energy and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages.
This is not just about shipping lines
There is pressure from the consumers to the companies that are sending goods across the waters for giving the supplying chains a job of green paint. According to Maersk, among its 200 customers, many of them including Amazon & Disney have pledged for reducing the emissions of carbon in their chains of supply.
Thus, the cost of the new ships will be 10% to 15% more than the traditional prices and Maersk is of the view that the customers will be willingly paying more in order to cause less pollution.