June 2, 2008

Maersk Reports Emissions Reductions From Vessels

In its Environmental Report 2007, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group says it achieved a decrease in fuel for its container vessels of nine percent, which corresponds to a total reduction in CO2 emissions of more than two million tons from 2002 to 2007. CO2 emissions in 2007 decreased by more than three percent per cargo unit x km compared to 2006. Levels. For the period of 2008 to 2012, Maersk has set a target to reduce CO2 emissions by an additional 10 percent.

From 2002 to 2007, Maersk says it reduced the NOx emissions from its container vessels by nearly 15 percent, due mainly to reductions in fuel consumption and the fact that most of its vessels were built after 2000 and are NOx-certified.

Emissions have decreased from 2006 to 2007 among the company’s larger vessels, a trend the company expects to continue due to the introduction of new and more efficient vessels.

While the company says it is difficult to see an improvement in emissions reductions from its supply vessels, their SOx emissions are limited since most run on marine distillate fuel with an SOx content of below 0.5%.

By the end of 2007, all Maersk container vessels had implemented a zero-dumping policy. The company has 323 vessels, including container ships, offshore support vessels, product, chemical and car carriers.

Shipping emissions have so far avoided the criticism being faced by the aviation industry, but that may change. A recent study found annual CO2 emissions from ships are 3.5 percent of the global total. That compares with 2 percent of global emissions from aviation.

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