Maritime transport is an essential part of the global economy. It is responsible for the transportation of most internationally traded goods, from food and basic goods to manufactured goods and luxury goods. However, maritime transport is also one of the main sources of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
In recent years, awareness of the environmental impact of maritime transport has increased. This has led to the adoption of measures to reduce emissions from this sector, such as the introduction of new technologies, improving energy efficiency and the adoption of alternative fuels.
One of the most promising initiatives to reduce emissions from maritime transport are the so-called “green corridors”. Green corridors are specific maritime routes in which measures are established to reduce emissions from the ships that operate them. These measures may include the use of clean fuels, the optimization of navigation routes, the reduction of ship speed, and the availability of alternative fuels in ports to avoid pollution.
And this is a very important step in the right direction, since concrete actions are beginning to be taken.
The first green corridor that I know of has been created by the cities of Rotterdam and Singapore, building warehouses in their ports to contain green fuels (ammonia and methanol) for ships that sail between these two cities.
And in the photo you can see a ship from the Maersk company that has already made that route consuming ammonia. Let's hope many others follow.
Green corridors have the potential to significantly reduce emissions from shipping. A study by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimates that green corridors could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 10-15% by 2030. And that figure gives us an idea of how much remains to be done. do.
There are other green corridors planned, one between Canada and the coasts of Japan and Korea, and some others. But the goal of decarbonizing freight transport by 2050 is not easy to achieve.
According to industry data, only 15% of ships under new construction will be able to run on clean fuels. And in this industry the ships last dozens of years in operation.
To make it a little more difficult, these new fuels are more expensive than the current ones, and it remains to be seen when the necessary ones will catch up.
And to make it even a little more difficult, there are currently only about 200 ships in the world capable of transporting ammonia, and their number would have to increase greatly so that fuel would be available in ports.
It is clear to me that if there is no pressure from users and authorities to “force” the use of non-polluting fuels, environmental objectives will not be met.
Fortunately, there are already companies like Ikea, Amazon and others that request non-polluting transportation for their products. And that is the way for the rest.
I am very clear that the future of maritime transport is going to be more expensive, but if we continue to pollute, our descendants will not have a good future. So the option is very clear.
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