International shipping line Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on Thursday (1 April) said in view of the recent public debate around container shipping in the Arctic, it has doubled down on its position to avoid considering the Northern Sea Route, including the Northeast and Northwest Passages on environmental grounds.
An expansion of Arctic shipping could increase the emissions of so-called black carbon – physical particles of unburned carbon which can settle on land or ice, as well as compromising air quality and accelerating the shrinkage of Arctic sea ice, noted the company.
Risks such as navigation incidents, fuel spills, air quality and altering the ecological balance / biodiversity of the marine habitat beneath the surface of the sea also outweigh any commercial opportunities to make a shortcut between North America or Europe and eastern Russia or Asia.
“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping and I consider this a position the whole shipping industry must adopt.”
“Some of our peers have already made the same commitment to put the preservation of the Arctic environment ahead of profits. The Northern Sea Route is neither a quick fix for the current market challenges, nor a viable long-term strategy.”
MSC first made this Arctic commitment in 2019. The company is also a leader in improving container shipping energy efficiency through the deployment of almost 24,000 TEU vessels in the sector’s largest fleet investment programme and is actively exploring a range of new fuels and technologies to achieve a zero-carbon future and help mitigate climate change in the process.
Minimising, and subsequently reducing, CO2 emissions is a key pillar of the company’s approach to investing in sustainability. MSC also understands that a reduction in black carbon would not only help tackle climate change, but it could also have benefits for human health.
MSC believes that these concerns should not be overlooked amid the current debate over the impact of the COVID pandemic and Suez Canal disruption on supply chains and regards Arctic route exploitation as an unwarranted step in the wrong direction.
“Attempting to open new navigation routes which skim the polar ice cap sounds like the ignorant ambition of an 18th century explorer, when today we know that this would pose further risks to humans and many other species in that region, as well as worsen the impact of shipping upon climate change,” added Bud Darr, Executive Vice President Maritime Policy & Government Affairs at MSC Group.
“MSC supports the decarbonisation targets of the UN International Maritime Organization, including complete decarbonisation of shipping, and sees no overall merit in using this potential trade route.
“The risks and impacts outweigh the benefits of the shorter transits. There are no shortcuts toward genuine decarbonisation of shipping and this is a shortcut that should definitely be avoided.”
Photo credit: MSC
Published: 6 April, 2021
There was no appetite for a prescriptive speed reduction regulation, says the UK Chamber of Shipping.
‘We believe that Iceland should completely ban HFO use and carriage as fuel in its territorial waters,’ states spokesman.
Approximately 160 mt of the 200 mt of spilled oil had been cleared by Wednesday morning.
Collaboration led by Wärtsilä involves Aker Solutions, Equinor, DFDS, Grieg Star and Kvaerner.
Report calls to attention to five key actions first movers can take to make tangible progress towards zero-emission pilots over the next three to four years.
North Atlantic Kairos was delivering product to a Marine Atlantic oil storage tank when an oil sheen was spotted.
The bank is filing an application for pre-action discovery at the High Court of the Republic of Singapore in order to ascertain its future direction of proceedings against Sinfeng, according to court documents.
‘We need to keep in mind the saying “penny wise pound foolish”,’ says Captain Rahul Choudhuri, the Managing Director AMEA at VPS, who stresses on the essential role of the Bunker Surveyor.
Legal representatives met at the High Court on Tuesday to discuss the discharge of KPMG liquidators from all liability in respect of conduct in the course of winding up, show court documents.
Global sentence adjusts to 80 month’s imprisonment term for both Chang and Koh under application of the Masui sentencing framework; fine of SGD 6.2 million against Chang remains unchanged.
Company has been ranked EIGHTH for 2020; ‘we are humbled and proud to be placed amongst the top ten winners of the Enterprise 50 Awards,’ says Satnam Singh, COO, Sing Fuels.
Mads Bjornebye, Manager of Bunker Services at Teekay Tankers Ltd, shares about the company’s perspective of e-BDNs, bunker purchasing & planning tools, while offering his thoughts on future marine fuels.
