"Slow steaming" it anticipate remarkable benefits from the environmental and economic point of view



"Slow steaming", that is the practical one to reduce the speed of the ships employed in the line services that are adopted by great part of the navigation companies from when the cost of the fuel has grown esponenzialmente, anticipates remarkable benefits from the environmental and economic point of view. It supports the study "Regulated Slow Steaming in Maritime Transport. An Assessment of Options, Costs and Benefits" that it is commissioned by the organizations enviromentalists Seas At Risk and T&E (Transport & Environment) and is written up by Jasper Faber and Dagmar Nelissen of the advising society EC Delft specialized in the environmental field, by Galen Hon and Haifeng Wang of organization nonprofit ICCT (The International Council on Clean Transportation) and by Mikis Tsimplis, university professor of the Maritime Institute of Law of the University of southampton.

The conclusions of the study indicate that the limitation of the speed of the services of marine transport would allow to reduce the fuel consumption by the ships being saved billions of dollars let alone to reduce the atmospheric pollution.

From the environmental point of view - the document finds - a guaranteed benefit would be that of the reduction of the emissions of co2. In particular, a decrease of 10% of the average speed of the world-wide fleet would determine a decrease of 19% of the emissions, this considering also of the emissions produced from the ulterior ships necessary in order to transport the same cargo amounts and of the emissions produced for the construction of these ulterior ships.

The study evidences also as the slow steaming it produces certain benefits of economic character: considering it is of the direct costs is of the indirect costs so as of the external costs - the investigators support - the benefits of this practical one exceed the costs, even if - they specify - in the presence of a low level of the price of the fuel the costs would turn out advanced to the benefits.

Moreover the study emphasizes that the reduction of the emissions determined from the decrease of the speed of the ships is immediate and does not demand investments and that the limitation of the speed does not have some impact negative on the operating activity of the ships.

The study is introduced yesterday in the margin of 63the session of Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organizazion (IMO) holding to London. "The regulation of the slow steaming - it has observed John Maggs, representative of Seas at Risk - can determine a reduction of the emissions within 2030 and the 2050 that rivals with any other option of reduction which examined to level IMO or EU, and it can achieve also with a remarkable economic gain".

"If we want indeed to take to measures against the gas emissions greenhouse of the marine transport and to make so that the field of the shipping makes its part in order to face the climatic changes - it has continued Maggs - then we must avoid that any rise of the emissions to the economic crisis happens successively. The IMO, let alone the industry, would have to think newly to a regulation of the slow steaming and to hold of totally account in their activity in order to develop measures that are founded on the market".

"This study - it has found the representative of Transport & Environment, Bill Hemmings - refutes all the preconceived objections respect to a reduction of the obligatory speed that they are left over. The topic of the reduction of the speed is tightening how much obvious one and is the moment for the legislators to sit down and lend attention".

"Part of the field of the marine transports - Hemmings has explained - has slowed down the speed for commercial reasons, but the industry refuses to consider this option as an environmental measure and intends to accelerate newly the speed once that the economic crisis will be ended, even if the slow steaming is to cost zero and sussistono options of flexibility for that relatively small part of the market that needs to operate to greater speed. Under this aspect - it has concluded - the industry seems to act against own interests".