In Europe, container ships produce emissions pollutants per container transported equal to those of six years ago. This was stated today by Transport & Environment, the organization non-governmental European Union that promotes the development of a European non-governmental sector, sustainable and safe transport, based on the collection of latest data on maritime transport in the EU from the European MRV monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions from cargo ships, and passengers of any flag calling at ports of the European Union.

According to the latest data - explained T&E presenting THEIR FINDINGS - Emissions from ships "are decreased slightly in 2023 compared to the previous year but, contrary to industry claims that ships are operating more efficiently, decreases in emissions such as those found in 2023 are likely due to to a reduction in trade. Recent improvements in naval technologies - the organization noted - have led to greater technical efficiency of new ships. However, T&E's analysis shows that, under real-world conditions of In terms of operations, Europe's container ships pollute on average as much as in 2018".

According to Jacob Armstrong, head of the shipping of T&E, "there are not enough incentives for ships to sail more efficiently. The companies of navigation are reacting to the higher prices of the fuel by purchasing slightly more efficient vessels. However, the data show that globally transport containerized is not becoming more efficient. The most significant efficiency improvements - has Armstrong said - are determined by a lower browsing speed. If governments were to take measures that would promote real efficiency gains, could reduce drastically emissions from one day to the next". So that T&E asks the European Commission to propose energy efficiency measures, such as limits at the speed of ships and the promotion of technologies such as wind assistance to navigation, applying to ships that the Carbon Intensity Index of the International International Maritime Cooperation Index calls at European ports Maritime Organization, an index based on data on the consumption of and greenhouse gas emissions that is adverse by international shipowners' associations as it is Defined state ( of 9 July 2024).

In its analysis, Transport & Environment does not take minimally consideration is given to the investments made in the recent years by the shipping industry to have ships more efficient in terms of emissions produced, but above all able to navigate using more fuels clean spaces, nor of the pressing requests of shipowners to the institutions to support the production of these new fuels to promote the creation of a network for their distribution and to introduce measures to approximate the prices of these new fuels to those of conventional fuels. Without clean fuels, even in the presence of ships capable of using them shipowners are equipping themselves, shipping will not succeed to meet the decarbonisation targets set by the EU, as admitted by the T&E itself.

In its exhortation today, T&E makes no mention the need to have these new fuels to allow shipping sector to reduce its emissions while also giving meaning to investments in new ships made by industry in recent years. Talk only about imposing a decrease in browsing speed and recourse to wind assistance for ship propulsion, as it does today T&E, it's like placing a fig leaf to cover much more complex problems, such as those repeatedly reported by the shipowners. Complicated problems examined in the past by Transport & Environment with exhaustive and addressed analyses more recently by T&E with summary complaints that risk to debase the primary role of the organization in the progress towards more sustainable transport systems.

B.B.