Cosco to slow down

China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (COSCO) is mulling over a plan to reduce the service speed of all of its ships by 10%, in order to lower fuel consumption and reduce emissions. At the start of the year, the state-owned company launched a pilot scheme cutting the speed of its container ships, which account for 65% of total energy consumption, by 10%.

Chen Zhengjie, director of the firm?s safety & technology superintendent division, said yesterday the results have been impressive. “In March, we saved nearly 30,000 tons of fuel,” he said. Also, last year, the group spent millions of dollars equipping its vessels with energy-saving equipment he said. “Fuel consumption is now at its lowest level in the company’s history,” he said.