Boxship Lines Adopt Slower Speeds

According to an analysis by international shipping association BIMCO, mean speed during the first quarter of 2023 fell by 4% year-on-year to 13.8 knots. The shift reflects changes in the economic climate and operating conditions, and may perhaps be attributed in some measure to improved port conditions. The Copenhagen-based organisation considers that speeds could drop by 10% before 2025.

Sailing at lower speeds reduces bunker fuel consumption and associated emissions, and exerts a signal influence on transport capacity. Such adjustments can constitute an effective means of managing capacity supply. Slow steaming figured dramatically in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008/2009, when sailing speeds on mainline routes were cut by as much as 20%.

While average voyage speeds have again reduced, it is still the case that a faster speed pertains in the head-haul direction. Moreover, the larger boxships in the mainline inter-continental traffic have continued to sail faster than smaller vessels in intra-regional trades. BIMCO’s investigations indicate that all this could be about to change.

The difference between speeds made by the largest and smallest ships averaged 2.6 knots in 2019. By the opening quarter of 2022, the difference had narrowed to 1.8 knots, and the first three months of 2023 saw the disparity reduced further to 1.6 knots.

As a consequence, the average sailing speed weighted by the ships’ TEU capacity fell 6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, against the simple voyage speed average coming down by only 4%. Supply has therefore decreased at a more rapid rate than the sailing speed.

So as to comply with the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index(EEXI), some vessels have reduced top speed through the installation of Engine Power Limitation(EPL) solutions. In order to maintain the buffer between top speed and scheduled speed, and thereby ensure a margin for recovery from delays in port or due to weather, the scheduled speed has accordingly to be reduced.

This will have an impact on the faster head-haul speeds, with a corresponding narrowing of the difference with the back-haul run. The new Carbon Intensity Indicator(CII) edict and overall greenhouse gas(GHG) emission targets may drive further reductions in sailing speed.