Slower sailing potential curtailed

Major container shipping lines that are embarking on slow steaming schemes to cut fuel cost have come up against obstacles preventing them from reaping the full benefits. Several major container shipping lines recently decided to deploy extra vessels on key routes in order to be able to cut sailing speeds which leads to substantial reductions in fuel consumption, thereby cutting cost and emissions.

A 10% speed reduction can cut fuel use and emission by 20%, according to some estimates resulting in bunker consumption savings of 25% or more according to the president of NYK shipping line, Koji Miyahara.

APL, MOL and Hyundai plan to deploy nine instead of eight ships on three of their four Asia-Europe strings between late February and through April. However, the savings achieved by speed reduction from 25 to 20 knots, which it estimated could give a fuel saving of around $1 million per round trip, could be halved because of port congestion in Europe combined with the extra cost of running an additional ship. Ships sailing westbound from Asia to Europe have little or no leeway in adjusting berthing slots at terminals in Europe because of port congestion. Container ships therefore have to go at full speed when travelling westbound.

In the eastbound direction the terminals in Asia, and in particular China, have more leeway to accommodate arrival times and therefore ships heading east can steam at a slower speed to make revised schedules.