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Shipping to get ratings on energy efficiency

A free internet database set up by Richard Branson will today list the energy efficiency of almost every ocean-going vessel, in a scheme designed to reduce shipping emissions by nearly 25%.

Using publicly available data on the engine size and CO2 emissions of nearly 60,000 ships, exporters and importers, as well as holidaymakers on cruises, will be able to choose between clean and dirty ships.

The initiative, called Shippingefficiency.org, rates ships from A-G in a similar fashion to ratings given to fridges or washing machines. It will allow supermarkets, oil and mining companies, food importers, retailers and manufacturers to specify that their goods are sent from places like China or Australia only by the least polluting ships.

Britain, which imports most of its food and manufactured goods by sea, is expected to be one of the heaviest users of the database.

Shipping contributes around 1 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, about 3-4% of the world’s total. This makes it collectively the sixth largest greenhouse gas polluter in the world, just after Germany.

“By eco-labelling clean and dirty ships, we hope to change the mindset in shipping and begin making gigaton-scale reductions in emissions,” said Peter Boyd, director of Carbon War Room, a business NGO co-founded by Richard Branson with the aim of saving millions of tonnes of CO2 from industry.

Under the new ratings, the biggest ships in the world range from the most to the least efficient. The giant tax haven cruise ship, The World, rates an F – the second worst score – the Queen Mary 2 is only slightly better with an E, and the massive Allure of the Seas – launched last week and officially the largest cruise liner in the world – is an F.

The lowest score, G, goes to the mighty Aegean, a giant crude oil tanker built nearly 40 years ago, but top marks go to the Berge Stahl, a bulk carrier which is so big it can only dock in two ports in the world.

The database, which relies on information supplied by the UN and international ship registers, includes the majority of the world’s container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise liners and ferries. Ships are compared by class not sizes. However, the data base does not cover warships, some of the least efficient fuel users in the world.

The database is expected to be used by ports to offer incentives to clean ships, as well as to shipowners and designers.

The initiative was welcomed by at least one large shipping company. “Now everyone can see clearly how our vessels perform, both our customers and the general public. We welcome the new initiative on shipping transparency, and would encourage other shipping lines to share their data as well,”, said Jacob Sterling, head of climate and environment for the Maersk Line.

Source: eco-bussines.com

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