CKYH carriers agree
to super-slow steaming

2009-11-16

CHINA Ocean Shipping (Group) and its partners in the CKYH alliance K Line, Yang Ming Marine and Hanjin Shipping are to introduce super-slow steaming on certain routes to cut fuel costs and emissions, writes Keith Wallis.

The move was agreed by the heads of each of the shipping companies at a meeting on the sidelines of the World Shipping (China) Summit in Qingdao, northern China.

The deal was announced by Cosco president Wei Jiafu on Friday as part of a package of measures to increase co-operation between the carriers.

He said the senior executives, including K Line president Hiroyuki Maekawa, also pledged to control operating costs and save energy resources.

Capt Wei urged more and more liner companies to join the initiative.

No details of the routes that would be covered by super-slow steaming were confirmed.

But super-slow steaming has been pioneered by Maersk Line after it initiated trials involving 110 vessels beginning in 2007.

Maersk Line North Asia Region chief executive Tim Smith said that the trials showed it was safe to reduce the engine load to 10%, compared with a traditional policy of reducing the load to no less than 40%-60%.

This allowed containerships to sail at half speed, reducing fuel costs and emissions by 10%-30%.

Maersk Line said that for a post-panamax containership this would equate to fuel savings of $1m a year and a reduction of 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

The shift to super-slow steaming also allows a more flexible and energy-efficient vessel operation.

CHINA Ocean Shipping (Group)