A recent study from Arup has shown that more than a quarter of the UK’s container traffic could be moved by coastal shipping rather than heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) – which, according to Arup Director Darren Briggs, would not only ‘deliver significant benefits in terms of congestion and emissions but also reduce logistics costs and support the growth of regional economies’.
Writing in a blog post about the report, Briggs said: ‘In terms of CO2 emissions, the transition would save 9.6 million CO2 tonnes when compared to diesel HGVs and 2.6 million CO2 tonnes when factoring the current HGV decarbonisation pathway.’
In addition to cutting emissions, the sea-change would also bring cost savings and help create jobs.
‘Average operating costs for coastal transport compared to road per container could be 50% lower, depending on the loading of the vessel,’ said Briggs. ‘The transition would reduce transport operating costs by 31%, a saving of circa £4 billion. Regional ports would also see an increase in volume resulting in private investment and job creation in line with the government’s economic levelling up agenda.’
Arup hosted a seminar and workshop on ‘Decarbonising shipping – opportunities for the UK’ on 13 September as part the London International Shipping Week and it will share the key findings of the event in an article that will be published in the forthcoming October/November issue of the Bunkerspot magazine.
