Effects of container ship speed on CO₂ emission, cargo lead time and supply chain costs

• Main Authors: Tran, Nguyen Khoi, Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee
• Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering; CO₂ Emission; Container Liner Shipping
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/159907
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This article studies ship speed from the supply chain perspective to examine its overall effects on liner operators, customers and environment. A model is proposed to simulate container flows on the Trans-Atlantic trade via a liner service. A striking point is that we not only exploit conventional data of shipping operators but also shipment data of customers to support decision-making processes in maritime supply chains. Our simulation reveals that sailing speed only affects one-fourth of the total supply chain costs, but half of the cargo lead time and over 70% of the carbon footprint. Slow steaming brings about fuel saving and less CO2 emission but extends the transit time of goods and raises inventory carrying cost for customers. This hidden cost is a barrier against deploying mega ships, although they can lower shipping cost and CO2 emission. The simulation also implies the potential of express routes to serve premium shipments, for example medical supplies in times of pandemic and for other essential needs, as well as higher value perishable food.