Author Archives: just2bruce

Not enough SAF for air cargo to hit net zero – carriers must find other routes

Posted on February 20, 2023 | Leave a comment

It’s becoming obvious that there’s no way that enough sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can be produced to meet the needs of air traffic.

Carriers are already suggesting they will need to play a little use in their path to ‘Net-Zero’ emissions. They plan to take advantage of strategies which allow them to keep emitting but using offsets with technologies that have been declared legitimate to shelter fuel use.

Such technologies concern purchasing carbon credits and developing carbon capture sources. But those do not actually reduce the emissions from air traffic.

I’m interested by what Glen Hughes, the director general of The International Air Cargo Forum (TIACA) said for the article below.

“What’s important is the capacity to monitor a company’s total ESG impact and activities in a manner that fulfils audit requirements and has a direct impact on investment decisions by equity firms and banks.”

Source: Loadstar Article

Clearly this sidesteps serious ESG improvement for the industry and promotes a form of gaming the rules.

Promoting watered-down audit requirements and shaping how investment decisions are made by large investors clearly takes precedence over actually improving emissions. The premise that investment firms and auditors are to determine the world’s response to environmental improvement is patently ridiculous. TIACA is promoting a specious response. A harsh judge could call it a form of greenwashing.

To be fair, I will quote Mr Hughes again, from the same article, citing six questions to answer for supply chain officials:

 “Am I being as environmentally responsible as I can? Am I using recyclable materials? Am I optimising transport? Am I using sustainable energy or compensating for emissions? Am I supporting global prosperity and economic growth? And how can I, my partners and supply chain stakeholders continually improve?”

Source: Loadstar Article

Compensating for emissions is a big loophole. And if you use the loophole, are you being as environmentally responsible as you can be?

Leaving it to investors and politicians to decide does not seem like a wise course.

By Alex Whiteman 20/02/2023

Not enough SAF for air cargo to hit net zero – carriers must find other routes – The Loadstar

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Posted in Air, Logistics, Supply Chains, Sustainability

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Navigating the new world of sanctions

Posted on February 14, 2023 | 2 comments

Sanctions are increasingly complex today, due to the Ukraine war. P&I Clubs are increasingly on point sorting these out for carriers and shippers.

P&I Clubs form risk pools to insure carriers on specific voyages, covering such risks as damage, war risks, and environmental damage.

The annual joint conference of the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce included several P&I club members and attorneys who represent them and others.

I especially noted the comment by Nikolai Ivanov, of Skuld.

 “being in between the sanctions authorities, and the practical part of the shipping industry…we act as a buffer between the two and have to effectively police up and down the sanctions chain”

Nikolai Ivanov, Skuld, in Navigating the new world of sanctions

He points out that Skuld had to deny coverage to some old customers as a result of the sanctions. His remark clarifies that the P&I clubs are on the front lines of sanctions enforcement. No one else is allocating substantial resources to it.

What can happen if this enforcement mechanism fails? The result could be a kind of free-for-all in which sanctions for the Ukraine war, for instance, are no longer of much use. There have been attempts to circumvent the major clubs, for instance, by Russia attempting to provide similar insurance. I don’t think anyone believes that Russian entities could do this on a very large scale.

It appears most of the issues are in the energy transport and bulk carrier transport areas. Extreme shortages in these areas could be the trigger for massive violations of the sanctions, possibly without insurance, with only shadow coverage, or with insurers looking the other way. This wouldn’t be a good situation.

So far the insurers have been able to cope with the sanctions increases.

Seatrade logo

Barry Parker | Feb 14, 2023

Navigating the new world of sanctions

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping

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Xeneta green scheme names and shames box line heroes and villains

Posted on February 10, 2023 | 1 comment

Xeneta has developed a new index to describe the CO2 emissions by major container shipping companies on specific trade lanes. The index names Hamburg Sud as a hero and Evergreen as a villain currently.

Unlike the IMO’s CII the index estimates CO emissions per unit of cargo, which may be a better measure for carriers to work on. It also lets Xeneta make a statement on how the line got their result.

For instance, Hamburg Sud got their good result mainly by slow steaming.

Here’s what Xeneta had to say about how the index is calculated:

“The CEI methodology, she explained, is based on data from Marine Benchmark and calculated based on AIS data, including speed, combined with modelled factors, such as weather data, loading.”

Source: article linked below.

We’ll want to follow this CEI index over time. Over time Xeneta gives us a graphical picture of several entities on the America East Coast trade. Here we see how various carriers and consortia are able to manage CO2 emissions via the CEI.

By Charlie Bartlett, technology editor 09/02/2023

Xeneta green scheme names and shames box line heroes and villains – The Loadstar

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