Drewry is well-known for its expertise in maritime-related matters. In a recent market opinion piece, they suggest that maritime emissions can be reduced rather simply, with port call optimization. They mean to reduce the time ships sit near a port waiting for their berth to open up.
Some ports have been successful with appointment windows. But the Drewry approach includes slow steaming to hit the port berthing window close to the time, instead of standing offshore running engines and emitting pollution. The slow steaming itself is a tested measure for reducing emissions, though it doesn’t eliminate them. The two efforts combined could save a lot of pollution, and now in some places such as the EU, emission charges based on actual fuel use numbers.
Eliminating waste in a system, such as waiting time waste, is a tried and true operations management or lean technique. But in the case of maritime shipping and ports, a lot of coordination is required. Systems need to be in place to provide accurate information about ocean carrier voyage schedules. Sailing times between ports can vary a lot, because of factors such as weather and route adjustments.
But also, both ocean carriers and ports need to share information and cooperate on setting berthing schedules. A late loading in Shanghai, for instance, will affect the projected arrival time in Long Beach. the two ports and the carrier will need to share up-to-the-minute (or hour) information about progress. Will they do it? It will require a level of interaction never before seen.
I think that ultimately, ports and carriers will be driven to this by the gains that can be made. but I think it will be a long time coming.
Update: Port optimization can actually prevent deaths. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently studied the number of deaths that could be prevented by port waiting time improvement.
Sam Chambers June 27, 2024
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