Just found out a single cargo ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars

I was reading this report from Transport & Environment last night and it blew my mind. A big container ship like the ones going in and out of Rotterdam burns heavy fuel oil that's basically tar. That one ship puts out more sulfur dioxide than 50 million cars driving around. The shipping industry accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions too. I had no idea it was that bad since we never see it on the news. Has anyone else come across solutions for this like ammonia engines or wind assist tech?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jennifer2d ago

Think about the speed these ships are actually traveling at, most of them could cut their cruising speed by just a few knots and slash fuel consumption by over 20% without changing a thing lol. It's called slow steaming and it's already proven but the industry is dragging its feet because it means longer delivery times and less profit per trip. Would be interesting to see regulators force a speed limit on the busiest shipping lanes instead of just focusing on new fuel tech that won't be ready for years.

faith_thomas2d agoMost Upvoted

Is slow steaming really that simple to implement?