Container ships are taking longer to cross the oceans than the Cutty Sark did as owners adopt 'super-slow steaming' to cut back on fuel consumption
• True scale of emissions from shipping revealedThe world's largest cargo ships are travelling at lower speeds nowadays than sailing clippers such as the Cutty Sark did more than 130 years ago.
A combination of the recession and growing awareness in the shipping industry approximately climate change emissions encouraged many ship owners to adopt "slow steaming" to save fuel two years ago. This lowered speeds from the standard 25 knots to 20 knots, but many major companies beget now taken this a stage further by adopting "super-slow steaming" at speeds of 12 knots (approximately 14mph).
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com