Investments in sustainable technologies would not only reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of shipping. It would also increase its profits. This according to new research from the Åbo Academy.

Improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions within navigation. A study carried out in the Laboratory of Industrial Management at Åbo Akademi University also indicates that such measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

“Through operational and technological measures it is possible to reduce both emissions and freight costs. Moreover, if the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, the shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs”, Research Director Magnus Gustafsson from the Laboratory of Industrial Management at Åbo Akademi University, says in a press release.

Digitalisation offers tangible solutions. For instance, new digital planning and booking systems would facilitate smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or with no cargo onboard.

“By sailing fewer nautical miles with little or no cargo, it is possible to improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by the so-called ballast traffic”, says Henry Schwartz, Doctoral Student in Industrial Management at Åbo Akademi University.

Read the report here