Analysis of the Carbon Intensity of Container Shipping on Trunk Routes: Referring to the Decarbonization Trajectory of the Poseidon Principle

Abstract

Container shipping industries are highly capital intensive. If shipping carriers want to execute international shipping financing, they must follow the IMO emission reduction targets and meet the decarbonization trajectory of the Poseidon Principle (PP). This article used an activity-based model to calculate container shipping industry carbon emissions. It was found that the carbon intensity per unit for each ship was decreased because of the upsizing of container vessels and route deployment based on the alliance strategy. On the Asia–Europe (A/E) trunk route, as the ship size increased from 11,300 to 24,000 TEU, the results showed that the carbon intensity ranged from 6.48 to 3.06 g/ton-nm. It is also proven that the mega-container deployment on the A/E trunk route followed the decarbonization trajectory proposed by PP, while the Asia–Pacific trunk route was not fully in line with the trajectory of EEOI/AER. It is worth noting that starting from 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping companies deployed a higher number of small-size vessels to boost revenues, resulting in more pollutants produced and a mismatch of the trajectory proposed by PP.