Hapag-Lloyd, DB Schenker Launching Eco-Friendly Initiative in Ocean Freight
Image Courtesy: Hapag-Lloyd German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and compatriot logistics services provider DB Schenker have launched a project aimed at cutting sulfur oxide emissions in ports.
In order to reduce the impact of pollution, especially in Asian and Latin American ports, a “prestigious customer” switches all of its containers shipped by Hapag-Lloyd to low-sulfur fuel.
Specifically, customers pay a voluntary surcharge on each of its containers shipped through these ports, having started in mid-2017. Such surcharge is used by Hapag-Lloyd to purchase the low-sulfur fuel.
Customers receive a factual statement on the fuel change for all of their containers while DB Schenker supervises the transaction.
As explained, the move goes beyond current regulation. While some regions in the world provide for 0.1% sulfur content not to be exceeded when at berth, many ports still do not have any such regulations and fuel is permitted to be burnt with sulfur contents of up to 3.5% to run vessel facilities during port stays for loading and discharge.
“We are proud to enter with such prestigious companies in a ground-breaking health and environmental initiative,” Andrea Dorothea Schoen, Carbon Controller and head of DB Schenker’s climate protection program and project initiator, commented.
“For us this a milestone in our environmental partnership – with the shipper and the carrier alike,” Schoen added.
“We jointly can pave the way for better air quality and push sustainability on the oceans,” Thorsten Haeser, CCO of Hapag-Lloyd, pointed out.
