Environment
We are fully committed to playing our part in addressing climate change and promoting ocean biodiversity. We are determined to accelerate our transition toward net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from our marine operations. We work closely with leading technology companies, shipyards, and fuel providers to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Pathway to decarbonisation
We are on track to meet the IMO (International Maritime Organization) carbon intensity goal of a 40% reduction from 2008 levels ahead of the 2030 milestone. In 2023 we already achieved 37.8% reduction. Since decarbonizing marine operations is one of our main priorities our long term goal is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions for our fleet by 2050.
Pathway to decarbonisation
Improving Quality of Ships Emissions
Many sustainability measures are, in fact, simply good business sense because they reduce costs in addition to our environmental footprint. Energy efficiency is an obvious example of that, with LED lighting and heat recovery systems having that dual impact. Anti-fouling paint reduces drag, and lower speeds and trim optimisation make the voyage more comfortable and reduce fuel consumption.
Digitalisation is key to success, we continuously monitoring thousands of raw data points on the position, speed, weather, engine load, flow meters, fuel consumption, torque meters, and all other on-board equipment which can be connected to a central data collector, allowing continuous analysis and onboard adjustments to maximise efficiency.
Improving Quality of Ships Emissions
Responsible waste management
We are a guest in all the ports we visit and strive to minimise our impact on local communities and their environment, particularly in the area of air emissions.
Reducing emissions to air: Connecting to shore power enables us to turn off our ships’ engines and connect to the local electrical grid to run our onboard systems. With electricity travelling to the ship through a specially designed transformer at the dock, this process prevents emissions produced from our onboard engines, improving local air quality as well as reducing noise and vibration levels – benefitting both the environment and the surrounding communities. Wherever we are involved in building and financing new terminals, we ensure the designs take account of shore power requirements – current examples being the new terminal developments in Barcelona and Miami.
Creating freshwater: Every day, our ships use desalination technologies like reverse osmosis to convert vast volumes of seawater into clean drinking water. Our most modern ships can produce up to three million litres of freshwater in a single day. In 2023, 87.2% of all freshwater consumed (7.4 million cubic metres) was produced onboard our ships for use as drinking water as well as for cooking, cleaning, and in the laundry. As many of the ports we call into can experience periods of water scarcity, our goal is to minimise the amount we take from shore by continuing to increase the share of water produced onboard.
Treating our wastewater: All our ships have wastewater treatment systems installed and treated wastewater is discharged in accordance with strict international regulations. Fourteen ships have advanced wastewater treatment systems and four of these meet the very highest discharge standards, known as the ‘Baltic Standard’, allowing them to treat and discharge water back into the most sensitive areas in which we operate.
Treating ballast water: To avoid transporting contaminants from one ocean to another, and potentially threatening local ecosystems, all our ships have a ballast water treatment system with filtration and UV treatment. Our fleet continues to meet all the requirements of the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention regulations.
Responsible waste management
