Americas News
Great Lakes Study: Shipping Less Polluting than Rail, Trucks
Water transportation in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway region is more fuel-efficient and less polluting than moving goods by train or truck, and the advantage is going to grow in coming years, according to a study commissioned by marine shipping organisations.
The report, Environmental and Social Impacts of Marine Transport in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Region, found that ships using the waterways can move cargo 14 percent farther than rail and 594 percent farther than trucks with the same amount of fuel.
Compared with transportation by ship, greenhouse gas emissions are 19 percent higher for rail and 533 percent higher for trucks.
The study found new requirements taking effect over the next few years, including U.S. and Canadian emissions rules and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards for vessels built after 2013, will make marine transportation significantly more efficient and less polluting, while improvements for trucks and trains will be much less significant.
A future comparison - based on the assumption that all ships, trucks, and trains meet requirements that will be in place in 2016 - found that ships will be 59 percent more fuel-efficient than trains and 773 percent more efficient than trucks, with comparable changes in emissions.
"This study reinforces that this vital marine navigation system is the most efficient and sustainable way to transport goods in the region," Ray Johnston, president of the Ottawa-based Chamber of Marine Commerce, said in a press release on the study.
"Marine shipping's greatest environmental asset is its ability to carry vast amounts of cargo long distances on significantly less fuel than land alternatives.
"Domestic and international shipowners are investing more than $1 billion on new ships and engine technology over the next few years that will only serve to increase these benefits."
In December, the Montreal-based Fednav Group, announced the delivery of one of a series of new fuel-efficient vessels for use in the Great Lakes.
