January 21, 2010 // Ocean carriers slow vessels to save fuel

Michelle Sardella

More and more container shipping lines are cutting down on vessel fuel costs with one deceptively simple practice--they're going slower.

The practice is known as "slow steaming." Here's how it works: carriers simply reduce the average speed of vessels, thereby cutting the amount of fuel used during a voyage. This typically adds 3-7 days to a vessel's entire delivery route.

In most cases, this means adding about one extra day to total transit time for each destination on that route. Importers may want to pad internal lead times to compensate for possible shifts in arrival times.

The resulting savings for steamship lines is substantial. It's estimated that "...annual savings could total $15 million to $20 million for a typical Asia-Europe route using 8,500-TEU ships" (source: Journal of Commerce).

In addition to reducing fuel consumption, slow steaming also reduces a vessel's carbon emissions. With public support increasing for "green legislation," like the Clean Port Act, steamship lines are looking for any way they can cut down on their impact on the environment.

Slow steaming is now widely practiced among the world's major ocean carriers. APL, Maersk, CMA CGM, K-Line, Hanjin, and Zim have all jumped on the bandwagon. It's one way steamship lines are hoping to recoup last year's losses.