Future powering options for container vessels

The drive for cleaner, more efficient and cost-effective powering options for container vessels is inevitable in the face of its rising demand and substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this paper, the main challenges of the container shipping industry are established, leading to identifying alternative powering options. A detailed and objective comparative analysis conducted establishes some important implications of these options for deep sea-going container vessels. From the analysis conducted it was found that despite its high bunker costs, low sulphur fuel oil such as marine diesel oil (MDO) could potentially be a transitional option for deep sea-going container vessels in the short term as it does not require any retrofit of vessels. With stricter emission limits looming, deep sea-going container vessels using LNG as a fuel will rapidly increase due to its high emission reduction potential, lower costs, availability, and reliability. A long term solution will require a departure from current practises in the maritime industry alongside a heavier reliance upon established and dependable technologies such as nuclear, solar and wind power.