With maritime connectivity customers from across the world, the team at Telecom26 takes a close interest in the global shipping market. We’ve looked before at the book “Ninety Percent of Everything - Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate”.
A terrific title and an even better read which describes the sheer scale of an industry which is responsible for, as it says, transporting 90% of everything.
The industry recently drew attention from across the world when the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal. As the queue of delayed container ships grew ever longer, retailers warned about the effects on their shelves.
Another issue which has started to receive interest from the mainstream press is the impact of international shipping on the environment. The industry is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions emitting around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually and responsible for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
According to this article “It has been estimated that just one container ship, the length of around six football pitches, can produce the same amount of pollution as 50 million cars. The emissions from 15 of these mega-ships match those from all the cars in the world. And if the shipping industry were a country, it would be ranked between Germany and Japan as the sixth-largest contributor to global CO2 emissions”.
The International Maritime Organisation, a specialized agency of the UN responsible for improving the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships, is aiming to reduce CO2 emissions from international shipping by at least 40% by 2030, pursuing efforts towards 70% by 2050, compared to 2008); and also reducing GHG emissions from by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008.
Telecom26 - The Role of Maritime Connectivity and Maritime Cellular Communications in Reducing Emissions
One of the measures being mooted as an effective way to reduce the emissions of container ships is for them to lower their speeds, so called Slow-Steaming.
Apparently, reducing ship speed by 10% will lead to a 27% reduction of the ship’s emissions. However, if all ships were to slow-steam, the available capacity on the market would be reduced (more ships would be needed to carry out the same transport work).
So, to reduce the effects of slower journeys, the ports, ships and the containers they transport all need to become smarter enabling swifter turn-arounds.
And, anything with the word smarter in its title requires always-on reliable communications.
Port Connectivity - IoT maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications
Telecom26 provides IoT maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications for ships, smart containers - and the ports they move through.
We’ve invested in dedicated technology to enable maritime and smart port solutions and can customise our offering to provide vessels, port personnel and infrastructure with the digital services, personal comms and IoT device data management they need to keep ships moving - and cargo safe and secure.
In addition, we provide offshore and nearshore maritime cellular communications for ferries, cruise liners, fishing vessels and more. We also enable private networks, both onshore – for ports – and offshore, to provide capacity onboard. Private networks can be bridged with public networks, but with full control, enabling a cohesive but managed service to be delivered.
So, we’re right at the leading edge of designing and enabling such solutions and understand the challenges that IoT and 5G coverage will bring – as well as the opportunities. Amidst all the excitement generated by 5G, it’s important to note that we can already enable many of these services via LTE, which means you don’t need to wait to benefit from the latest innovations in maritime and smart port technology.
To learn more about Telecom26’s suite of IoT maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications services please get in touch.
