Reducing ship emissions through Dynamic Route Planning

As a result of the many countries that envelop it, the Baltic is one of the busiest seas in the world, and one of particular navigational characteristics, due to its shallow depths and winter ice. Because of this, and of current Vessel Traffic Separation policies, it is not uncommon that ships have to wait at anchor before berthing. This could be easily avoided with the help of Dynamic Route Planning. AIS data sharing could assist ships optimize speed and routing so as to arrive at anchor just in time. 

In new research appearing soon in Maritime Economics and Logistics it is shown that, through Dynamic Route Planning, a, say, 5% average sailing speed reduction -without affecting the integrity of shipping schedules-  could benefit regional societies up to 300 million euros a year, as a result of lower ship emissions costs. And this is not little money… To implement the new system, modest investments are required, ashore and on ships, while one should not neglect the considerable economic benefits to carriers, due to lower fuel consumption. HH