[imagesource: Getty]

Aside from a small pocket of ridiculous, fact-averse people, and those that profit financially, most of the world is now wise to the fact that we need to make some serious changes if we’re going to keep the planet alive.

This realisation has spurred industries across the board to start thinking about swapping out the old ways of doing things for new, greener options.

The grand old world of shipping is no different, and I’m not just talking about the growing trend of recycling shipping containers into homes, hotels, and other incredible living or workspaces.

Japanese shipbuilding giant Mitsubishi, EURACTIV reports, has announced that they plan on building and testing a carbon-capture system for ships, which has the potential to significantly reduce emissions in the maritime sector.

Carbon-Capture and Storage is a technology that can capture up to 90% of the carbon dioxide emissions pro­duced from the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes, preventing the carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

“The demonstration involves converting the design of an existing CO2 capture system for onshore power plants to a marine environment, and installing it on board an actual ship in service,” the firm said in a statement, adding it will be “a world’s first”.

The testing phase for the system is expected to last two years, largely due to logistic challenges like the fact that the captured CO2 would be much heavier than the fuel. That’s fine on land, but the ocean is a different story.

Mitsubishi will collect data throughout the trials, aimed at making the capture system more compact and cranking up the efficiency of the whole process.

If the company is successful, they plan on making the new technology available for a retrofit, rather than as part of a new ship design. This means that companies won’t have to buy a whole new fleet. Instead, they’ll just upgrade their existing vessels.

Moving goods by container ship is one of the safest ways to get your cargo from point A to point B without a hitch, so it’s great that the industry is looking into more environmentally sustainable ways of doing things.

As for everything else you need to worry about when you need to move cargo, those whose businesses use international shipping know that it’s something of an art form.

Berry & Donaldson, one of South Africa’s largest private-owned logistics companies, has been helping our importers and exporters navigate the labyrinth that is international freighting for over half a century.

They’ll take care of everything, leaving you to focus on the important stuff.

[source:euractiv]