"We have rethought the whole ship. We are setting a new bar, or standard. These ships will operate at fuel consumption of 50 per cent less than the industry average and 20 per cent better than the existing best. They will travel at 19 knots (21.8mph) rather than 23 knots (26.5mph) and the emissions will be 50 per cent less (per container.) The ships could travel even slower but you reach a point when transit time becomes an issue," said Kolding. The improvement was cautiously welcomed by environment and development groups. "Shipping is the lifeblood of international trade, but it is also a source of carbon emissions bigger than many industrialised countries, and set to treble by 2050. Efficiency improvements to engines are part of the solution, but only by setting a cap can governments really get a grip," said Tim Gore, Oxfam's climate change policy adviser. But the company could not say how much less air pollution the ships would emit. In international waters, sulphur and nitrogen emissions are barely regulated and the largest container ships have been found to emit as much sulphur and nitrogen pollutants as 50m cars. New laws will force reduction in some areas but the technology has not been developed yet to fully "scrub" the diesel emissions of mega ships like those planned by Maersk. In addition, European air quality standards are far more lax for shopping than those of the US.
guardian.co.uk