VesselBot finds 31% emissions-intensity gap between carriers
Container shipping carriers operating comparable services on the same trade lane can record significantly different emissions performance, according to a new VesselBot report.
The analysis found a 31.3% emissions-intensity gap between Hapag-Lloyd and MSC voyages on the Northern Europe-North America East Coast trade.
VesselBot based its report on 86,389 voyages completed by 6,523 container ships during the second quarter of 2026.
Fleet-wide emissions intensity increases
Global container shipping’s average Well-to-Wake emissions intensity increased by 1.5% year on year to 231.7 grams of CO2 equivalent per TEU-kilometre.
However, five of the six vessel-size categories examined recorded efficiency improvements.
Panamax vessels improved their emissions intensity by 0.9%. Very Large Container Ships achieved the strongest improvement at 10.6%.
Feeder vessels were the only category to become less efficient. Since feeders operated 63.9% of all voyages during the quarter, their performance was sufficient to increase the fleet-wide average.
Large vessels generate more transport work
Neo-Panamax and Very Large Container Ships operated 7.4% of all voyages during the quarter.
However, these vessels generated 43.5% of total transport work while accounting for 27.4% of emissions.
Feeder and Panamax vessels showed the opposite pattern. They operated 80% of voyages but generated only 26% of transport work.
These two vessel categories accounted for 45.6% of total emissions.
| Vessel groups | Share of voyages | Share of transport work | Share of emissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neo-Panamax and VLCS | 7.4% | 43.5% | 27.4% |
| Feeder and Panamax | 80% | 26% | 45.6% |
Major trade lanes record higher efficiency
Four major headhaul trades represented only 1.2% of voyages during the second quarter.
However, these voyages generated 21.7% of total transport work while producing 12.3% of total emissions.
The routes covered China and East Asia to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the North American West Coast, as well as Northern Europe to the North American East Coast.
Hapag-Lloyd and MSC show different results
The average Well-to-Wake emissions intensity on the Northern Europe-North America East Coast trade reached 138 grams of CO2 equivalent per TEU-kilometre.
Hapag-Lloyd recorded an average of 80.7 grams of CO2 equivalent per TEU-kilometre.
MSC recorded 117.5 grams, around 15% below the trade-lane average.
Hapag-Lloyd’s average emissions intensity was 31.3% lower than MSC’s, despite the carriers operating voyages with similar distances and port pairs.
VesselBot said the comparison demonstrated the influence of vessel deployment, utilisation and voyage execution on emissions performance.
“A trade lane average tells a shipper what a route looks like on paper. It does not tell them what happened on their shipment,” said Constantine Komodromos, CEO and Founder of VesselBot.
“On the Northern Europe to North America East Coast trade lane, we observed a 31.3% efficiency gap between the most and least efficient carrier for the route, despite similar voyage distances and port pairs,” he added.
“Distance alone cannot explain that spread. The difference is in how those voyages were executed,” Komodromos continued.
Vessel utilisation drives efficiency
Vessel utilisation emerged as one of the strongest factors affecting voyage-level emissions intensity.
Voyages in the most efficient category recorded average utilisation of 80%.
By comparison, vessels in the least efficient category operated at an average utilisation rate of 31%.
The most efficient voyages also transported nearly 9,000 TEUs on average.
Averages can conceal operational differences
VesselBot said fleet-wide and trade-lane averages can hide significant differences between individual voyages and comparable carrier services.
“A fleet-wide number moving 1.5% in the wrong direction suggests the industry lost ground this quarter,” said Komodromos.
“But five of the six vessel-size segments actually became more efficient,” he added.
“That is the risk of managing to an average: it can point you in the opposite direction of what is actually happening,” Komodromos concluded.
The report used AIS-tracked voyage data and VesselBot’s vessel-specific digital twin models.
It measured Well-to-Wake emissions intensity at individual voyage level across vessel sizes, trade routes and carrier operations.
The post VesselBot finds 31% emissions-intensity gap between carriers appeared first on Container News.
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
