Danaos slashes CO2 emissions 11 years ahead of schedule

Greek containership owner Danaos Corporation managed to meet IMO 2030 carbon reduction targets eleven years ahead of schedule.

The company revealed it achieved 41.5 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions per ton-mile for the year 2019 compared with the base year 2008.

Investing in a sustainable future for shipping, Danaos is joining its counterparts including Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming and French shipping major CMA CGM that have already exceeded the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.

In order to comply with the new sulphur cap regulations that entered into force in January 2020, Danaos announced back in 2018 a scrubber installation project covering a number of the company’s vessels.

The most recent scrubber installation was completed on M/V Hyundai Ambition, a containership of 13,082 TEU, Danaos said on LinkedIn three weeks ago.

In addition, thanks to advanced solutions such as electronically controlled engines, the company has cut carbon emissions through fuel efficiency optimization.

Through continuous monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of environmental processes, Danaos’ aim is to be “a pioneer in minimising the impact of international shipping to the environment”.

In the corporate presentation published in May this year, Danaos also said it will be procuring environmentally-friendly low-sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) for its ships.

The shipping company has partnered up with founders of the Poseidon Principles — a new global framework for responsible ship finance which will help incentivize shipping’s decarbonisation in line with the IMO’s climate goals.

“Last year, we were anticipating a significant drive into green technology and investments as the new sulphur fuel regulations were set to come into force. The transition to new sulphur fuels has gone relatively smoothly, and we have not experienced any incidents related to fuel quality and availability,” John Coustas, President & CEO of Danaos, said in the financial report for 2019.

He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has put new environmental initiatives on hold, in part because much lower fuel costs do not incentivize green technologies.

The slight delay in green shipping investments due to the current market situation was also confirmed by Coustas in the recent issue of the Greek magazine Naftika Chronika.

“Once the current crisis subsides, the industry will need to refocus on these initiatives, and we continue to actively participate in research on the future of our fleet and the industry,” Coustas concluded in the annual report.

Danaos Corporation currently has a fleet of 63 container vessels ranging from 2,200 to 13,100 TEU, including five ships acquired by Gemini Shipholdings Corporation, according to data provided by the company’s website.