Matson reports 17% surge in GHG emissions in 2021 amid ‘unprecedented demand’
US container shipping firm Matson has reported direct emissions of more than 1.2 million mt of carbon dioxide equivalents from its vessels last year, up from 1.0 million mt in 2020.
PHOTO: Matson containership deployed in Hawaii. Matson
It says the launch of a China-California service in June last year and increased sailings from China contributed to the rise in emissions. Higher demand for transpacific services last year also added to emissions from its fleet.
Every vessel in Matson’s fleet was deployed last year including the reserved ones, it adds.
“As a result, Matson-owned vessels saw the equivalent of over 600 more operating days in 2021, an increase in approximately 15% from the prior year,” the company stated its sustainability report for 2021.
Despite higher emissions, Matson says it is committed to reduce GHG emissions from its fleet by 40% by 2030, compared to 2016 baseline. It has prepared a roadmap for the same.
Last month, Matson signed an agreement with MAN Energy Solutions to retrofit the main engine of its Daniel K. Inouye containership to dual-fuel LNG. It also plans to retrofit another vessel Manukai after work on the Daniel K. Inouye is completed.
LNG can curb carbon dioxide emissions by about a quarter compared to conventional bunker fuels. But its methane emissions can be 36 times more potent as a GHG compared to carbon dioxide over a century, according to a World Bank report.
