BCIT’s Marine Campus trains marine professionals on energy-efficient transportation of goods, and offers courses including safe oil transfer and petroleum tanker safety to help prevent oil spills.
Marine transport of goods is energy-efficient. Trucks produce as much as eight times the greenhouse gases of a small cargo ship, and air freight, 70 times the carbon dioxide emissions of a ship. Ships carry over 90% of international trade by weight. International shipping accounts for over 1 billion tonnes per year of carbon dioxide, about 4% of total global emissions.
Container cargo volumes are expected to expand to two to four times above current volumes over the next 15 to 20 years. Supply and demand drive the market, but, increasingly, carbon dioxide production limits and fossil fuel taxation will determine what, how and where things get transported.
Even though marine transport is energy efficient, it can be more so. The marine industry will explore ways to reduce fuel and energy use in operations and invest in promising new technology. The Kyoto Accord resulted in shore-based industrial emissions in most developed nations, and in Canada, regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping is planned by mid-2009. Mandatory reduced emission standards for new ships, and best practice guidelines for existing operations, emission trading, and carbon taxes will be considered. The carbon footprint of shipping operations will be further reduced. Domestic carriers and terminal operators already operate under the new BC Carbon Tax, and BC will introduce a carbon trading system in the future.
Source: Western Marine Community 2007 Annual Report