Shipping emissions: Route optimisation using ocean currents and eddies may save 10% fuel use globally

An Australian scientist proposes freight and container ships optimise their routes based upon satellite data and a AI algorithm based upon the mapping of ocean currents and ocean eddies. 

This could save a freight route between Sydney and Wellington in New Zealand about 17 percent fuel use, with minimal deviation and change in delivery time. It could achieve these savings by tracking the flow of a large anticlockwise eddy in the Tasman Sea.

Projecting this globally: global shipping industry could potentially cut its total fuel usage by 10 per cent with his route optimisation algorithm, Estimated savings are projected to be nearly US$50 billion and 237 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Shane Keating is an oceanographer and associate professor of applied mathematics at UNSW Sydney. He has developed an application and is offering it through his just-launched UNSW spin-off company named Ocean Intelligence. 

“It’s essentially Google Maps for the sea, which offers the most efficient route in real time based on the behaviour of ocean eddies,” Keating said in this article in the Saturday Paper.

Freight Decarbonisation for Australia addresses transport emissions says new ClimateWorks report

Decarbonising freight is critical to decarbonising the transport sector and meeting Australia's climate targets. ClimateWorks has just published a report on Delivering freight decarbonisation: Strategies for reducing Australia’s transport emissions.

In 2021, the transport sector contributed approximately 20 per cent of Australia’s domestic emissions and is likely to become the largest contributor by 2030. Freight makes up a considerable share of transport emissions, estimated by Climateworks to be just under 40 per cent of the transport total. This represents approximately 7 per cent of Australia’s total emissions.

Passenger transport emissions can be addressed through uptake of Electric Vehicles, Fuel Efficiency standards, policies that encourage active transport (walking and cycling) and micro-mobility and use of public transport. This report does not focus on passenger transport emissions.