Shipping worldwide contributes to around 3% of global CO2 emissions, which is equal to 1 billion tonnes of CO2 a year. This is why our industry has a responsibility to do our part and keep moving towards a net-zero future. At Stena Line, we welcome these challenges, and embrace the opportunity for collaboration between our colleagues, suppliers, customers and wider community.
Our vision is connecting Europe for a sustainable future, and we have a clear roadmap for how to get there. As a first milestone we have ambitious targets for 2030: to reduce the CO2 emissions from our vessels by 30% and to launch our first vessel without CO2 emissions.
With the economy picking up pace as we emerge from the pandemic, 2021 inevitably saw an increase in our CO2 emissions. But despite this, there has still been an overall reduction in emissions since 2019.
On top of that, in 2021 our vessels moved more cargo, meaning higher efficiency and a reduction in our carbon footprint. We have also reduced the pollutants we emit, as we switched to low-sulphur fuel across our Irish Sea fleet. We also reached 100% renewable electricity in our onshore operations, where renewable sources were available. Where they were not, we bought green credits to compensate.
Three of our five new E-flexer vessels have now arrived: Stena Estrid, Stena Embla and Stena Edda. While they are brand-new vessels, they celebrate our Swedish heritage. The E names both mark their place in the E-flexer family, and take their origins from Norse mythology. Embla, for example, was the first female created by the gods, while Estrid means divinely beautiful.
“Designed for maximum efficiency, the three E-flexers include several emission-reducing technologies”
A streamlined hull with a unique shape that allows them to glide easily through the water.
Faster loading and offloading, which means less time in port and more time at sea to complete their journey, reducing the need to use more fuel for acceleration.
New propellers that use fixed-propulsion power; this keeps vessels at the right speed on less power. On top of that, one propeller is feathered to minimise resistance in the water.
Two engines instead of four, with an ability to run on just one propeller and engine, meaning lower fuel consumption.
Environmentally friendly anti-fouling paints that safely repel organisms like barnacles from ship hulls to help them run more efficiently. 10% barnacle coverage needs 36% extra power to keep the same speed. So keeping our vessels free of barnacles really can have an impact on our emissions.