Excerpts from Maritime Executive:
Several studies undertaken internationally into the effects of changing world climate have focused on the warming Arctic region along with melting northern glaciers located across Northern Canada, Northern Russia and Greenland. While some studies suggest that world sea levels could rise by between 1.3 and 3-feet by 2100, other more alarming studies suggest that sea levels could rise by as high as 7-m or 23-feet. Both levels of rise of sea levels have potential to affect the future of container shipping.
While a rise in sea levels of up to three feet by 2100 would have little impact on the majority of container terminals internationally, a rise of over 20-feet presents some very serious implications for numerous container terminals and requires drastic action in terms of future planning in terms of terminals and ship technology. A rise in sea levels will increase the navigation depth and width of downstream areas of waterways. Some rivers that are presently non-navigable would become navigable to either extreme shallow draft vessels or to commercial river barges, along with future scope to dredge several such rivers.
Rising sea levels could require the scheduling of ships to sail under some bridges only at low tide, and some bridges could need to be raised in the manner of the Bayonne Bridge.