Cargill Inc., the world’s largest charterer of commodity carriers, said governments should consider banning older vessels to help curb pollution.
“Setting certain legislation around vessels’ age could help and that’s something for authorities to look at,” Roger Janson, president of Cargill’s ocean transportation unit, said in an interview in London recently. Some “very old” ships with high fuel consumption are concentrated on routes including China’s coastal coal trade, he said.
International shipping is lagging behind the car and aircraft industries in improving efficiency, according to the Sustainable Shipping Initiative. Cargill is one of 15 signatories to the initiative, which is developing a 30-year plan to cut emissions, improve designs and toughen laws.