News / As carbon emission rules for ships get tougher, it could trigger modal shift

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Experts fear the International Maritime Organization’s carbon intensity indicator (CII) regulation will trigger market changes, including a modal shift from shipping to land, hitting feeder and reefer trades.

A collapse in demand as port congestion normalises has reduced shipping rates and incentivised scrapping smaller, older vessels – around 25% of the sub-6,000 teu fleet over 20 years old.

And, as a cascade of new tonnage arrives in 2023 and 2024, the economics for this smaller subset will become increasingly precarious.

In its current ...