According to FreightWaves, a new VesselBot analysis of 86,389 voyages completed in Q2 2026 reveals a 31.3% emissions intensity gap between Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) on the Northern Europe–North America East Coast trade lane — despite identical port pairs and voyage distances.
Efficiency gains masked by fleet-wide average
Global container shipping’s average Well-to-Wake emissions intensity rose 1.5% year over year to 231.7 grams of CO2e per TEU-kilometer in Q2 2026. Yet this aggregate figure concealed meaningful progress: five of six vessel-size categories improved efficiency, including a 10.6% gain for Very Large Container Ships (VLCS) and a 0.9% gain for Panamax vessels. Only feeder vessels — which accounted for 63.9% of all Q2 voyages — regressed, dragging down the overall average.
The report underscores how reliance on fleet-wide or trade-lane averages can mislead shippers and regulators. As Constantine Komodromos, chief executive and founder of VesselBot, stated:
“That is the risk of managing to an average: It can point you in the opposite direction of what is actually happening.” — Constantine Komodromos, CEO and founder of VesselBot
VesselBot’s analysis covered 6,523 container vessels and used AIS-tracked voyage data paired with vessel-specific digital twin models — measuring emissions at the individual voyage level rather than relying on carrier-reported averages.
Mega-ships dominate work while minimizing emissions share
Neo-Panamax and VLCS vessels ran just 7.4% of all voyages in Q2 2026 but generated 43.5% of total transport work while accounting for only 27.4% of emissions. In contrast, feeder and Panamax vessels operated 80% of voyages, produced only 26% of transport work, and emitted 45.6% of total emissions — highlighting disproportionate inefficiency in smaller vessel segments.
The four major fronthaul trades — China/East Asia to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the North America West Coast, plus Northern Europe to the North America East Coast — represented just 1.2% of all Q2 voyages but delivered 21.7% of quarterly transport work while emitting only 12.3% of emissions.
On the Northern Europe–North America East Coast route, where the trade average stood at 138 grams CO2e per TEU-km, Hapag-Lloyd recorded 80.7 grams CO2e per TEU-km — 59% below the average — while MSC posted 117.5 grams CO2e per TEU-km, 15% below average.
Utilization drives emissions performance
Vessel utilization emerged as one of the strongest predictors of voyage-level emissions intensity. The most efficient voyages averaged 80% utilization and carried nearly 9,000 TEUs; the least efficient operated at just 31% utilization. This stark divergence confirms that operational execution — not just vessel size or distance — determines actual emissions outcomes.
As Komodromos emphasized:
“A trade lane average tells a shipper what a route looks like on paper. It does not tell them what happened on their shipment.” — Constantine Komodromos, CEO and founder of VesselBot
Source: FreightWaves
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
