SHIPPING’S BERMUDA TRIANGLE: THE ‘LOST’ 70,000 VESSELS AND 1.2 BILLION TONNES OF CO2 Industry stands to lose $110 billion over 20 years if new orders do not include new technologies

1. PRESS RELEASE
11th
July 2007
SHIPPING’S BERMUDA TRIANGLE:
THE ‘LOST’ 70,000 VESSELS AND 1.2 BILLION TONNES OF CO2
Industry stands to lose $110 billion over 20 years if new orders do not include
new technologies
DK Group, a leading global maritime technology company, today announced startling new figures
that show the shipping industry is contributing more than double the amount of CO2 emissions
than aviation. Speaking at the International Maritime Organisation’s MEPC (Marine Environmental
Protection Committee) conference in London, Jorn Winkler, founder, DK Group, produced figures
that prove the shipping industry will be responsible for emitting at least 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2
every year by 2011.
The Danish Ministry for the Environment recently announced that the shipping industry emits 800
million tones of CO2 per year, but does not take into account the new insert figure vessels on order
which will emit a further 363 million tones of CO2 a year within three years. This shows the
dramatic growth in the industry’s CO2 output in relation to the decline within the aviation industry,
which currently stands at 600 million tonnes. Winkler also stated that the failure of the shipping
industry to implement new technologies on current new build vessels will see shipping companies
emit 1.19 billion tones of CO2, based on a ship’s 20-year life span. This would cost shipping
companies and their investors $110 billion in wasted fuel costs, based on bunker fuel consumption
of $300 per tonne.
Based on Lloyd's Registry vessel numbers and MAN B&W engine performance figures, DK Group
conducted a study of 7,759 vessels over 175 meters for a major European bank, which concluded
that over the course of a year 484 million tonnes of CO2 was emitted. This figure was calculated
based on the amount of fuel burned, providing a genuine picture of CO2 emissions, rather than the
amount of fuel bought, the traditional calculation method used by the industry.

2. This calculation is substantiated by MAN B&W who has sold over 10,000 engines since 1984,
which they state publicly on their website emits 555 million tonnes a year.
However, this figure does not factor in the remainder of the global commercial fleet, which
according to Lloyd’s Registry, the world’s leading provider of publishing and information services to
the shipping industry, currently stands at over 90,000 vessels. Using a conservative estimate by
taking insert figure vessels between 75 and 175 meters the annual CO2 figure stands at over 750
million tonnes. This is based on each vessel producing an average of 60 tonnes of CO2 every day
for 250 days in the year. Adding all the calculations together means that within three years the
shipping industry’s CO2 emissions contribution will potentially be a minimum of 1.2 billion tonnes
every year and rising, dwarfing that of aviation.
DK Group believes that technology and innovation is the most efficient and immediate way to
reduce carbon emissions for the shipping industry, and has developed a patented Air Cavity
System (ACS) technology, which can reduce the shipping industry’s shipping emissions by up to
15% per year. DK Group has recently invested €3 million, including the purchasing of an 83-metre
vessel to demonstrate to the industry the potential of ACS; tests are being carried out in
conjunction with DK Group’s partners, which includes Germanischer Lloyd, the marine industry’s
leading classification society.
Speaking at the conference, Winkler highlighted the impact that technology can have on reducing
carbon emissions:
“Technology is the most effective way of immediately reducing carbon emissions,” said Winkler.
“Technologies like ACS can be implemented into vessels within six to nine months. Not only will
ship owners and operators be able to reduce carbon emissions they will also be making huge
savings on fuel bills. Whilst shipping is considered to be the most environmentally efficient for of
transportation, this should not negate the responsibility to take action; if the environmental benefits
are obvious, the significant financial advantages should act as a massive incentive.”
Winkler concluded:
“The shipping sector has the opportunity to set an example and lead the charge on reducing the
transport industry’s impact on climate change. However, we must first have a fundamental
understanding of what the real CO2 emission figures are, which will provide the industry with the
basis to measure success. DK Group is committed to working with leading research bodies to
uncover the reality of what this figure is.”

3. -ends-
About DK Group
DK Group is one of the world’s leading maritime technology companies. DK Group pioneered the
development of Air Cavity System (ACS) technology to reduce a vessel’s fuel consumption by 15%
and CO2 emissions by 15%, providing huge cost savings for ship owners and reducing the
shipping industry’s impact on global warming.
The ACS market is worth $60 billion based on the technology’s relevance to the commercial fleet
of ocean-going vessels with a minimum length of 175 metres. DK Group was founded in 1995 and
the company’s headquarters are in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.