A report issued earlier this year by Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland says that climate change could cause the next financial crisis, and The New York Times tells us that “by some estimates, global gross domestic product could plunge by 25 percent because of the effects of climate change.”
We are at a turning point in Global business, which can either make the decision to continue to run unsustainably, with fossil fuels, pollution and waste – or adapt to the growing consensus that sustainability is the new normal and change radically. “International shipping is responsible for more than 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions… roughly the same contribution as that made by Germany.” Instead of a contributor to global warming and climate change, shipping, and the entire “blue economy” with maritime research and solutions could instead spearhead solutions. They are, after all, on the front lines seeing human impact firsthand, from 8 million tons of plastic ending up in the ocean every year and a decline in fish populations of 1.4 metric tonnes between 1930 and 2010.
Lois K. Zabrocky, the CEO of International Seaways, Inc., Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) Commodore for the Year 2020, and a speaker at our upcoming CMA event has a strong belief in American innovation to reduce carbon emissions. Zabrocky had this to say: “The U.S. is the largest energy producer in the world. The U.S. is also leading in reductions of emissions, primarily as coal is displaced. I think the U.S. will continue to innovate and invest heavily to gain some leadership in the reduction of greenhouse gases and emissions.”
Robert Kunkel, President at Alternative Marine Technologies and a speaker at our upcoming CMA Shipping event, is one American who is revolutionizing maritime transport to combat climate change; early last year he quietly launched the US’s first hybrid cargo vessel. Connecticut newspaper The Hour described this vessel as “the first step toward Kunkel's goal of creating an emissions-free eco-delivery marine coastal farm-to-table distribution network”…reducing a 9 hour truck trip to a 45 minute boat trip. Kunkel’s company Harbor Harvest has received a $1.8 million dollar grant, part of a “new Marine Highway initiative designed to reduce traffic congestion, lower gas emissions caused by the trucking industry and bolster marine transportation as an alternative for shippers.”
In a recent interview with Marine News, Kunkel explained: “The world looks to the United States as a technology leader… In the future will be creating as much power as possible through alternative energy sources and storing that energy. Solar, wind and Fuel cell cannot be turned on and off like an internal combustion engine. Storage is the key and we believe it will work towards reinventing the marine propulsion markets. The BAE HybriDrive system works towards that end.”
In 1620 100 people radically changed the world by travelling from Plymouth, England and landing at what came to be called New England. 400 years later, an autonomous ship with the same name that’s set to “transform mankind’s relationship with the ocean” will be taking the same journey with hopes of a different kind of radical transformation.
Built by American non-profit marine research organization Promare, and utilizing tech from American company IBM and working with global partners, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) “will be one of the first unmanned, full-sized and fully-autonomous ships to cross the Atlantic.” IBM gives more details on the ship’s purpose: “The vessel will carry three research pods containing an array of sensors and scientific instrumentation that scientists will use to advance understanding in a number of vital areas such as maritime cybersecurity, marine mammal monitoring, sea level mapping and ocean plastics.”
