Slow Steaming in Container Shipping

Abstract

International supply chains heavily rely on maritime shipping. Since the beginning of the latest economical crisis, the containership fleet is slowing down. This paper gives a short overview of the slow steaming history as well as the widely assumed coherence between a ship's speed and its fuel consumption. Calculating fuel consumption as a function of speed provides decision support regarding the decision to which extent slowing down should be performed. It can be assumed that, compared to sailing at full speed, a speed reduction has a positive economic and also environmental impact. This paper is focused on the economic aspects. We show the considerable cost saving potential of a lower ship speed as a result of the decreasing fuel consumption. In combination with other variables of a container vessels' profit function, this may lead to the profit optimizing speed of a container carrier.