VesselBot finds 31% emissions gap between carriers on same ocean route

A new VesselBot report says global container shipping emissions intensity rose 1.5% in Q2 2026, even as most vessel-size segments improved. The analysis argues that average figures can hide major differences between carriers, voyages and trade lanes, with a 31.3% efficiency gap found on the Northern Europe-North America East Coast route.

Why it matters: - Fleet-wide emissions averages can hide meaningful operational differences that affect shipper choices, carrier benchmarking and regulatory reporting. - VesselBot says the report shows voyage execution, vessel deployment and utilization can change emissions outcomes even on comparable services. - The findings suggest shippers may need voyage-level data, not only carrier averages, to compare routes accurately.

What happened: - VesselBot released Decoding Maritime Emissions Q2 2026: Efficiency Hidden in the Details. - The report analyzed 86,389 container voyages completed by 6,523 container vessels. - The analysis covered Well-to-Wake emissions intensity across vessel size, trade routes and carrier execution. - VesselBot said the study uses AIS-tracked voyage data and vessel-specific digital twin models instead of carrier-reported averages or industry benchmarks.

The details: - Global container shipping emissions intensity rose 1.5% year over year in Q2 2026 to 231.7 g CO2e per TEU km. - Five of six vessel-size categories improved over the same period. - Panamax vessels improved 0.9%. - The largest ships, or VLCS, improved 10.6%. - Feeders were the only vessel-size segment that became less efficient. - Feeders handled 63.9% of all Q2 voyages, which was enough to pull the fleet-wide average higher. - NeoPanamax and Very Large Container Ships accounted for 7.4% of Q2 voyages. - Those two vessel groups generated 43.5% of total transport work. - NeoPanamax and Very Large Container Ships produced 27.4% of total emissions. - Feeder and Panamax vessels ran 80% of voyages. - Those vessels generated 26% of transport work. - Feeder and Panamax vessels produced 45.6% of emissions. - The four major fronthaul trades listed in the report accounted for 1.2% of all Q2 voyages. - Those trades generated 21.7% of total quarterly transport work. - Those trades produced 12.3% of total quarterly emissions. - On the Northern Europe to North America East Coast trade, Hapag-Lloyd recorded 80.7 g CO2e per TEU km. - Hapag-Lloyd’s result was 59% below the trade average of 138 g CO2e per TEU km. - MSC recorded 117.5 g CO2e per TEU km on the same route. - MSC’s result was 15% below the trade average. - Hapag-Lloyd voyages were 31.3% lower in emissions intensity than MSC voyages on the route. - The two carriers had similar voyage distances and port pairs. - Voyages in the most efficient emissions-intensity category averaged 80% utilization. - Voyages in the least efficient category averaged 31% utilization. - The most efficient voyages carried close to 9,000 TEU on average.

Between the lines: - The report frames utilization as a major lever for emissions performance, alongside vessel choice and operational execution. - The 31.3% carrier gap on the same route underscores how much emissions outcomes can vary even when the service looks similar on paper. - The fleet-wide 1.5% increase masked progress in most vessel classes, showing how a high-volume segment can distort the headline number. - For shippers and regulators, the report argues that averages can point in the wrong direction when they smooth over route-level and voyage-level variation.

What's next: - VesselBot said it is available for media interviews about the report. - The company provided the full report via the full report. - The findings are likely to feed ongoing scrutiny of carrier reporting, voyage optimization and emissions benchmarking.

The bottom line: - The report’s main message is simple: container shipping emissions performance depends heavily on how a voyage is run, not just which lane it sails or which carrier operates it.