Newcastle University

Expanded sections of the Panama Canal are due to open in 2014 following an eight-year programme to widen and deepen the waterway in order to increase capacity for liner shipping.

This will remove the breadth restriction of 32.2m (known as ‘panamax’ in the shipping industry) that has constrained ships using the canal since it opened in 1914.

The main reason for the expansion is to increase the capacity of the canal by facilitating the passage of larger container ships, to the benefit of the Panamanian economy for which canal revenues make a significant contribution.

But in a paper published this month in the International Journal of Maritime Engineering, Paul Stott and Dr Peter Wright of Newcastle University argue this $6 billion programme offers the industry as a whole an opportunity to reduce its environmental impact.

“This is a great example of unintended consequences,” explains Mr Stott, a senior lecturer in marine engineering at Newcastle University.

“Potentially, what we have here is an ideal opportunity to implement some quite simple changes that will make a significant difference to the environmental credentials of the industry.”

The relaxation of the constraint will have two main effects, permitting more efficient hull design and larger bulk carriers to trade through the canal with the associated economy of scale.

“The potential savings in fuel costs are substantial, as is the consequent reduction in emissions, potentially saving up to 16% per tonne-mile," said Mr Stott.

“This is important given that the International Maritime Organisation estimates that shipping was responsible for about 2.7% of global emissions of CO2 in 2007 but warns that this may rise to between 12% and 18% by 2050 if the shipping industry does not take major steps to reduce emissions.

“Currently, much research into carbon reduction is focused on fairly radical ideas but good, solid engineering, hull design and optimisation in particular, still has a major role to play in achieving the goal of reducing emissions.”

Newcastle University is recognised as a major centre for research into sustainable science and technology, focussing its research towards finding solutions to this global problem.

Full details may be found in the press release.