A UNSW Sydney researcher has discovered a way for massive cargo ships to reduce their pollution by taking advantage of natural ocean movements.
Cargo ships are incredibly important for global trade. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, these ships carry about 11 billion tons of goods annually. Everything from food and coffee to raw materials needed to construct buildings arrives on cargo ships.
To say these ships are huge is an understatement. Most cargo ships can carry thousands of 40-foot containers. The larger a ship's size, the more fuel it uses, generally speaking. That means a lot of polluting gases come from these ships each day, including black carbon and sulfur dioxide.
But researcher and associate professor at UNSW Sydney, Shane Keating, developed a way to forecast ocean currents using artificial intelligence and modeling. By doing so, Keating hopes to make cargo ship travel more efficient, as ships could use ocean currents to move across the water, equating to less fuel use.
The tech has been in development for around 15 years under a UNSW Sydney-owned company, CounterCurrent. It relies on satellite sensors to gather data points about the ocean's current to model the most efficient routes tailored to each ship.
"The algorithm is like a Google Maps for the sea, giving the most efficient route in real time based on the behavior of ocean eddies," said Keating.
Keating also noted that this technology could help shipping companies reduce their overall costs due to less fuel usage. Those savings could trickle down to everyday shoppers through the cost of goods.
But this breakthrough can also have positive effects on the environment. With less fuel burned, ships can release fewer planet-warming gases and dirty air pollutants along their way. Cleaner air can improve public health and reduce healthcare costs.
This ocean-mapping technology is just one way the shipping industry is becoming cleaner. In 2024, the world's largest electric container ship set sail for regular routes, proving that cleaning up the industry is possible. Earlier this year, the UN's International Maritime Organization agreed to require international shipping vessels to switch to cleaner fuels.
Keating has tested the ocean-mapping algorithm on over 100 ships and is ready to commercialize it.
"My hope is that, within the next five years, this research will change the way that ships cross the ocean so that shipping companies can meet their emissions targets," said Keating.
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