In the last few years, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the shipping industry. Shipping companies are beginning to transition toward fully renewable or cleaner energy sources to drive their vessels, and gradually giving up their use of fossil fuels. In an industry first, Finnish shipping firm Wartsila installed a hybrid energy system with solar power onboard the Paolo Topic bulk carrier in 2021.
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Need for Change in the Shipping Industry
Most of the goods traded between countries are transported on large container ships that require huge amounts of energy to get from Port A to Port B. By volume, around 80% of all world trade takes place between countries and across waters; 70% of world trade by value is carried by international shipping.
For the last couple of hundred years, these ships have been mostly…