Environmental Policy Expected to Switch Focus from Land to Sea
A former partner at Glaser & Tonsich, LLP, Nick Tonsich possesses over a decade of experience in environmental and maritime law. He leverages this knowledge to oversee Ocean Terminal Services (OTS) and Clean Air Engineering-Maritime (CAEM) as president and CEO. Between these two companies, Nick Tonsich is responsible for overseeing operations that include repairing marine terminal equipment and providing marine exhaust treatment services.
In the next few decades, the demand for shipping services in expected to double due to the fact that shipping remains the most efficient method for sending large amounts of goods over large distances. This increasing prevalence of shipping suggests that environmental policy will begin changing its focus from land conservation to sea conservation.
Within the shipping industry, this change in focus will most likely translate into an adoption of new sustainable technologies. These new advances focus on decreasing emissions from ships and improving energy efficiency. Many shipbuilders have already started incorporating new hull design and fuel propulsion innovations to create more sustainable fleets. Some of these technologies include rig and solar-sail systems for cargo ships, kite-sail systems, and advanced propellers.
In addition to incorporating sustainable technologies, the shipping industry will also start seeing a change in port operations. By changing port operations, cities and countries can decrease their environmental impact and improve the air around shipping ports. Many areas have already begun the process of adopting renewable energy at shipping ports, including India, which announced a plan to switch all government-owned ports to renewable energy in May 2017.
