Chamber of Marine Commerce urges further consideration of Great Lakes shipping environmental benefits

The Chamber of Marine Commerce, a bi-national group of Canadian and American shipping stakeholders, issued a release on Wednesday urging industry figures and government officials to consider the environmental advantages of marine shipping and the challenges facing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence segment of the industry as they consider carbon-offsetting measures.

“Unlike the global shipping fleet, most domestic shipping competes directly with road and rail,” Chamber of Marine Commerce President Stephen Brooks said. “The more we unnecessarily burden this short-sea shipping with extra costs, the greater likelihood this freight moves to less environmentally friendly modes. We also need to think about the negative impact of thousands -- even millions -- of more heavy trucks on our overburdened highways and in neighborhoods where our families live, work and play.”

The Chamber of Marine Commerce made its call as several important environmental events are underway, including the Ontario government’s development of a cap-and-trade system and national government’s preparations for December’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting.

“Canadian ship owners are investing over $2 billion in new Great Lakes ships and technologies that significantly further reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gases and air emissions,” Canada Steamship Lines President Allister Paterson said.