VesselBot: emissions up 10.2% in Q1

VesselBot said on May 15 that container-shipping emissions rose 10.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, even as cargo activity increased. The company said it tracked 6,187 container-carrying vessels operating 82,212 voyages during the quarter. Those voyages generated 54.5 million tons of CO2e emissions and 740.5 billion TEU-km of transport work, according to VesselBot’s quarterly overview. The data showed voyages rose 19.5% from a year earlier, while transport work increased 8.6%. ### How much did emissions rise, and against what baseline? Q1 2026 emissions totaled 54.5 million tons of CO2e, compared with the year-earlier period, VesselBot said. The company said the increase in emissions outpaced the 8.6% rise in transport work, indicating that more shipping activity did not translate into better aggregate efficiency. Average well-to-wake emissions intensity rose 4% year-on-year to 208.2 grams of CO2e per TEU-km, according to the report. (safety4sea.com) ### What does the voyage count say about shipping activity? The 82,212 voyages recorded in Q1 2026 were 19.5% higher than in Q1 2025, VesselBot said. That gap between voyage growth and transport-work growth points to a network carrying more sailings without a matching increase in output per voyage, based on VesselBot’s figures. The company said it monitored 6,187 vessels during the quarter. (safety4sea.com) ### Which ships were doing most of the work? NeoPanamax vessels and very large container ships accounted for 41.3% of total transport work while representing 6.6% of voyages, VesselBot said. The company said feeder ships were the only vessel class above the quarterly average emissions intensity, at 266 grams of CO2e per TEU-km versus the overall 208.2 grams. Feeders accounted for most voyages but a relatively small share of total transport work, according to the report. (safety4sea.com) ### What factors did VesselBot say were driving the change? VesselBot said utilization was the primary driver of emissions intensity, with lower vessel utilization and reduced average TEU per voyage associated with higher intensity. The company said voyage distance played a secondary role because both cargo carried and distance traveled determine transport work. On major fronthaul routes, VesselBot said higher utilization, larger vessels and longer distances produced higher absolute emissions but lower emissions intensity because of scale effects. (safety4sea.com) ### How does this compare with VesselBot’s earlier readings? In February 2026, VesselBot’s press-releases page listed reports saying container shipping had reached a two-year peak in efficiency in Q4 2025 and that emissions intensity had hit a 2025 low. By November 2025, a separate VesselBot analysis carried by SAFETY4SEA said Q3 2025 containership emissions were nearly unchanged from a year earlier, at 50.3 million tons, while average intensity fell 1.6%. (safety4sea.com) That same Q3 2025 analysis said emissions had risen earlier in 2025 partly because rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope increased travel distances and fuel use. ### Where did VesselBot previously identify operational strain? In December 2025, VesselBot’s marketing team wrote that major European terminals were facing operational pressure from higher container volumes, larger vessels, shifting alliance schedules and rerouted trade flows. The company said average steaming time in the first quarter of 2025 rose sharply from 2024 levels at Rotterdam, and it linked those changes mainly to rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. (vesselbot.com) The same post said time spent in port also increased in the first nine months of 2025. February 2026 is the most recent dated entry visible on VesselBot’s press-releases page for its prior quarterly efficiency coverage, while the May 15 SAFETY4SEA item carries the Q1 2026 figures. VesselBot’s press page also lists March and April 2026 items on port conditions and logistics data, providing the company’s next public reference points for follow-up reporting. (vesselbot.com 1) (vesselbot.com 2)