According to VesselBot’s Q3 2025 analysis, containership emissions reached 50.3 million tons, remaining nearly unchanged (-0.2%) from Q3 2024 despite a 2.3% increase in voyages.
Emissions in Q3 2025 were 4.2% higher than in Q1 2025 and 2.2% higher than in Q2 2025. However, relying on industry averages can be misleading, as vessels vary in size, characteristics, and routes. Achieving efficiency requires close monitoring of supply chain changes and disruptions.The notable increase in emissions during the first quarter of 2025 is mainly due to vessel rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. The changes in routing had not fully materialized by the end of Q1 2024. Therefore, the impact was very profound when comparing Q1 2024 and Q1 2025 emissions.
The average well-to-wake (WTW) intensity of the 73,353 voyages that were completed during Q3 2025 was 195.9, 1.6% reduced compared to Q3 2024. Intensity is mainly affected by the following factors:
Voyage duration – The higher the time spent steaming, the lower the intensity. In contrast, spending more time in port negatively impacts the intensity, as the vessel burns fuel without producing transport work.
Utilization – A metric that reflects the extent to which a vessel’s capacity is utilized. Efficient voyages have high utilization rates, as emissions are allocated to more containers.
TEU carried – Another metric that is typically examined, coupled with the utilization. The more TEU carried per voyage, the more efficient the voyage is. Therefore, larger vessels, while emitting more emissions, tend to be more efficient.
Distance – As distance increases, compared to the minimum feasible distance needed to complete a specific voyage, the intensity of the voyage increases as well. Subsequently, voyages with multiple port calls will have a higher intensity.
Speed – The speed a vessel cruises at during a voyage plays a vital role in fuel consumption. Speed is a complicated metric, with each vessel engine being designed with a specific optimal speed range. When a vessel cruises at speeds outside that range, fuel consumption increases, and so do emissions, negatively impacting the voyage’s intensity.
During the first four months of 2025, emissions increased year-over-year, especially in January (+13.9%) and February (+9%) due to vessel rerouting.
- Increased travel distances led to higher fuel consumption and emissions.
- May and August showed year-over-year emissions were almost the same.
- June and July saw slight year-over-year emission increases.
- September 2025 recorded reduced emissions compared to 2024, possibly signaling a reversal of the upward trend.
- Highest emissions in 2025 were in June and August, partly due to U.S. port fees on Chinese vessels, prompting early inventory buildup.
- Voyage duration remained relatively stable during Q3 year-over-year.
- Between 2024 and 2025, steaming duration slightly increased, while time spent in port slightly decreased, indicating improved terminal efficiency.
- Average distance per voyage in Q3 2025 was 2,136 km, almost equal to Q3 2024 (2,133 km), showing the effect of vessel rerouting persisted.
- Annual averages can obscure critical monthly and quarterly insights.
- Granular, up-to-date data is essential for informed decision-making and understanding containership fleet trends.
The factor of vessel age
Younger vessels tend to be more efficient, since their designs are up to date with the latest developments and their engines are younger. Therefore, it is worth exploring how voyage performance changes between different age groups. Voyages based on vessel age have been divided into these five categories:
- Vessels up to 5 years old
- Vessels between 6 and 10 years old
- Vessels between 11 and 15 years old
- Vessel between 16 and 20 years old
- Vessels older than 20 years old
It is observed that the distribution of vessels per age group does not differ substantially from that of voyages per age group. The most considerable divergence is recorded in the 11 to 15-year-old age group, where 19.3% of vessels, but only 16.3% of voyages, belong.
Once again, the influx of newly built vessels in the fleet is apparent: in Q3 2024, only 463 vessels were up to 5 years old, while in 2025 the number went up to 712.
Vessel speeds do not vary significantly between different age groups. The highest speeds are recorded in the age group of vessels up to 5 years old, where the average voyage speed reached 13.8 knots during Q3 2025, compared to 13.3 knots for all quarter voyages. The lowest average speeds were recorded in voyages completed by vessels that were more than 20 years old.
This is not surprising; older vessels turn to slow steaming to minimize fuel consumption. However, that does not make those voyages more efficient. On the contrary, those voyages recorded an average emissions intensity of 233.1, compared to 195.9 for all Q3 voyages.
Most efficient voyages were completed by vessels that were between 11 and 15 years old. Voyages completed by ships belonging to that age group recorded an average emissions intensity of 155.4, which is the lowest among age groups and slightly improved compared to the respective intensity in Q3 2024 (158.3).
Regarding the other characteristics of those voyages, the average steaming time plays a vital role, being equal to 4.4 days, compared to 3.5 days for all voyages completed during the third quarter. That duration is also the highest among all age groups. In each voyage, an average of 3,712 TEU was carried, while the utilization (ranging between 67% and 69% among all age groups) was 69.
