Ocean shipping, along with many other economic sectors, has been focused for several years on decarbonization, consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 (taking urgent action to combat climate change) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and numerous ocean carriers and shippers have, for some years, been evaluating and working towards aggressive goals and strategies to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in international shipping. In support of these efforts, ABS has issued comprehensive reports on different pathways to lower (and ultimately eliminate) GHG emissions in ocean shipping.

Market pressures and international policy and regulations are largely driving the decarbonization initiatives in the international shipping sector; however, those drivers are only recently beginning to emerge for domestic shipping, especially with respect to freight shipping on inland waterways in North America (and the U.S. in particular). Examination of pathways toward decarbonization of the inland waterway sector is in its infancy. This report aims to inform key stakeholders by identifying challenges and opportunities that will be faced in moving toward a carbon neutral and zero-carbon future on the inland waterways. The report also includes prospects for furthering the sustainability advantages that barge transport has relative to other surface transportation modes.

To develop this report, ABS and Vanderbilt University, through the Vanderbilt Climate Change Initiative (“VCCI”) and the Vanderbilt Center for Transportation and Operational Resiliency (“VECTOR”), formed an expert working group to build a baseline assessment against which future zero-carbon pathways can be evaluated. The working group that contributed to this report consisted of researchers with substantial experience in transportation infrastructure and resilience, data analysis and climate change, as well as professionals with extensive industry experience within the inland waterway sector.

This report establishes a supportable estimate of the current GHG emissions profile for the inland waterway fleet.
The report also evaluates the potential for currently available and possible future propulsion technologies and alternative fuels that may reduce carbon emissions on the inland waterways, and sets forth existing policy challenges, infrastructure needs and competitive market realities and trajectories that present opportunities for and challenges to decarbonization. In particular, the report demonstrates the feasibility of near-term electrification of smaller vessels operating on the inland river system through a case study and renderings of a weighted and balanced electrified boat in a retrofit application. As battery technologies continue to improve, this approach has potential application in even the largest operating towboats.