OceanScore has released the second edition of its Scope 3 at Sea report, focusing on the Asia–Northern Europe trade lane during the first half of 2025.
The findings highlight that carrier choice can materially influence a shipper’s Scope 3 emissions exposure, with marked differences emerging in how leading carriers balance emissions efficiency, operational consistency, and network scale.
The report identifies Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) as the strongest performers on this corridor, due to a combination of below-average carbon intensity, steadier speed profiles, and consistent vessel utilisation.
With MSC operating 18 per cent and OOCL 14 per cent of voyages on this lane, their performance has an outsized impact on overall emissions exposure for shippers.
Importantly, both carriers demonstrate a lower frequency of extreme outliers compared to their peers, providing shippers with greater predictability and a reduced risk of unexpected carbon spikes.
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The analysis uses voyage-level data to go beyond simple averages, offering a more robust benchmark of operational factors that influence Scope 3 outcomes.
This approach allows us to distinguish not just which carriers emit less on average, but also which deliver more stable and predictable performance over time—an increasingly important consideration as regulatory pressures intensify across global supply chains.
On long-haul corridors such as Asia–Northern Europe, the gap between high- and low-emitting voyages can be significant. Factors such as vessel speed, fill rates, and routing all contribute to variations in emissions.
While shippers cannot control every operational decision, access to consistent, high-quality data allows them to make informed choices that lower emissions exposure and improve cost predictability under frameworks like the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime.
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OceanScore’s methodology, delivered through our CargoFP platform, integrates real-time AIS tracking, AI-powered cargo estimation, and emissions modelling to produce voyage-specific CO2 calculations.
With this insight, shippers and freight forwarders can benchmark performance more accurately, direct volume towards carriers offering consistent, lower-emission services, and better manage the financial implications of maritime decarbonisation.
As regulations tighten and the demand for transparent, verifiable emissions data grows, the ability to evaluate carrier performance at the operational level will become a core requirement for emissions management and sustainable logistics planning.
