Is shipping gods environment friendly?
Well this is not a simple answer with a yes or a no. Ships are huge and there are many ships out there transporting goods so they do pollute. But is it better to send by sea than air, truck, train?
Just looking at shipping it stands for a total of 18 percent of some air pollutants. But for greenhouse gas emission it only stands for less than 3 %. So there is no doubt that shipping by sea does pollute. But how does it compare to other options for transport?
Sea vs Air
When comparing just the environmental impact sea beats air.
CO2 emissions are much higher for air frieght compared to sea transport. If you then also add the price the sea looks like an even better option than air. However if you are sending something really small the difference might not be so big.
However if you need to have a fast delivery you should choose by air. The shippment by sea can take some time and you cannot be sure of when your goods will arrive.
Sea vs Train
This is not as easy to answer. Especially since the train system vary from different countries. For example in the USA the transportation trains run on diesel while most other trains run on electricity.
So the choice between train or sea usually has to do with how long your trainsport will go. If you need to cross a sea the transport needs to be by air or sea. As simple as that.