Carbon footprint impacts arising from disruptions to container shipping networks

This study employed complex network theory to assess the carbon footprint impacts of disruptions to container shipping networks (CSN). Connectivity and performance metrics are analysed and the environmental impact of disruptions in key nodes calculated by applying well-to-wake (WTW) carbon footprint estimation. A CSN along the Asia-Europe route, encompassing the Suez Canal, was selected to examine the environmental impact following on from disruption. The findings highlight that the disruption affected all strings in the CSN, the average degree of the network, graph density and clustering coefficient decreased by 11%, 10% and 3.5% respectively, and network diameter increased. The increase in diameter signifies that ships are rerouted to alternative paths (especially around the Cape of Good Hope) thus necessitating longer distances. In turn total WTW emissions increased by 48.6%. These findings underscore the importance of understanding not just the cost and operational impacts of disruptions to CSNs, but also environmental impacts.