With more than 90% of global trade moving by ocean transport, maritime shipping is a major driver of the world economy. However, shipping has a serious pollution problem that threatens our climate, communities and the marine environment. If we are to avert climate catastrophe, the shipping sector must immediately begin to eliminate the 1 billion-plus metric tons of greenhouse gases it emits every year.
In response, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)—the United Nations body that governs global shipping—passed a new strategy to eliminate the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions in July 2023. The 2023 strategy is more ambitious than the earlier one it replaces and covers full life cycle (also known as well-to-wake or WtW) emissions of all greenhouse gases (GHG), not just those from burning fuel onboard and not just carbon dioxide (CO2). The ultimate goal is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 through emission reductions of 30% by 2030 and 80% by 2040. To reach these targets, a massive energy transition from dirty conventional marine fuels to zero-emission energy (like wind-assisted propulsion) and fuels is imperative. There is no time to waste on false climate solutions like Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)—a fossil fuel with serious global warming and public health implications.
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Unfortunately, international shipping has been increasing its investments in LNG. What is behind the industry’s embrace of LNG, and what are the potential implications on efforts to reduce shipping’s GHG emissions? A new report from Ocean Conservancy and Energy and Environment Research Associates, “Analysis of Liquified Natural Gas as a Marine Fuel in the United States,” takes a comprehensive look at the full life cycle (i.e., extraction, production, transport, storage and use) of LNG to answer these questions.
What is LNG?
Liquified natural gas is not exactly “natural”. To produce LNG, natural gas, more than 80% of which comes from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the United States, is liquified by cooling it to -162o Celsius (-260oFarenheit). After this liquefaction process, LNG is transported via truck, rail or ship to receiving terminals, where it is regasified and stored before distribution to end-users.
The LNG Value Chain
LNG is a risky but growing maritime fuel choice
Given the intensifying focus on mitigating global shipping’s climate impact, the drift toward LNG may be baffling to many. Several regulatory and market drivers can help explain this conundrum. LNG has negligible sulfur content that supports low sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions. When the IMO’s regulation to cut SOx emissions went into effect in 2020, LNG became a growing alternative fuel choice for marine transportation. When combusted, LNG also has lower CO2 emissions and so was seen as a “transition” fuel for the sector when the initial IMO greenhouse gas strategy focused only on CO2emissions from burning fuels on vessels. These factors, along with LNG’s increasing availability and lower price compared to emerging zero-emission fuels, are behind much, if not all, of the shift to LNG.
Growth in the LNG Fleet
However, LNG is not a low greenhouse gas fuel and has serious climate implications. It is composed almost entirely of methane, which is 27-30 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas over a 100-year timeframe and is 82.5 times more potent than CO2 over the near term. Methane emissions from international shipping increased by approximately 150% between 2012-2018, primarily attributed to the increase in use of LNG as a propulsion fuel with LNG accounting for around 3.8 – 4.6% of energy consumed by international shipping per GHG4.
These are just the “tank-to-wake” onboard methane emissions of LNG. Methane leaks or slips and intentional venting of uncombusted methane for routine maintenance or maintaining storage pressures actually occur all along the LNG value chain.
The life cycle methane emissions of LNG matter. Our report presents evidence that in addition to their global warming implications, these emissions from increased LNG consumption also have impacts on human health and environmental justice.
Methane emissions, which can result from the production and consumption of LNG, are linked to significant impacts on air quality by influencing concentrations of ground-level ozone. Ozone exposure causes and exacerbates respiratory issues, including asthma, and has been linked to cardiovascular disease and premature death. Additionally, harmful pollutants are released during natural gas extraction, processing and liquefaction, potentially impacting the air and water quality of nearby communities.
The combustion of LNG generally has globally distributed risks, whereas the upstream (well-to-tank) emissions from processes to produce LNG can have a more localized effect. Communities near LNG production facilities may face health consequences resulting from exposure to pollutants, economic impacts due to fluctuations in property values, and socio-economic and cultural changes arising from their proximity to emerging natural gas projects. Our report documents links between LNG production and instances of environmental injustices tied to ethnicity, culture, gender and income.
For the maritime sector, policy decisions and implementation timelines can shape choices in engine, fuel and exhaust after-treatment and guide infrastructure development. We can see this in the growth in uptake of LNG in order to comply with earlier regulations. The IMO’s 2023 strategy marks a turning point toward mitigating all greenhouse gas emissions along the entire maritime fuel and energy value chain. The process is now underway to design and adopt the technical and economic policies to drive the maritime energy transition. Given the questions over the costs and feasibility of retrofitting LNG-fueled vessels and supporting infrastructure that is presented in the report, this growing inclusion of methane in regulatory frameworks will play a pivotal role in deterring LNG use.
It’s abundantly clear that LNG use as a marine fuel does not meet stated climate goals and can perpetuate environmental injustices. Political intervention, not only to better regulate methane but also to improve the economic viability of near-zero and zero-greenhouse gas fuels, is imperative to meet 2030, 2040 and 2050 climate timelines. This could take form in penalties to polluters through emissions pricing, or subsidies to support production of energy alternatives—or a combination of both. To reach zero-emission shipping, we need to bypass false fossil solutions like LNG and focus on maximizing efficiency to reduce fuel use and invest resources in true zero-emission solutions.
Maximize the value of “Analysis of Liquified Natural Gas as a Marine Fuel in the United States”
In its efforts to identify and advance ocean-based climate solutions, Ocean Conservancy is leading a global, multiyear campaign to completely eliminate the gigaton of GHG pollution that the maritime shipping sector emits each year. As a rapid transition to zero-emission marine fuels is essential, Ocean Conservancy partnered with Energy and Environment Research Associates to analyze the arguments that LNG is the best option for a “bridge” fuel. The report is the latest contribution to Ocean Conservancy’s growing body of research that is informing and advancing the maritime energy transition.
The LNG landscape—from fuel production and bunkering to vessel operations and environmental considerations—is rapidly evolving. This report covers all aspects of LNG as a marine fuel, including discussion of policies and regulations; LNG engine technologies and emissions; the global and U.S. LNG vessel fleets; production, import and export of LNG; and the health and equity implications of LNG. The main chapters are supported by additional detail in the Supplemental Information sections found at the end of the report.
- Bookmark the report: you may not read through from start to finish, but you’ll want easy access to this resource when questions about LNG arise.
- Check out the summary slides.
- Use the table of contents to direct you to the sections you most need.
- Share with others!
The post The Problems with Liquefied Natural Gas appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
Our ocean is an incredibly vast and mysterious place. And there is no place where that is more evident than the deepest ocean area in the world: the legendary Mariana Trench. Located east of the Philippines, the Mariana Trench lies in the Mariana Archipelago in the western portion of the North Pacific. The greater area of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument is made up of more than 95,000 square miles of ocean. Beneath these waters lie incredibly complex aggregations of submerged islands and volcanoes … and of course, an astoundingly massive trench.
Dive in with us to have your biggest questions answered about the famed Mariana Trench.
How deep is the Mariana Trench?
The deepest part of the Mariana Trench, known as Challenger Deep, is almost 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. For context, Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet above sea level, so the Mariana Trench is about 7,000 feet deeper than Mount Everest is tall. For one more comparison, the RMS Titanic lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet below sea level. The Challenger Deep is in waters nearly three times deeper than this ship’s final resting place.
Due to its enormous size, the Mariana Trench has at times been affectionately nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the ocean. This is certainly a picturesque image, but don’t let the mammoth size of this U.S. national terrestrial park fool you into thinking the Mariana Trench matches its size. The trench’s footprint is estimated to be 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon’s, and to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, you’d need to descend through almost six Grand Canyons stacked on top of each other before you’d reach the seafloor.
Oh … and did we mention it’s five times wider than it is deep? It’s about 43 miles wide!
What is Challenger Deep, and how long would it take to reach it?
Challenger Deep is the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. Fewer than 30 people have ever journeyed to this area. The trek below the surface is long, dark and time-consuming, and it’s not an expedition considered lightly by scientists and explorers.
The first people to descend into the depths of this area in 1960 were oceanographers Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, and it took them close to five hours to reach Challenger Deep. Since then, more advanced submersibles have been created, but it still takes two to four hours for modern vessels to reach such depths. For example, explorer and filmmaker James Cameron reached the seafloor in a little more than 2.5 hours in the first documented solo submarine dive to the area, and it took oceanographer Dr. Dawn Wright about four hours in 2022. It is crucial that these submersibles descend slowly and steadily beneath the surface, as the immense water pressure compounds with every mile a submersible descends. Speaking of pressure …
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What is the water pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
If you thought the depth of the Mariana Trench was its only jaw-dropping feature, think again. Water pressure is one of the most important factors affecting deep-sea life. In the ocean, pressure increases by one atmosphere for every 33 feet (10 meters) of depth. One atmosphere (a unit of measurement for pressure equivalent to average air pressure at sea level) is equal to about 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSI), which is the approximate standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. If you were to convert atmospheric pressure into weight, one atmosphere is about the weight of a bowling ball. Stay with me, friends.
If a vessel were to dive 2,000 feet below the surface, the pressure would equal that of 60 bowling balls stacked atop every square inch of that submersible. But 60 bowling balls is simply nothing compared to the pressure in the Mariana Trench. The atmospheric pressure at the depths of Challenger Deep is equal to about 16,000 PSI. That pressure is about the same as the weight of an entire full-grown elephant on every square inch of a submersible!
Need a more extreme comparison? If a human were to be placed at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the pressure would be equal to that of 50 jumbo jets piled on top of a person!
Do any animals live in the Mariana Trench?
The depths of the Mariana Trench come with immense pressure and extreme darkness, but somehow, life finds a way to survive. Organisms that live at an extreme depth, like that of Challenger Deep, have to be highly adapted to low temperatures (typically just above freezing), high pressure and virtually no light at all.
Species found in the depths of the Mariana Trench might look vastly different from animals from other ocean depths because their anatomy has been refined to thrive in harsh conditions. At such great depths, these animals typically depend on chemosynthesis (using nutrient-rich waters being pumped out of hydrothermal vents) or descending detritus (dead matter that has fallen from higher parts of the ocean) for food, such as whale falls. Just a handful of these animals include species of octopuses and squids, sea cucumbers, amphipods, sea jellies, shrimp, sea worms and some wild-looking fish!
In 2025, more than 7,000 new species were discovered in the Mariana Trench, including the hadal snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei). This is the deepest-dwelling fish currently known to science. Now, the fish has been dubbed “the Mariana snailfish.”
How was the Mariana Trench formed?
The process by which the Mariana Trench was created is a geologically fascinating one known as subduction. On the Earth’s surface, there are thin plates that cover the planet’s mantle, which is made of molten rock. If two of these plates collide, one pushes down into the Earth’s mantle while the other is pushed over the bottom plate. When this happens, a trench is formed from the drag of the bottom plate. This process can sometimes create incredibly strong earthquakes. The plates that forged the Mariana Trench’s creation are estimated to be up to approximately 180 million years old.
This trench was unknown to scientists until 1875. It was then that a team of explorers on the HMS Challenger measured the depth of the sea by simply lowering a weighted rope into the water. They were baffled when they measured that first portion of the seafloor to be five miles below the surface. And so was born the origin of some of the most daring deep-sea explorations known to mankind to date.
Is the Mariana Trench protected?
The Mariana Trench is in waters off Guam and the Mariana Islands. The region is protected from some human activities under its status as a marine monument. The creation of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument signified that international, national and local leaders all recognize the importance of protecting this area.
However, just because the region is protected does not mean it’s not vulnerable to modern threats to ocean health. Plastic bags have been spotted in the Mariana Trench during several expeditions, highlighting the far-reaching impact of the marine debris problem. No corner of our ocean is safe from the ever-present threat of plastic pollution. The reality of a changing climate makes the future well-being of wondrous places like the Mariana Trench uncertain. What’s more: More than 70% of the global ocean has yet to be mapped. And what we don’t yet know about, we cannot wisely work to protect.
It’s up to us to work together to defend our ocean, from the sandy shores of our favorite beaches to the deepest, darkest parts of the sea. Together, we can work to protect our ocean as a whole, which ultimately helps protect treasured places like Challenger Deep.
Find out how you can join Ocean Conservancy’s wave of momentum to secure a healthy ocean and a thriving planet, forever and for everyone!
The post The Mysteries of the Mariana Trench appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
Intro
At the western tip of Luzon, which is the biggest island of the Philippines, lies the small coastal town of Bolinao. Tourists seldom find their way here as it takes around seven hours to get here by bus from Manila. Still, you can spot foreigners walking around every now and then, but they really stand out among the Filipinos. A reason for their presence is often that they study or work at the Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML), which belongs to the University of the Philippines (UP). It is one of the seven research institutions participating in the GAME project 2026. Every year, GAME brings together Master’s students from all over the world to experience different cultures and conduct globally replicated experiments in marine ecology.
This year’s Team Philippines consists of Jona, a Filipino master student of Marine Biology at the University of the Philippines, and Konstantin, a German student who is enrolled in the Master programme „Ecology and Evolution“ at Freiburg University. As part of GAME 2026, we are currently staying at BML for 6 months to run experiments about the influence of underwater soundscapes on the colonization of marine hardbottoms.
Where are we?
At the BML, we live in a dormitory together with many other students and scientists mostly from the Philippines and a few international interns. At almost any time of the day there is someone in the kitchen to hang out with, eat together, or simply have a chat. It is easy to make friends in this little community. The way to work is just a short walk along a forest path, where we can pick mangos for a snack and spot butterflies, birds, or even wild macaques climbing through the trees. After crossing a street, we reach the institute. But instead of enjoying the cool temperatures of the laboratories, we spend most of our working days outside, doing fieldwork in or near the water.