Transport/
Marine/
Domestic Navigation

Domestic navigation emissions are primarily from the diesel engines of freight vessels and passenger ferries. There are technologies at early readiness levels for operating ships with reduced emissions, but none is mature. Still, as one of the lowest-energy ways of moving things and people around, we should perhaps be looking to make more use of shipping rather than less.

Causes of Emissions

1. The "Lakers" (Great Lakes Bulk Carriers)

This is the industrial heavy-lifting of the sector. Huge bulk carrier ships move iron ore, grain, salt, and coal up and down the St. Lawrence Seaway and across the Great Lakes (e.g., from Thunder Bay, ON to Hamilton, ON).
  • The Emission Source: These are massive ships, often running on heavy fuel oil (HFO) or large diesel engines.
  • Why it counts: Because they travel long distances carrying thousands of tonnes of cargo, but never leave Canadian waters, their entire fuel consumption is counted in the national inventory.

2. Ferries (The Single Largest Passenger Source)

Canada has extensive ferry networks that operate like floating highways.

  • BC Ferries: One of the largest ferry operators in the world. Their massive vessels (some carrying 400+ cars) run constantly between Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands.
  • Atlantic Canada: Marine Atlantic (connecting Newfoundland to Nova Scotia) and other inter-provincial ferries.

Historically, these ships have used massive diesel engines, however BC Ferries has recently been converting some ships to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or battery-hybrid to lower these specific emissions.

3. Tugs and Barges

While less visible than the giant ferries, the fleet of tugboats constitutes a steady baseline of emissions.

  • Coastal Logging: On the West Coast, tugs are constantly towing barges of logs or wood chips.
  • Northern Resupply: In the summer, tugs and barges move fuel and food up the Mackenzie River or along the coast to supply remote Arctic communities that have no road access.

4. What is EXCLUDED? (Common Confusions)

To understand the data, you have to know what is removed from this line item:

  • Fishing Vessels: Commercial fishing boats (lobster boats, trawlers) are not in this category. They are reported under Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing.
  • International Shipping (Bunkers): If a ship loads grain in Vancouver and sails to China, the emissions for that trip are not in Canada's national total. They are reported separately as a "Memo Item" called International Bunkers, based only on fuel sold (and taxed) for an international voyage. Fuel sold for this purpose in Canada corresponds to 3-5 Mt CO2/year, which is coincidentally about the same as the emissions from Canada's domestic navigation. That said, Canada's ports are not considered major refuelling centers for international shipping. Emissions from fuel burned by ships making international voyages falls under the jurisdiction of the IMO, rather than any particular country (including the ship's flagged country).
  • Military: Canadian Navy and Coast Guard vessels are often reported under a separate "Multilateral Operations" or government category, though civilian Coast Guard icebreaking sometimes blurs into domestic navigation depending on the specific report granularity.

How might Canada reduce domestic marine emissions to zero?

Critical Success Factors

The arithmetic of emissions in this sector is such that there are two ways to reduce emissions:
  1. Fewer miles of movement (ton-miles of freight, passenger-miles of ferrying)
  2. Less average atmospheric GHG emission per ton-mile, passenger-mile

Barriers

  • Cost: Shipping is already on par with rail as the lowest-emission and lowest-cost way to move material over distance, so there is no obvious technology substitution that would improve emissions in this sector by shifting the work to another sector.
  • Batteries: There are no mature technologies for moving large ships by battery because both cost and power density are prohibitive, although CATL aims to provide one by 2030.
  • Capital: There are physical and economic economies to scale in ship design and operation: large ships are cheaper to build per deadweight capacity, and more fuel efficient per deadweight capacity. So it is slow and expensive to achieve impact with novel ship designs.
  • Maturity: The design of ships has been studied for hundreds of years, modern designs are highly refined and specialized, and ships themselves typically work productively for decades.
  • E-Fuels: There is broad industry support for the strategy of making zero-emission shipping possible, but they are relatively expensive and not yet widely used. Many projects are in development to scale production of e-fuels, but their impact remains uncertain.
  • Geography: Canada is not a global leader in ship-building or low-emission shipping. East Asia, and Eastern Europe lead in ship-building, and China and Europe lead in the exploration of low-emission ship designs. (citation and support needed)

Key Stakeholder Groups

  • Atlantic Tug and Tow Companies
  • Coal Mining Companies
  • Domestic Fuel Customers Marine Diesel
  • Dredging Companies
  • Ferry Operators
  • Great Lakes Dry Bulk Shipping Companies
  • Great Lakes Grain Movers
  • Great Lakes Liquid Bulk Shipping Companies
  • Great Lakes Tug and Tow Companies
  • International Container Shipping
  • International Dry Bulk Shipping
  • International Liquid Bulk Shipping
  • Marine Construction Companies
  • Marine Diesel Vendors
  • Marine Policy Advocacy Groups
  • Mariner Training Institutions
  • Mariners
  • Northern Supply Marine Transport Companies
  • Pacific Logging Marine Transport Companies
  • Pacific Tug and Tow Companies
  • Ports
  • Potash Mining Companies
  • Regulators
  • Ship Builders
  • Ship Component Builders
  • Ship Designers
  • Ship Maintenance Companies
  • Steel Mills
  • Tug and Tow Companies
  • Voters

Possible Strategies (feel free to help flesh these out, contribute more)

Who What For Whom Cost / tonne CO2e
Ferry Operators NewCo Operate a battery-electric water-taxi service Harbour Ferry Customers
Ferry Operators NewCo#2 Operate a hydrofoil ferry service Newfoundland Ferry Customers, Victoria Island Ferry Customers
Government of Canada Prefer replacing aging ferries with battery-electric designs People Desiring Net Zero
Government of Canada Require GHG emission scrubbing from vessel exhaust People Desiring Net Zero
Tug and Tow Companies NewCo Solar, wind, and/or battery-electric tugboats for large barges Great Lakes Dry Bulk Shipping Companies, Great Lakes Liquid Bulk Shipping Companies, Pacific Logging Marine Transport Companies -336.67 CAD / metric_ton
Tug and Tow Companies NewCo#2 Autonomous battery-electric hopper barges for dredging operations Marine Construction Companies, Dredging Companies, Ports
Ship Component Builders NewCo Retrofit wingsails on Great Lakes freighters Great Lakes Dry Bulk Shipping Companies
Ship Component Builders NewCo#2 Power zero-emissions ships with LNG via methane pyrolysis and a hydrogen fuel cell Ship Designers, Ship Builders
Something about e-Methanol