Tag: alternative fuels

The worldwide demand for cleaner shipping fuel could drive the value of Middle East crude to its lowest ever levels, despite fact that supplies are squeezed. This highlights the fact that the 2020 sulphur cap will hurt countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq that produce high sulphur fuel.

Babcock’s LGE business has been awarded a contract for the LPG cargo handling and Fuel Gas Supply System for the world’s first newbuilding vessel to use LPG as a primary fuel source. The 86,000cbm carrier is being built in China and will be delivered in January 2021. Babcock’s FGSS integrates with the cargo handling system for transfer between the two systems during voyages.

Japan Engine Corporation (J-ENG) announced that it will collaborate with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) to begin the research and development of biofuel. The two parties will use a test engine as one of solutions to achieve decarbonization. This test engine is located in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Research & Innovation Center and various fuel tests can be performed.

Caribbean-based energy provider Sol Petroleum announced a new offshore bunkering facility off the shores of Trinidad and Grenada to supply vessels in the region with IMO 2020 compliant fuels. The announcement comes as the industry is dependent on reliable fuel supply to protect marine environment. 

Rotterdam Port Fund and NIBC Bank have acquired a majority interest in Rolande, the developer and operator of LNG filling stations and producer of bio-LNG. The transaction is expected to be finalised after completing the relevant approval procedures in the first half of 2019. Bastiaan van der Knaap, managing director of the Rotterdam Port Fund said that the use of LNG as a fuel is a profitable and directly applicable alternative to diesel for the transport sector.

A platform introduced by DNV GL provides the industry with the possibility of evaluating the uptake of alternative fuels and technologies. This comes as the IMO's 2020 sulphur cap and the recently-adopted ambition to halve GHG emission by 2050 mean the industry should make a shift towards more environmentally-friendly solutions.

North P&I Club has updated its guidance on the 2020 Sulphur Cap for operators. This aims to help them prepare for the big switch to compliance on 1 January 2020. After a programme of events, training sessions and publications which have been taking place over the past 12 months, North published three new guides to ensure safe and compliant operations.

As the IMO 2020 implementation day is approaching quickly, Shell informed that, in order to help operators prepare, it is offering trials for its very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in key ports. Shell has also launched a new two-stroke engine cylinder oil specifically for use with engines running on VLSFO.  Shell has already conducted 19 successful trials of the 0.5% sulphur fuel with shipowners at key ports.

EU awarded 5 million euros to the European innovation project Flagships, under the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, to support construction of two commercially operated zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vessels, one in Lyon, France and one in Stavanger, Norway.

During the 2019 SAFETY4SEA London Conference, Mr. Steve Esau, General Manager, SEA/LNG, provided an overview of the current LNG scene. He added that LNG can be a viable marine fuel, and it leads to significant environmental benefits. In addition, on a 10-year basis, LNG delivers a significantly higher ROI compared with open-loop scrubbers and it is a hands-down winner compared with low sulphur fuels.