Tag: fuel efficiency

American Bureau of Shipping and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shake hands and inked a joint development project focused on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology.

In the ongoing road towards alternative fuels, Maersk announced the possibility of choosing a zero-emission alternative to fossil fuels rather than choosing LNG as a bridging fuel for the company’s fleet.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) reported that the 'A' to 'E' operational efficiency rating of every ship above 5,000 gt will be made fully public and updated on an annual basis.

Aderco notes that there are still five key threats associated with new VLSFO; cat fines, sludge, compatibility issues, asphaltene and fuel stability remain key issues for the health and maintenance of diesel engines since the IMO sulphur cap became effective.

Now that the sulphur cap is effective, blending is the only economical method to produce low sulphur fuels, states Mr. Francisco Malta, Director at VM Industrials - Aderco Australia who explains that VLSFOs could increase black carbon emissions because of paraffinic hydrocarbons; thus, shipping industry needs to focus on fuel stability and address all issues.

A European consortium of maritime research and technology leaders launched the Fastwater project to demonstrate the feasibility of retrofit and newbuild vessels to operate on methanol as a pathway to fossil-free shipping.

The new fuels introduced to the bunker market have been found to be diverse. One particular characteristic can however prove troublesome if the vessel is carrying a heat-sensitive cargo, argues Alvin Forster, Loss Prevention Executive, The North of England P&I Club.

UCL Energy Institute, in partnership with Signol, has won funding of ~£130,000 for STEAM, Sustainability Through Efficient Actions in Maritime, that aims to directly target the behaviour of crews in order to improve fuel efficiency.

The UK Club reported that they see several bunker quality issues from delivery of alleged off-specification or contaminated bunkers. In many of these cases fuel sampling procedures on board at the time of delivery have been found inadequate and in many cases unreliable.

The Korean Register recently granted an Approval in Principle (AIP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for its LNG dual fuel propulsion car carrier. In fact, the AIP covers two pure car and truck carriers vessels with a carrying capacity of 7.000 and 8.1000 CEU (car equivalent units).