Tag: HFO

As the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee concluded, the Clean Arctic Alliance welcomed the support from Member States, for a proposal to identify measures, which will mitigate the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters, and called on the IMO to work towards a swift conclusion of the work.

As the IMO MEPC 71 opens today in London, the Clean Arctic Alliance called on IMO member states to support a Canadian proposal, submitted to MEPC, calling for work to mitigate the risks posed by the use of heavy fuel oil as marine fuel in Arctic waters. The proposal is backed by Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and the US.

In mid-2016, several industry bodies from the Australian marine sector came together, sharing a conviction that bunkering Heavy Fuel Oil, which traditionally powers global maritime shipping trade, had to change. It was clear that LNG was a significantly cleaner transitional energy source, that could replace HFO. To this end, a LNG Marine Fuel Institute is officially launched in Australia.

Bellona said that the Norwegian Shipowners' Association (NSA) calls for a ban on the use of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), joining the team of international organisations who want to ban heavy oil in the vulnerable waters around Arctic region.

The German Maritime LNG Platform announced that it signed the Arctic Commitment, joining a diverse group of international companies, organisations, politicians and polar explorers calling for a ban on heavy fuel oil use in Arctic shipping.

At the 2017 UN Ocean Conference being held in New York this week, UN asks countries to support a ‘zero draft’ Call To Action, which stands for an acceleration of “actions to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds”. This means that governments must implement tighter marine pollution controls or risk further degradation of the oceans, fish stocks and ecosystems.

Wärtsilä and Maran Gas Maritime (MGM) extend their current cooperation with a five-year agreement. The agreement covers the maintenance of MGM’s 21 TFDE (tri-fuel diesel electric) LNG carriers, that are equipped with Wärtsilä 50DF engines.

Panama Canal Authority issued a Marine Advisory, reminding that vessels must complete the switch (changeover) from heavy fuel oil to light fuel to their propulsion engines, auxiliary engines, boilers and other ancillary equipment, prior to arriving at Panama Canal waters, and also informing on the modifications of the requirement.

ICCT has published a report which compares the economic and environmental trade-offs of switching from HFO to distillate or liquefied natural gas (LNG) for ships in the Arctic, following recent concerns that the transition to low-sulphur fuels, distillates, or LNG will be more costly than continuing to use HFO

WWF-Canada reported that major weaknesses in response preparedness mean remote Arctic communities face an almost certain environmental catastrophe in the event of an Arctic shipping oil spill. Heavy fuel oil is the standard marine fuel for large ships and also one of the world’s most polluting fuels, and the most difficult to clean up.