Tag: reducing shipping emissions

A drastic shift in the paradigm for selecting routes transiting sulfur emission control areas is nearly upon us. With fuel differential costs between IFO and Ultra Low Sulfur fuel on the order of USD 300 to 400 per ton, the methodology for voyage planning will enter a completely new realm as of January 1, 2015 when ECA zones have stricter regulations. Mike O'Brien, senior operations manager at Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT) addresses the new regulations' impacts on voyage planning The Evolution of SECA and ECA It is well known to the shipping community that the SECA (sulfur emission control area) of the Baltic and North Seas as well as the North American ECA (emission control area) were defined in Annex VI of MARPOL 1997. The regulations specified a gradual step down in the percent amount of sulfur present in the fuel being consumed. Heavy fuel oil prior to July 1, 2010 contained up to 4.5% sulfur. The initial phase mandated sulfur content reductions to 1.0% in both the SECA and ECA areas. Phase two of the process comes into force on January 1, 2015 further reducing the sulfur limit to 0.10% in both the SECA and ECA areas. Approaching the Problem ...

Maritime traffic on the world's oceans has increased four-fold over the past 20 years, likely causing more water, air and noise pollution on the open seas, according to a new study quantifying global ship traffic. The research used satellite data to estimate the number of vessels on the ocean every year between 1992 and 2012. The number of ships traversing the oceans grew by 60 percent between 1992 and 2002. Shipping traffic grew even faster during the second decade of the study, peaking at rate of increase of 10 percent per year in 2011. Traffic went up in every ocean during the 20 years of the study, except off the coast of Somalia, where increasing piracy has almost completely halted commercial shipping since 2006. In the Indian Ocean, where the world's busiest shipping lanes are located, ship traffic grew by more than 300 percent over the 20-year period, according to the research. Ships powered by fossil fuels dump oil, fuel and waste into the water and pump exhaust into the air. Shipping is also a major source of noise pollution, which is increasingly considered potentially harmful to marine mammals, said Jean Tournadre, a geophysicist at Ifremer, the French Institute for ...

The Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI)  is demonstrating how charterers are becoming a powerful force in driving sustainable shipping standards and becoming a catalyst for instigating industry change beyond regulation. Initiatives by SSI members such as AkzoNobel, Cargill and Bunge have highlighted the clear link between pro-actively implementing new, innovative measures within their shipping operations as part of wider business-led sustainability strategies, and achieving significant tangible financial and environmental benefits as a result. These include: AkzoNobel: The company has incorporated the use of the ship ratings scheme, Clean Shipping Index, within its tendering process and has found that using this to inform purchasing decisions is strengthening its business value chain as a whole Bunge: Since 2013, Bunge has saved approximately 10,000 metric tonnes of marine fuel by running 25% of its fleet at slower speeds. It has also created a transparent global emissions index to inform transport industry decision-making as well as incentivising the building and use of more fuel efficient ships. Cargill: The company has committed to using the RightShip Green Rankings system in its vessel selection process and will only charter vessels that meet particular efficiency ratings levels. By using this alongside other environmental innovation practices, Cargill is averaging ...

Last year, Maersk Line owned and chartered fleet comprising 550 vessels completed about 37004 voyages called 33000 ports using 380 terminals in 117 countries. Given the sheer scope of Maersk Line’s operations, the Company is committed to reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This puts energy efficiency as one of the crucial objectives. That means taking careful steps towards optimizing these 37004 voyages in terms of energy efficiency. Wondering how do they go about ensuring the successful implementation of this endeavour? That’s where Maersk Line’s Global Voyage Centre (GVC) comes into the picture. The Global Voyage Centre hosts a giant screen that, monitors in real-time,  the position of all the Maersk Line owned and chartered vessels.  A team of senior seafarers monitors these vessels 24×7 and provides support to improve their energy performance and facilitate best practice sharing. “The Global Voyage Centre was setup as a project in July 2013 by selecting a few Captains and Senior Navigating Officers from the fleet join the team with an objective to bridge the communication gap between the shore staff and the fleet as well as monitor the vessels on long ocean passages on a real time basis. The GVC has since evolved to take on ...

On 1 January 2015 North America will implement a switch from the use of 1% sulphur content fuel to 0.10% sulphur content fuel, pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI regulations.  The Skuld P&I Club has a dedicated loss prevention section for resources on air emissions regulations and compliance.  There is now very little time left before the upcoming new regulations under MARPOL Annex VI enter in to force on 1 January 2015. Therefore, the Club strongly advises operators who have no immediate plans to trade to or from an ECA, to familiarize themselves with the new regulations and ensure they are able to comply with them. Vessels on worldwide trading may get new voyage orders that will see them go to an ECA and a shipowner that did not have business in an ECA zone before may suddenly see a lucrative opportunity appear. In such cases it will pay a great dividend to have prepared in advance. As for regulatory compliance with US laws, the Association can only urge operators to seek to be always in strict compliance. Large fines, other penalties and even prison terms have resulted not infrequently from violating US laws, in particular those relating to MARPOL offences. There is no ...

Two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered sea vessels have recently been named on Teesside .  Operated by ship owner Anthony Veder, the new ships will carry Liquefied Ethylene Gas (LEG) from SABIC’s Wilton facility on Teesside to manufacturing plants in North-West Europe and Scandinavia.  The chemicals will be used to make a range of everyday items such as food packaging, PVC, detergents and adhesives.  The state of the art ships will drastically cut both sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions compared to the vessels they are replacing.  Switching to alternative fuels for ships, such as LNG, instead of traditional fuel oils is one of the solutions identified by Anthony Veder to help SABIC further improve its environmental performance.  “As a responsible global company, SABIC is committed to providing high-quality products to its customers while doing all it reasonably can in order to reduce the environmental impact of its operations,” said SABIC’s European Supply Chain Director of Chemicals Wouter Vermijs while attending the naming ceremony.  “We are proud to be the first chemical company in the world to be transporting our products on carriers running on LNG and to have an innovative partner in Anthony Veder.” The new ...

CMA CGM has announced that from January 1st, 2015 the Group will implement a Low Sulphur Surcharge on all its trades in the Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and for all cargoes.  CMA CGM enforces its long-term commitment to protect the environment with a focus on sustainable development. The Group will do its outmost to comply with the new regulation as from January 1st, 2015. This directive will require ships to use fuel with a maximum allowed sulphur content of 0.1% in the ECA. Impacts of SOx limit reduction on shipping lines Extra costs Marine Diesel Fuel with no more than 0.1% sulphur content is more expensive than Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (with 1.0% sulphur content). This higher price represents an additional cost of more than USD 100 million every year for CMA CGM, inflating expenditure. Furthermore, technical issues when running the main engine with DO (Diesel Oil), such as temperature, viscosity or the size of the DO tank, will command to upgrade of some vessels to comply with the new rules. This will also generate extra costs. As a consequence : CMA CGM will implement a Low Sulphur Surcharge as from January 1st, 2015.  Experts keep on working on technical innovations to ...

New formula addresses changes to vessel and sailing characteristics, and the shift to more costly 0.1%-emission marine gas oil.  U.S. exporters shipping container cargo to Asia will see changes in their overall freight costs beginning January 1, 2015, as current low-sulfur fuel charges are adjusted to reflect larger vessels, slow-steaming and stricter sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions standards. Member shipping lines in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA)’s westbound section are recommending a quarterly low-sulfur charge of US$47 per 40-foot container (FEU) and $38 per 20-foot container (TEU) from the U.S. West Coast, and $95 per FEU and $76 per TEU from the East and Gulf Coasts, effective January 1. The modified charge – which may appear as an adjusted low-sulfur component within the bunker charge in some contracts during a transition period until those contracts expire – reflects both changes in per container operating costs from larger ships, improved fuel consumption and longer transit times, and the shift to burning cleaner, costlier marine gas oil (MGO) mandated within North American coastal waters as of January 1. TSA’s current recommended low-sulfur fuel charge in effect through December 31, 2014 is $21 per FEU and $17 per TEU from the West Coast, and ...

Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport temperature control solutions for a variety of mobile applications and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, announced that it will offer its intermodal and marine transport refrigeration customers a choice on how and when to reduce their own greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint. In 2015, Thermo King will offer marine reefer units with a next generation refrigerant that is equally energy efficient and reliable as the current refrigerant yet has about half the global warming potential (GWP). At the same time, customers who want to transition their existing reefer units can do so without any technical adjustments. Thermo King will offer replacement service on existing reefers through its dealer network. "Marine transportation is unique from other forms of transport because of the global nature of the business," said Michel van Roozendaal, vice president, global marine, rail and bus for Thermo King. "Refrigeration technology must be reliable, safe and efficient through a variety of extreme climates. This next generation refrigerant solution reduces GWP without sacrificing these factors.This new offering allows shipping lines to have peace of mind with a high performing unit while also reducing environmental impact." In anticipation of the European Union F-Gas Regulation, which requires ...

Trade growth and better market conditions for international shipping could undermine any improvements made in fuel efficiency, both recent fuel saving efforts and those achieved as future ships become increasingly energy efficient. This was the key message from authors of the updated greenhouse gas (GHG) study commissioned by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as they presented the 2014 study to the IMO’s 67th Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting last week. Looking further ahead, CO2 emissions from international shipping are projected to rise by at least 50% to 2050 despite fleet average efficiency improvements of about 40%, according to Dr. Jasper Faber from CE Delft. The 50% increase to 2050 was the lowest business as usual (BAU) scenario, while the highest in the study projected a 250% increase in CO2 emissions from shipping to 2050. Source: CE DelftIn the onset, I was open with you propecia before and after has changed my existence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is incredible to sit.