Tag: SECA

More and more cargo owners are taking the opportunity to exert environmental pressure on carriers to mitigate their environmental impact. This observation was made by Sara Sköld, Director at Clean Shipping Network, whose international environmental index, the Clean Shipping Index, has grown from 0 to 100 in just a few years. It is now used by many of Sweden's largest import and export companies. The Clean Shipping Index was set up in Gothenburg in 2007 by Ulf Duus and Jan Ahlbom. County Administrative Board employee Jan Ahlbom and consultant Ulf Duus had been assigned the task of compiling a report on the latest environmental technology in shipping. During the course of their examination they gradually came to the realisation that there were surprisingly few ships at the Port of Gothenburg that were environmentally adapted. Sara Sköld explained: "They discovered that the shipping companies' customers were exerting pressure on the carriers to mitigate their environmental impact. This led to the cargo owners and shipping companies joining forces to produce eco-adapted solutions. Working in collaboration with a number of major cargo owners, Ulf and Jan went on to develop what was to become the Clean Shipping Index." The Clean Shipping Index is ...

Skangass and North European Oil Trade (NEOT) have agreed on a supply contract for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to NEOT’s coming time chartered vessels entering into operation in 2016. The contract is valid for supply of LNG in the region of Lysekil-Gothenburg-Skaw and is also one of the first ship-to-ship bunker contracts for LNG in Europe. “This is our first ship-to-ship bunker contract and we are very pleased with being chosen as LNG supplier for NEOT serving their new vessels”, says Tor Morten Osmundsen, CEO for Skangass and continues;” LNG has a fantastic potential as fuel for vessels and we are determined to further develop the infrastructure to serve the market with LNG in an attractive way. A ship-to-ship supply solution is the logical development for bunkering of LNG in the future as the vessels using LNG as fuel seems to be enlarging.” Today Skangass offer supply of LNG to marine customers by truck-to-ship, terminals-to-ship and ship-to-ship, whatever is the swiftest and best solution for the ship owner. The agreement with NEOT confirms the effort of making LNG available for the marine market. It further confirms the increasing LNG demand. This can be related to LNG being price competitive and ...

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) have issued an Industry Guidance to give assistance to ship owners, operators and crew to prepare for the changes in fuel characteristics and compliance with the new sulphur limits for ships fuel used in in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) as of January 1, 2015. The main emphasis of this paper lies on the process of switch over from HFO to LSF.  As of January 1, 2015, the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board ships within SECAs shall not exceed 0.10% m/m. This is required both by the European Directive n°2012/33/EU of 21st November 2012 as well as Annex VI of the international MARPOL Convention. In most cases, compliance will require the use of Low Sulphur Fuel, LSF (MDO or MGO) by the ship or of the recently offered compliant fuels such as HDME50 with higher pour points and viscosities that require heating. Prior to entry into a SECA, it is therefore required to have fully switched over from any high sulphur fuel in use to the SECA compliant marine fuel. Alternative compliance can be achieved by using fuels with higher sulphur content if exhaust gas cleaning ...

The DNV GL Container Ship Forum in Hamburg gave an overview of current trends in the container sector DNV GL’s latest Container Ship Forum and Bulk Carrier Forum looked at a broad spectrum of topics including environmental regulations, trends in ship design as well as the new DNV GL rule set. Some 150 representatives from the container and bulk industry met with DNV GL experts at the forums in Hamburg to hear the presentations and participate in informal discussions. As economy of scale is reducing transportation costs per box, the demand for ever bigger vessels is continuing. Business director Jost Bergmann said that in the near future it would be possible to build ultra-large containerships with a capacity of 24,000 TEU. Based on a current 19,000 TEU vessel design, these ships could be one hold longer, two rows wider, and one hold tier higher. Due to stability factors and steel thickness requirements, it is easier to increase the beam than to increase the length. But besides coping with higher acceleration and gravitational forces, ultra-large wide-beam vessels would also be constrained by port and seaways limitations, such as crane outreach and drafts. In the Suez Canal, for example, restrictions for the ...

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 ...

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and EPA will soon take action to ensure compliance with the forthcoming 0.10 percent fuel sulphur limits in the North American and U.S. Caribbean Sea Emmission Control Areas, or ECAs. “We will be coordinated in our efforts to ensure compliance with the new requirements effective 1 Jan, 2015,” said Rear Adm. Paul Thomas, assistant commandant for Prevention Policy at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. “That includes working with EPA to actively check for compliance and taking appropriate enforcement action.” The USCG will continue to check Bunker Delivery Notes and other records during Port State and Flag State visits to vessels. The USCG and EPA are developing plans for joint boardings of vessels as well, that will include fuel oil sampling and in-the-field screening for sulphur levels. “Working closely with our partners at the Coast Guard, we’re stepping up our compliance efforts and will take targeted enforcement actions when necessary,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Making sure that everyone plays by the rules will help level the playing field for companies that comply, while reducing harmful air pollution in coastal and inland communities.” Maritime Commons will continue to provide updates as ...

Imtech Marine equipped the first LNG-Hybrid Barge with its latest ‘green’ technology by order of Becker Marine Systems in Hamburg to supply the AIDA cruise fleet with energy. The LNG-Hybrid Barge is fitted with Imtech Marine’s electrical solutions and fire extinguishing equipment. In addition, Imtech Marine installed the complete ventilation systems with corresponding heat recovery and sea water cooling systems, supporting the Hybrid Barge’s ‘green’ approach by saving energy through reduced heating and cooling requirements. The regulations regarding a ship’s emissions are becoming stricter. From 2015, new exhaust gas emission requirements (e.g. Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA)) will come into effect. To meet regulations and the increasing environmental awareness of the shipping companies, new environmentally friendly platforms, like the LNG-Hybrid Barge, are being developed. In 2015, the first LNG-Hybrid Barge will serve the AIDA cruise fleet at the port of Hamburg, reducing the cruise ship’s sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and particle emissions. During the summer season, the Hybrid Barge will provide electrical energy for the AIDA and other cruise ships. In winter, during the cruise off-season, the LNG-Hybrid Barge will provide both electrical energy and heat for the public grid. Imtech Marine’s scope of supply started with analysis ...

European shipowners have launched a survey to monitor the economic impact of the 0.1% sulphur requirements for shipping in the European Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs), which are due to enter into force on 1 January 2015, as foreseen by the amended 2012 EU Sulphur Directive. Numerous reports have already been published on the implementation of the new sulphur rules and the ensuing risks of a modal backshift (from sea to land-based transport), but have so far primarily been based on forecasts. “As we get closer to the entry into force of the new rules it becomes vital to move to fact-based analyses and take stock of what is actually happening in the market” pointed out Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA Secretary-General. The survey is part of a stepwise approach to ascertain the economic impact of the upcoming sulphur requirements by gathering factual information from ship operators active in the European SECAs (the North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Channel). It was agreed upon at the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF), a multi-stakeholder platform set up by the European Commission to assess the developments towards compliance with the new requirements of the content of sulphur in marine fuel, exchange best practices and ...

The new sulphur directive for shipping traffic within the North European SECA area, which comes into force on 1 January 2015, is good for the environment but has a significant economic impact on Stena Line's business. The whole of the change programme that begun in 2013, and which is to produce an earnings improvement of 1 billion SEK, is to a major part an effect of the new rules. The reduction from two vessels to one on the Trelleborg-Sassnitz route is a current example of these measures. Another example is that Stena Line is now being forced to increase freight prices as a direct result of increased fuel costs.  "From an economic perspective, this is one of the largest negative political decisions since tax-free was discontinued. We have a positive attitude to environmental improvement rules as long as they are the same for everyone and are implemented at a rate that we and our customers can handle - but this isn't the case with the new sulphur rules.  Ultimately, the increasing fuel costs affect the North European export and import industry negatively because a significant share of transports are done by sea," says Stena Line's CEO Carl-Johan Hagman. For Stena ...

On 1 January 2015 the sulphur requirements in Emission Control Areas (ECA) will be stricter again. At that time vessels operating in ECA will be required to comply to a sulphur content of just 0,10 per cent. The SOx requirements apply to all fuel oils as defined in MARPOL Annex VI Reg.2.9. Currently there are four (4) designated ECA's which includes; the Baltic Sea the North Sea the North American ECA which extends up to 200 nm from the coasts of the continental United States & Canada the US Carribean Sea Compliance with the new ECA requirements can be obtained by either using ECA compliant fuel at all times, or to switch to low sulphur fuel when entering an ECA. When switching to ECA compliant fuel oil, it is required to have a "written procedure showing how the fuel oil change over is to be done" according to MARPOL Annex VI Reg.14.6. The detailed change over procedure should be readable available and the ship's crew shall be familiar with it. Further it is required that the change-over process is fully completed before entering the ECA. A logbook for registering the fuel oil change-over has to be kept on board as prescribed ...