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July 2008
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CONS.A.R. ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM
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ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
July 30th 2008 - The cost of slow steaming
Ship operators looking to save on fuel costs by slow steaming may find themselves laden with expensive maintenance costs. Slow steaming may reduce fuel consumption but, unless the procedure is well managed, there is an increased risk of machinery failure.
This is particularly the case with slow-speed engines, which are designed to steam slowly only for short periods, for example during manoeuvring. The prolonged running of engine machinery below its optimum design could lead to poor combustion. And where no proper cleaning or maintenance is carried out, this can cause a build-up of soot in the uptake economiser, which increases the risk of an exhaust uptake fire. In severe cases, this could lead to the meltdown of the economiser, or even engine room fire.
Also, the auxiliary machinery of a vessel tends to be run as a consequence of slow steaming, while they are not required to run during a normal full-speed voyage. The necessary use of auxiliary machinery as a result of slow steaming, therefore, can also lead to higher expenditure and maintenance needed.
Bunkerworld
July 28th 2008 - New California's regulations about emissions
New regulations announced by California Air Resources Board (ARB) last week to protect the coast from shipping emissions leave no room for so-called abatement technologies that would be allowed under international regulations.
The new ARB rules will require ships to use 1.5% sulphur marine gasoil (MGO) or 0.5% sulphur marine diesel oil (MDO) in auxiliary engines later this year. For main engines and auxiliary boilers, the same distillate fuel restrictions will start on July 1, 2009. The sulphur limit would fall further to 0.1% as of January 1, 2012. The regulation apply within 24 nautical miles of California's coastal waters.
The Californian regulations would see the introduction of emission control faster than under MARPOL Annex VI, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention to regulate air pollution from ships. The PMSA (Pacific Merchant Shipping Association) said that California can only regulate ships within state waters that extend three nautical miles from the coast under a federal law known as the Submerged Lands Act.
Bunkerworld
July 29th 2008 - Port study reveals increase in emissions
The Port of Long Beach saw a 6% increase in shipping related emissions in 2006 compared to previous years, during a period when container traffic volume increased by 9%.
These are the latest figures from the port's emissions inventory which details air pollution between 2005 and 2006. It's the first time the inventory has released estimates of GHG, which will be used to help reduce emissions in the port.
During the same period, NOx saw an increase of 7%, SOx increased by 4% and particulate matter rose by 6%.
These figures predate the implementation of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), adopted by Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles in November 2006 to cut port-related air pollution by at least 45% by 2012.
The study also shows that an increase was also seen in the number of vessels that switched to a cleaner fuel for auxiliary engines at berth from 14% in 2005 to 22% in 2006.
Bunkerworld
July 18th 2008 - New NTUA study about emissions
The Laboratory for Maritime Transport of the NTUA (National Technical University of Athens) has recently issued a new study concerning gaseous emissions from ships. The study was performed for the HCS (Hellenic Chamber of Shipping).
The objectives of this study have been twofold: (a) develop a web-based tool for calculating the exhaust gas emissions (CO2, SO2 and NOx) of specific types of ships under a variety of operational scenarios, and (b) produce various statistics of CO2 emissions, based on data from the world fleet database.
Both the complete study and the tool to calculate emissions are freely available at the web-site www.martrans.org/emis/emis.htm
NTUA LMT newsletter
July 17th 2008 - Biofuel subsidies ineffective at cutting CO2
The US, European Union and Canada's combined $11 billion in annual subsidies for biofuels will do little to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to an OECD report released Wednesday. The CO2 emitted by ships, cars, trucks and planes will "at best" decline 0.8% by 2015 in those regions with the aid programmes. There are many more efficient ways to protect the climate than supporting biofuels. At the same time, according to the report, development of the biofuel sector "will contribute to higher food prices over the medium term and to food insecurity for the most vulnerable populations in developing countries". Land and resources that could be used to produce food are now given over to biofuel production, reducing food supply.
Biofuels can generate large amounts of CO2 as land is cleared and fertilizer, used to help the crops grow, triggers soil bacteria to release some global warming gases. "Biofuels produced from wheat, sugar beet or vegetable oils rarely provide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings of more than 30% to 60%, while corn maize based ethanol generally allows for savings of less than 30%," the OECD report said. But ethanol from sugarcane grown in Brazil tends to be far more effective at reducing CO2 emissions compared with biofuels made in the US and Europe, slashing emissions as much as 90%, it added. Brazil has the potential to make and export more ethanol, and currently powers 20% of its vehicles with the fuel.
Bunkerworld
July 16th 2008 - Slow-steaming Maersk ships still "on time"
Slow steaming adopted by Maersk to "reduce its environmental footprint" doesn't means its vessels will be arriving late on their routes. On services where slow steaming has been enforced, extra ships would be added to ensure the same delivery standards as before.
Aside from the obvious benefits of reducing fuel consumption, slow steaming also helps alleviate concerns about tonnage over-capacity.
Bunkerworld
9th July 2008 - Concerns about future 0.1% sulphur limit
The introduction of a 0.1% sulphur limit in certain areas in 2015 will raise "significant challenges" for shipping and the marine fuels industry, Shell Marine Products (SMP) has warned.
Revisions to International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations regarding emissions from ships, MARPOL Annex VI, will see a gradual reduction in bunker fuel sulphur limits, both globally and in designated emission control areas (ECAs).
In ECAs, the current 1.5% sulphur limit will be reduced to 1.0% in 2010 and then drop to just 0.1% from 2015. The 2015 0.1% fuel specification in particular would present an additional challenge for product supply and would require major refinery investments.
The new regulations are also expected to have far-reaching consequences for cylinder oils requirements. Cylinder oils, which in addition to lubricating, also protect against corrosion and wear, as well as keeping piston rings and liners clean, are constantly being developed - in accordance with customer and statutory requirements.
IMO's proposal for the gradual reduction of sulphur limits for marine fuels would have not affect the choice and use of cylinder oils in the medium term, but from 2015 the requirements for 0.1 % sulphur content in marine fuel would mean shipowners having to use distillates instead of conventional marine heavy fuel oil.
The marine lubricants arm of Total, Lubmarine, announced late last year that it had developed Talusia Universal, the first cylinder oil which is suitable for use with all engines running on heavy fuel oils, irrespective of their sulphur content.
Bunkerworld
4th July 2008 - Drive by tanker company to save fuel and reduce emissions
Danish tanker and bulker owner D/S Norden AS says it plans to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions this year by 2%. A new report by Norden revealed they have installed monitoring systems to all of their ships as part of an initiative to reduce bunkers and minimise CO2 emissions. The analytical tool, Computer Analysis of Ship Performance (CASPER®) from Propulsion Dynamics Inc., monitors the ship's propulsion resistance and indicated speed and oil consumption. The system also shows when to clean the hull of the ship for fouling and when to polish the propellor, as well as estimating the economic benefit of reduced fuel consumption from cleaning.
Data is collected and then compared with the ship's past performance, taking into account the wind and sea conditions to determine the benefits of cleaning to fuel consumption and speed, and also when cleaning needs to be done, the report noted. The main objective with FLAME, CASPER and the numerous other initiatives in the environmental era is to reduce our consumption of energy and consequently emissions by 2% this year alone.
Bunkerworld
3rd July 2008 - Shipowner announces new "environmentally friendly fleet"
AP Moller-Maersk has signed an agreement for the delivery of 16 container vessels in 2010 to 2012, that will reduce both fuel use and emissions. The 16 vessels have been equipped with a waste heat recovery system, which reuses excess heat from the exhaust and generates energy for propulsion of the vessel or on-board electricity consumption. The reduction in fuel consumption results in a corresponding reduction of emissions. Each vessel has a 7,450-TEU capacity and is equipped with reefer plugs that enables the vessels to carry 1,700 refrigerated containers each, the highest number ever carried on a container vessel. Maersk Line expects to deploy the 16 vessels in the trades between the East Coast of South America and Asia and Europe.
Bunkerworld
3rd July 2008 - It's a "biofuel revolution"
Americas Vice President of Ship Power for Wärtsilä North America, Inc. revealed that they have accumulated over 100,000 hours of research into the effects of biofuels on engines. The presentation showed the results of the engine components after using biofuels, which were described as having "no alarming issues".
Using biofuels reduces carbon dioxides (CO2) by 25-30%, reduces nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 85%, there's no sulphur dioxide (SOx) emissions as sulphur is removed from fuel when liquefied and there's a 50% reduction in particulates (PM).
The biofuels approved by Wartsila were listed as follows: palm oil, palm stearin, rape ssed oil, and transnsterified bio oils (bio-diesel).
The company didi not approve animal based bio oils, di-methyl ether DME, methanol and ethanol and bio oil (alcohol mixes).
Following the right precautions and using the appropriate fuel, it's possible to achieve great results but with a lot of "ifs". The suitability of certain bio-fuels must be established separately for certain engine types.
Bunkerworld
3rd July 2008 - Towing kites ordered for three newbuilds
A fleet operator based in Germany has ordered towing kites for its next three newbuilds. Wessels shipping company has already been trialling the SkySail propulsion system aboard its 90 metre-long, multi-purpose cargo ship the Michael A. Measurements done during tests show that the technology is able to temporarily save far more than half the fuel by deploying SkySails in favourable wind conditions. Alternatively it's possible to increase the ship's cruising speed from 10 to 11.6 knots with the help of this towing kite propulsion. The company announced that an investment in Akysail propulsion is not just an investment in protecting the climate, but also an investment in the future of maritime shipping that will help them to remain globally competitive in the future.
The developers of the SkySails towing kite say a 160 square meter (m²) kite generates up to 8 metric tonnes (mt) of tractive force and that even in European waters, where many areas are known to have weak winds - bunker consumption can routinely be cut by 15%.
The three newbuilds to be fitted with the system are 88-meter, multipurpose ships of 3,700 deadweight tonnes (dwt). They will be fitted with 160 mq kites.
SkySails estimates that some 60% of the world fleet of 100,000 vessels could be retrofitted with SkySails.
Bunkerworld
2nd July 2008 - Anti-foul treatment test "a success"
The transport company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), during the period June 2007 to May 2008 tested a water-based anti-fouling treatment called Water Coat on six of its ferries. The treatment was developed by the University of Fukui and MN Corporation Watercoat enterprise. The effects of cleaning by rain water and antifouling effects were apparent on surfaces exposed to rain. The tests also showed that it was easy to rinse away dirt on glass not exposed to rainfall. Water Coat has already been widely adopted on buildings, automobiles, and electric railcars. MOL plans to also study Water Coat's effectiveness as a hull antifouling method to reduce water resistance.
Bunkerworld
1st July 2008 - International index for CO2 under consideration
Last week an intersessional meeting of the IMO's Working Group on the GHG emissions from ships was held in Oslo: the meeting aimed to develop technical basis for reduction mechanism that may be part of a future IMO regime to control GHG emissions. The delegates were also asked to draft reduction mechanisms for further consideration by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in October. Once finalised, the index will serve as a fuel-efficiency tool at the design stage of ships, containing the required minimum level of fuel efficiency related to a baseline, which will be established based on fuel efficiency for ships delivered between 1995 and 2005. The levels are due to be discussed at the October meeting.
Bunkerworld
1st July 2008 - "Clean Shipping Index" sulphur criteria adjusted
The 'Clean Shipping Index', launched as part of a Swedish project, has revised its original 'Clean Shipping Criteria' after realising that its targets for sulphur content were too ambitious for global operators. The Clean Shipping Project criteria called for ships to burn fuel with no more than 1% sulphur in their main engines for the period 2007-2009. The project leaders have, however, adjusted the Index itself, introducing different sulphur targets depending on a ship's area of operation. The Clean Shipping Index now differentiates between ships operating only within sulphur emission control areas (SECAs), where the fuel sulphur limit is currently 1.5%, and those operating outside SECAs where the global limit is currently 4.5% sulphur. In the Index an adjustment was made for ships sailing both in SECAs and high seas (or only high seas) to 1.5% S. This is due to the problems for the moment to actually receive < 1% S fuel around the world. The Clean Shipping Index has been designed to give individual ships a score across 20 factors that can affect the environment, including marine fuel, lubricants, bilge water, ballast water, antifouling paint, refrigerants and waste.
Index points are only available when ships exceed demands in existing laws, regulations or conventions.
With regards to emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), a maximum score of 40 points is possible.
Using a fuel quality of less than 1& sulphur on a ship sailing only inside SECAs or with less than 1.5% sulphur for ocean-going ships, is rewarded with 20 points, rising to 22 points for using a fuel with less than 0.5% sulphur.
Operating only on marine diesel oil (MDO) with less than 1% sulphur is worth 25 points, while operating on LPG, LNG or a biofuel would be rewarded with 30 points.
Using MDO had a higher score than using a fuel oil with less than 0.5% sulphur in recognition of the extra cost to the owner when using distillates, and because MDO is said to offer cleaner operations overall, including a reduction in PM emissions compared to fuel oil.
Bunkerworld
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