Green Shipping

With the shipping industry entering a new, environmentally-friendly period, stakeholders in the maritime industry are seeking for ways to reduce their ships’ emissions. Apart from choosing green fuels and scrubbers, ports come to add another solution: Cold Ironing. This is the process of providing shoreside electrical power to a ship at berth, while its main and auxiliary engines are turned off.

During a ship’s lifetime microorganisms, plants, algae, or animals will gather in its hull, during a process called biofouling. These organisms, known as invasive aquatic species, can negatively affect a ship’s operation, while they also present a threat to the marine environment. However, there is a solution and is called antifouling.

As of 1st January 2019, amendments to the bunker delivery note have entered into force, relating to the supply of marine fuel oil to ships, which have fitted alternative mechanisms to comply with the IMO's 2020 sulphur cap. Other amendments that entered into force this year include the IMSBC Code 2017 amendment and the amendments to designate North Sea and Baltic Sea as ECAs.

Lead Acid Batteries are mostly used onboard ships as emergency power support units. However, lately a widespread adoption of lithium-ion batteries has been noticed.

 MAN has issued a Market Update Note providing information on the Light Running Margin (LRM) which is an important design parameter for the safe and efficient operation of a ship. The changed circumstances in the shipping industry  have led MAN Diesel & Turbo to change the recommendation for LRM.In brief, a ship should have a sufficient LRM such that:a safe and satisfactory ship speed can be maintained in heavy weather and/or with a fouled hullship accelerations needed for safe and efficient manoeuvring operations can be achieveda barred speed range can be passed quickly (which is often required also at zero ship speed, i.e. at bollard pull).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7e6RLMk5e8 Light Running Margin (LRM)To align with the rest of world’s ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the shipping industry has developed the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) in cooperation with IMO. Combined with the steady increase in oil prices seen in the period from 2006 to 2014, the result has been improved ship designs with lower CO2 emissions relative to their transportation capacity.Lowering of the SMCR propulsion power installed is a key parameter for achieving a more fuel and CO2-efficient ship, evaluated according to the EEDI. Other parameters include lowering of the hull resistance,...

The kite will use wind power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs Cargill has signed an agreement with Greek ship owner/manager Anbros Maritime S.A. (Anbros) to install the world's largest kite on its Aghia Marina dry bulk cargo vessel. The Aghia Marina typically transports cargoes of agricultural and industrial raw materials.The 170 metre long carrier, built in 1994, has a service speed of up to 14 knots and can carry about 28,500 tonnes of dry bulk cargoes at any one time, making it the largest vessel to use the wind power technology created by SkySails GmbH (SkySails).Last February, Cargill announced it had signed a supply agreement with SkySails that aims to use wind power technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. SkySails, based in Hamburg, has developed an innovative, patented technology that uses a kite which flies ahead of the vessel and generates enough propulsion to reduce consumption of bunker fuel by up to 35 percent in ideal sailing conditions."We are delighted to partner with Anbros and announce the Aghia Marina as the largest vessel to use the SkySails technology to date", said Roger Janson, head of Cargill's ocean transportation business. "As Cargill is one...

Cooperation on verification of the green ships Earlier this month, Korea Finance Corporation has announced the green ship finance plan that incentives including a form of lower interest rates on loans will be provided to the ship owners who obtain the vessels designed to reduce emissions. In order to qualify for this financial incentives, the vessels must be built using technologies to reduce air pollutants (e.g. Nox, Sox., etc), CO2, or GHG."KoFC's Green Ship Program will be an encouraging strategy to bring Korean maritime industry closer to taking substantive actions toward reducing environment emissions and help expedite the development of environmentally friendly ships.It is also a golden opportunity for DNV to help Korean maritime industry players taking a step further into this green movement and support them on various green-technology issues," said Paal Johansen, Regional Manager for DNV in Korea & Japan.Korea Finance Corporation is the first financial organization in South Korea to run a ship finance program to boost the environmental friendly movement.KOFC (Korea Finance Corporation) Wholly owned by the Korean government, KoFC maintains and intensifies the role as an advanced policy-based finance institution. Korea Finance Corporation was established as a financial institutions for money brokerage and assist small...

 The University College of London (UCL) Energy Institute was commissioned by the Royal Belgian Shipowners Association (RBSA) to provide further insights into CO2 emissions, specifically the Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) and recent policy events, such as the EU MRV policy, through examining individual ship’s as well as fleets’ data over a 5 to 6 years timespan.The work carried out provided the association with an evidence-based opinion on the merits of different operational energy efficiency indices and preparing members for foreseeable future changes in the industry. The work also discusses the challenges for policymakers in implementing MRV given the uncertainty in the data and measures to sanitize the data for analysis.The Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator (EEOI) was developed by the IMO in order to allow ships to monitor the carbon emissions of their shipping activities. The EEOI is the total carbon emissions in a given time period per unit of revenue tonne-miles. Variations in the index are mainly caused by three factors: the technical efficiency of the ship, the amount of cargo transported per unit of time, and variations in speed. However, as the EEOI is an aggregate number, it is difficult to identify the influence of these factors.The study...

In order to ensure ongoing compliance with MARPOL Annex I Regulation 37.2.4 and MARPOL Annex II Regulation 17.2.4, vessels should have access to a list of authorities or persons to be contacted in the event of pollution incident. The IMO is issuing every three months the updated list of national operational contact points for these shipboard pollution emergency plans.

President Obama has taken action to build the foundation for a clean energy economy, tackle the issue of climate change and protect our environment. The maritime industry understands and embraces this thinking not only because it makes sense, but also as it will be essential to future viability of marine transportation. The industry continues to take a leading role in environmental responsibility and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is helping them chart the course. With two recently released reports examining storage and bunkering options for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and providing vital data on natural gas emissions, US MARAD's Office of Environment and Safety is providing information the industry needs to transition to cleaner burning fuels. And by identifying potential challenges and recommending best practices and new standards, US MARAD is working to streamline the development of a transportation network that supports the integration of natural gas as a marine fuel. Another step forward was taken with approval of a $324.6 million Title XI loan guarantee to TOTE Shipholdings, Inc., a 2014 White House Transportation Champion of Change, to finance construction of two container ships that will use LNG as propulsion fuel. The US MARAD Title XI Loan Guarantee program...