Shippers Examine Advantages of Fuel Change - New York Times

Published: January 19, 2011 - I.H.T. Special Report: Business of Green - By SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP

SINGAPORE — Roughly 90 percent of international trade travels by sea, and with all that maritime traffic accounting for an estimated 3 percent to 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the shipping sector is under increasing pressure to contribute to a more sustainable future for itself and the planet.
The push for shipping companies to reduce emissions and improve the energy efficiency of their fleets is coming in part from stricter environmental regulations, at both the national and international levels.
With this in mind, some of the industry’s leading companies formed the Sustainable Shipping Initiative in September. Working with nongovernmental organizations, the Forum for the Future and the WWF, the group — whose participants include Cargill, which operates a 300-vessel charter fleet; Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering; Rio Tinto Marine, the shipping arm of the international mining giant; the marine insurer RSA; and the Greek tanker operator Tsakos Energy Navigation — says it hopes to address “what it really means for shipping to be sustainable and create a vision of industry in 2040 which is socially and environmentally responsible, resilient and profitable.”
Among the measures the group is considering, to help cut costs and reduce shipping’s environmental effects, is a shift to liquefied natural gas as the primary energy to power engines, Jaakko Eskola, a vice president of the Wartsila Group, said in an e-mail.
But such a shift is not without challenges in an industry that relies mostly on heavy fuel oil — still the least expensive and therefore most common energy source.
Lars Eikeland, executive vice president for marine business development and strategy at Rolls-Royce, who is based in Singapore, called L.N.G. “a marine fuel of the future.”
“The cost, as well as the improved efficiency it provides, makes it an attractive option for ship owners and operators, and the environmental benefits are obvious,” he said.
There are obstacles, however, to making L.N.G. a viable commercial marine fuel. One drawback is that it cannot be pumped into conventional fuel tanks, because it needs to be stored at minus 165 degrees Celsius, or minus 265 Fahrenheit, which requires tanks to be heavily insulated. L.N.G. therefore takes up much more volume than marine diesel oil or heavy fuel oil for the same amount of energy provided.

Complete story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/business/global/20iht-rbogship.html?_r=