China and Norway towards ships running on LNG - www.norway.cn/New

Posted - April 21, 2011 - www.norway.cn/New

Cooperation between Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory and the Norwegian maritime research institute Marintek has led to the development of an innovative LNG ship engine soon ready for the Chinese market. LNG eliminates sulphur emissions, significantly reduces NOX emissions and cuts CO2 emissions by at least 20 %.

LNG ship engine for the Chinese market

Based on a test model of a LNG (liquefied natural gas) ship engine created in the research institute Marintek in Norway, Guangzhou Diesel Engine Factory Co. Ltd. has built a corresponding engine for the Chinese market. It is expected to become popular in China for several reasons:
Firstly, using LNG as fuel does not reduce the effect of the engine compared with conventional diesel engines, something which is a common problem for other engines run on LNG. This Norwegian-Chinese 6230SG LNG engine will perform as well as a diesel motor.
Secondly, ships need to meet new IMO emission standards that will come into effect already in 2016. These entail, among other things, that NOx emissions cannot be larger than 2 gram per kw/h. The 6230SG LNG engine meets these requirements, and gives a 20 % reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a diesel engine with the same effect.
Thirdly, even though a LNG fueled engine is more expensive than a conventional engine, LNG is less expensive than diesel, making LNG engines an investment which pays back over time.
The Guangzhou Diesel/Marintek LNG motor is now ready for being certified by DnV, and will be available in the Chinese market this year.
Maritime transport is an energy effective mode of transport, but the world’s merchant ships still accounts for considerable CO2 emissions, estimated at half of that of all the cars in the world.
"As a significant shipping nation with a clear position on climate change, Norway has made reduction of CO2 emissions from maritime transport a priority. The co-operation between Marintek and Guangzhou Diesel makes for a concrete contribution to this aim. It also illustrates the potential in Sino-Norwegian co-operation in the maritime sector", says Consul General Tormod C. Endresen.

http://www.norway.cn/News_and_events/Business/Maritime-Industry/China-and-Norway-towards-ships-running-on-LNG/

IMO and Korea partner for greener shipping - gCatpain

Posted - April 21, 2011 - gCatpain.com

IMO and the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) Thursday signed a Co-operation Agreement at the Organization’s London Headquarters, for implementation of a pioneering technical co-operation project on Building Capacities in East Asian countries to address Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) from Ships.
The co-operation between KOICA and IMO through this project is part of a much broader climate change initiative by the Republic of Korea titled the “East Asia Climate Partnerships” which aims to support the Republic of Korea’s efforts to take a lead in reducing carbon emissions and to move toward a low-carbon society, thereby setting a milestone for green growth and in this process to assist the developing countries in the region.
A sum of some US$700,000 will be made available by KOICA under the Agreement, which will fund ten activities to be implemented by IMO over a two-year period. The selected activities will focus on enhancing the capacities of developing countries in East Asia to develop and implement, at the national level, appropriate action on CO2 emissions from shipping, whilst at the same time, promoting sustainable development.
IMO, through its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), has developed energy efficiency measures, both for existing and new ships, in a comprehensive package of technical and operational measures to enable the shipping industry to increase its fuel efficiency and reduce its emissions.

Complete Story at:
http://gcaptain.com/korea-partner-greener-shipping?24401

Rough Seas for Shipping Industry Emissions Agreement - TriplePundit.com

Posted - By Bill DiBenedetto | April 19th, 2011 - TriplePundit.com

Depending on how it’s spun, recent shipping industry meetings on controlling greenhouse gas emissions through market-based trading schemes either made “steady progress” or no progress at all.
The International Maritime Organization characterized the meetings of the third inter-sessional meeting of the Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions that ended early this month in London as making steady progress. The meeting was attended by more than 200 experts. A major topic centered on the “compelling need and purpose” of developing market-based measures (MBMs) as potential mechanisms to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping.
The Working Group was also tasked with evaluating a feasibility study and impact assessment by an Expert Group of several possible measures proposed by governments and observer organizations. The Expert Group study also assessed the impact of proposed MBMs on, among others, international trade, the maritime sector of developing countries least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as well as corresponding environmental benefits.

Complete Story at:
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/04/shipping-industry-emissions-agreement/

United States: Ninth Circuit Confirms California’s Jurisdiction Over Vessel Fuel Standards Out to 24 Miles - Mondaq ® Ltd

Posted - 14 April 2011 - by Jonathan K. Waldron, Conor T. Warde and Jeanne M. Grasso

New Development

On March 28, 2011 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected an appeal by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association ("PMSA"), a mutual benefit corporation comprised of owners and operators of U.S. and foreign-flag vessels, in which it sought to prevent the state of California from expanding its enforcement of vessel fuel standards to 24 miles, well beyond the state's traditional 3-mile territorial limit. Unless PMSA successfully appeals this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, a vessel en route to a California port will continue to need to switch to low-sulfur fuel once the vessel is within 24 miles of the California coast. As the Court itself stated in its opinion, "We are clearly dealing with an expansive and even possibly unprecedented state regulatory scheme. However, the severe environmental problems confronting California (especially Southern California) are themselves unusual and even unprecedented."

Background

Complete story at:
http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/article.asp?articleid=129492

Marine lubricants under the spotlight with increased slow steaming and emissions controls - Hellenicshippingnews.com

Posted April 14,2011 - Hellenicshippingnews.com

As shipping turns to slow steaming to reduce costs and faces increased emissions’ control measures, the process and challenge of procuring marine lubricants
has taken on greater complexity and significance, Total Lubmarine, one of the world’s leading global supplier of marine lubricants and greases, announced today.
The North American Emissions Control Area (ECA), effective from 2012, will impact 50% of maritime traffic, forcing ship owners and operators not typically operating in ECA’s to begin use of lower basicity cylinder lubricants required for lower sulphur fuels. This increasing trend is likely to pose challenges for ship owners and operators when leaving ECA’s, as lower base number (BN) lubricants are not best suited to operation with higher sulphur fuels permissible for use outside ECA boundaries.
Moreover, the use of lower basicity cylinder lubricants within ECA runs directly counter to the lubrication requirements for slow steaming or other conditions outside ECA’s, which conversely require owners and operators to run specific lubricants.
With rising bunker prices and growing charterer pressure to reduce costs, slow steaming looks set to stay. Most container vessels have cut cruising speeds from 22-25 knots to 18-20 knots, but in the case of extra slow steaming, to as low as 8-12 knots, which significantly increases stresses and strains on a two or four stroke marine engine.

Complete Story at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18363:marine-lubricants-under-the-spotlight-with-increased-slow-steaming-and-emissions-controls&catid=44:latest-news&Itemid=64

International talks on shipping emissions stall - Transport & Environment

Posted March 6, 2011 - Transport & Environment

Statement on behalf of Seas At Risk (SAR), Transport & Environment (T&E) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) failed to reach agreement on global action to address greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping at a meeting in London last week (1). Environmental groups have repeated calls for EU action in the absence of progress on global measures.
The objective of last week’s meeting was to first assess and then progress the work of an IMO expert group on market-based measures such as emissions-trading schemes that completed its work last summer.
But a clear split was evident between some developing countries who saw no compelling need for such a measure and those developed countries which proposed a number of options including emissions trading, a global levy on shipping and trading of fuel efficiency credits. A handful of developing countries continued to insist that the IMO must follow a principle of global climate talks that developing countries should have less responsibility for cutting emissions than developed ones. This issue continues to be a stumbling block to further progress.

Complete story at:
http://www.transportenvironment.org/News/2011/4/International-talks-on-shipping-emissions-stall/

EU plans 'at least 40% cut in shipping emissions' - Marine-news.net

Posted March 31, 2011 - Marine-news.net

The European Commission (EC) has committed the EU to a cut of “at least 40%” in shipping emissions but says there needs to be agreement on effective measures at IMO. The EC has adopted a comprehensive strategy -Transport 2050 – for what it describes as “a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment”. At the same time, the proposals are meant to dramatically reduce Europe’s dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60% by 2050.
The EC claims the target of reducing emissions by at least 40% from bunker fuels can be met by “operational measures, technical measures, including new vessel design, and low-carbon fuels”. Given the global nature of shipping, these measures need to be worked on in the international context of the IMO to be effective.
The EC says that its Transport 2050 roadmap to a Single European Transport Area sets out to remove major barriers and bottlenecks in many key areas across the fields of: transport infrastructure and investment, innovation and the internal market. The aim is to create a Single European Transport Area with more competition and a fully integrated transport network which links the different modes and allows for a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers and freight. The roadmap puts forward 40 “concrete initiatives” for the next decade.

Among the targets mentioned are:

For intercity travel: 50% of all medium-distance passenger and freight transport should shift off the roads and onto rail and waterborne transport.
By 2030, 30% of road freight over 300 km should shift to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport, and more than 50% by 2050.
By 2050, connect all core network airports to the rail network, preferably high-speed; ensure that all core seaports are sufficiently connected to the rail freight and, where possible, inland waterway system.
By 2020, establish the framework for a European multimodal transport information, management and payment system, both for passengers and freight.
Move towards full application of “user pays” and “polluter pays” principles and private sector engagement to eliminate distortions, generate revenues and ensure financing for future transport investments.

Complete story at:
http://marine-news.net/Tethys_Contracts_Rig_Accelerates_Drilling_Program_in_Oman-i22844.html

A policy that's all at sea? - European Voice

Posted: 31.03.2011 / 04:09 CET - European Voice.com

The EU's attempts to get tough with the International Maritime Organization could be torpedoed by some of its landlocked members.
The European Commission has been threatening for years to get tough with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) if it fails to take action to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from shipping.
The screws were tightened this week when Siim Kallas, the European commissioner for transport, unveiled the EU's transport policy for the next decade. If the IMO – a notoriously cumbersome intergovernmental body – fails to act by the end of 2011, then the EU will forge ahead with its own policy.
But the EU's ‘get-tough' strategy could prove as cumbersome as the IMO itself. Five EU member states have still to ratify the IMO Convention, and are consequently ineligible to vote in crucial negotiations this June aimed at improving the energy efficiency of ship design. The European Commission is hoping the proposal will be approved, to maintain momentum for a global emissions trading scheme for shipping – but in these knife-edge talks, every vote will count. This is why today's (31 March) meeting of transport ministers in Brussels will feature an urgent call from Kallas for laggard member states to ratify the IMO Convention.
As ever with EU etiquette, the commissioner will not name names. But European Voice is not bound by this rule. The five missing countries are Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, and – just to demonstrate that lacking a coastline is not necessarily the cause of indifference – Malta

Story at:
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/a-policy-that-s-all-at-sea-/70714.aspx