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Emission Control Areas (ECA) will no doubt clean up the air we breathe. Hopefully, it won’t also be the primary cause of dirtier water.
The
latest statistics from the great state of California chronicling Loss
of Propulsion (LOP) incidents for deep draft vessels entering those
waters show a recent (and marked) increase in this type of casualty.
Indeed, and if the current trend continues, California could see its
highest LOP totals since data on this type of thing began to be compiled
in 2004. The numbers are important because California, unlike many
places right now, requires ships to switch from fuel oil to cleaner
burning distillates when they come within 24 miles of the California
coast. Beneath the raw data lurks troubling root causes and, perhaps, a
glimmer of hope, as well.
The
local California fuel switching rules have been in effect since 2009.
And, although the requirement did not come into effect until July of
that year, the number of LOP’s almost immediately tripled, as compared
to the previous year. Today’s LOP numbers remain consistently high, as
compared to pre-2009 rates, with the highest number seen in 2011, when
it spiked all the way to 93 incidents. That metric was likely due to
increased reporting requirements, closer scrutiny from California state
regulatory personnel and better recordkeeping by the vessels themselves.
Alarmingly, and although the numbers dipped precipitously last year
(63), this year’s rate of incident reports could eclipse that seen in
2011. So, what’s a Mother to do?
There
are many reasons for loss of propulsion in deep draft vessels. These
span the gamut from poor fuel quality all the way to the supposition of
incompetent engineroom staff, and/or poor engine maintenance. It’s a
fact of life that the loss of sulphur in the distillates also equates to
loss of lubricity in the fuel itself. Just as the automobile industry
had to deal with the loss of lubricity when the elimination of lead
occurred decades ago, today's vessels are dealing with similar issues.
Some attack the problem with additives and a few years ago, a
NASCAR-based service company even proposed micro-thin ceramic coatings
for the internal parts of big seagoing vessels as a way to combat the
problem. The latter solution, although today a common practice for
NASCAR teams, hasn’t yet caught on offshore.
Needless
to add, the differences in viscosity of the two fuels adds another
variable to the issue, as well. The HFO is very forgiving of worn parts
due the high viscosity of the fuel while the distillate isn’t forgiving
at all. If crews are really keeping up their machinery as their
paperwork attests, then why are we still experiencing this higher level
of LOPs?
California
records show more than 300 LOP incidents in CA waters since 2009, with
fully one-third of those confirmed as being related to fuel switching
procedures. The real danger, however, is where these incidents are
taking place – close in and often in pilot waters in proximity to
shallow drafts and navigation hazards. More telling, perhaps, is that
fully 79 vessels have failed to comply with local fuel switching
regulations, citing “safety exemptions,” something that should give
regulators everywhere pause when they contemplate future and stricter
ECA zone(s). In the case of a safety exemption, the vessel remains
burning HFO going into the berth and sometimes, going out, too. The
practice of switching fuel sources on the fly involves risk and it
requires skill. That as many as 100 ships in California waters in the
past 4 years alone haven’t gotten it right is ample testimony to that.
Finally,
a more obscure statistic – obtained from reliable sources who did not
want to be identified for the purposes of this article – involves the
fact that first time visitors to California waters experienced LOP
failures when switching over to distillates as much as 30 percent of the
time. Hence, like anything else, ship’s engineers get better at the
procedure with practice. As ECA’s come into effect all over the globe,
these numbers loom all the more important. Also according to our
source(s), the LOP numbers probably have as much to do with maintenance
which, although immaculate paperwork often indicates is being done
properly, is anything but.
In
January of 2015, and when the NAECA comes into play, ships will be
switching 200 miles offshore California. So, in many respects, and no
matter what you think of the California environmental lobby, the state
is the perhaps the leading indicator of what could come next. On one
hand, future LOP problems will likely occur some 200 miles offshore in
deep water and with time to rectify problems before the vessel begins
the all important inbound pilotage leg. That’s a good thing. On the
other, the records being kept in the “Left Coast” today could well be a
harbinger for what is to come on a global basis.
California’s
recordkeeping is exemplary and gives real insight into quantifying the
issues which arise when one regulation, intended to obviate one problem,
inadvertently causes another. Worldwide, however, who else is keeping
score in the rapidly expanding ECA theatre?
Global classification society DNV said recently that as much as 50
percent of the world’s maritime fleet could be dual fuel-powered, as
early as 2020. That’s an optimistic look at the future of LNG as a fuel,
but at the same time concedes that fully half of the global fleet at
that point will still be running on other fuels. In the meantime, and as
operators wean themselves from heavy fuel oil, fuel switching within
so-called ECA’s will remain fraught with danger.
Post to be found at:
http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/The-Final-Word-with-Joseph-Keefe/August-2013/Environmental-Compliance--at-what-cost-.aspx
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