Ignazio Messina & Co, Hamworthy Krystallon Install First Commercial Marine Scrubber - Environmental Leader LLC.

Posted - December 19, 2011 -  Environmental Leader LLC. 

The first of four Ignazio Messina & Co.-owned vessels installed with marine scrubbing technology from manufacturer Hamworthy Krystallon has come on line. Linea Messina is the first ever vessel to operate commercially with a scrubber system, enabling Ignazio Messina to meet 0.1 percent sulfur emissions regulations in EU ports, as well as “future-proofing” the vessel for the impending 2015 0.1 percent U.S. Emission Control Area, Hamworthy says.
Ignazio Messina placed the word’s first commercial order for seawater scrubbers in 2010, to be installed on four new 45,000 dwt Ro-Ro vessels. Each ship features five scrubbers, consisting of four units for the auxiliary engines and one unit for the auxiliary boiler.
The delivery of the equipment for Linea Messina took place in January 2011, followed by installation throughout the summer.  Maritime vessel classification organization DNV approved the installation during testing in October 2011. The vessels are the first of their type to gain the Royal Institute of Naval Architects’ Green Plus classification, Hamworthy says.
Linea Messina will operate along the African coast as well as in Italian waters.
Hamworthy Krystallon says that the successful installation of the scrubber presents the shipping industry with a “simple choice”: Pay the $300 to $400 price differential for costly distillate fuel or install a scrubber, which typically has a payback of less than two years.
In September, shipping giant Maersk Line announced that it was to test a Belco scrubbing system. Maersk said that the exhaust gas cleaning system could cut sulfur emissions by more than 97 percent.

Posted at:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/12/19/ignazio-messina-co-hamworthy-krystallon-install-first-commercial-marine-scrubber/

Shipping first in climate cash lineup: Point Carbon - Reuters

Posted - Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:02pm EST - By Susanna Twidale

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Point Carbon) - The international maritime sector remains firmly in the U.N's cross-hairs when it comes to finding cash to fill a global fund to help poor countries tackle climate change.
U.N. climate talks last week agreed the design of a Global Climate Fund to channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to poorer nations, but failed to make headway on where the money will come from to fill it.
While a proposal to tax global shipping was dropped at the last minute at the talks in Durban, industry watchers say enough political momentum has built up and shipping will very likely become the fund's first source of financing.
"The writing is on the wall. Every independent report into innovate sources of finance for the GCF mentions revenues for the international maritime sector," said Andre Stochniol, a consultant on sustainable shipping.
Shipping is seen as a clear target because it is not yet regulated under any international climate regime and is a new source of revenue that would not drain public purses of cash-strapped governments, he said.
"It is quite clear this is the most talked about idea as a potential source of revenue for the fund," agreed Lies Craeynest, EU climate change policy advisory at aid group Oxfam.
"Just because it was not in the final text (in Durban) does not mean it is off the agenda and we are hoping to see some real progress next year," she said, adding that shipping's inclusion in a draft U.N. text was a sign of progress.
During the Durban talks, the UK's climate minister Chris Huhne said a levy on shipping fuel or aviation emissions would be the "preferred option" to raise part of the fund's target compared to other proposals such as a tax on financial transactions.
"I think the bunker fuels route is much more likely to be successful," he said.
IMPASSE EASE
 
Complete Post at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/16/us-carbon-shipping-idUSTRE7BF1DU20111216

LNG-Fueled Marine Industry at 48 Ships and Growing, Zeus Conference to Examine Implications - Market Wire

 Posted - Dec. 13, 2011, 1:56 p.m. EST

A survey of the marine industry by Zeus Development Corporation finds that 48 non-LNG-carrier ships will soon be fueled with LNG. In January, the company will host the World LNG Fuels Conference to discuss this trend.

"Low natural gas prices make the switch to LNG-fuel tempting for some marine operators," said Tom Campbell, analyst at Zeus. "However, it is the enforcement of IMO emissions standards that is driving the trend."

In 2015 and 2016, the International Maritime Organization's Tier III standards ratchet down sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions in a 200 nautical mile radius around North America and Europe, known as emission control areas. The alternatives to LNG include scrubbers and after-exhaust treatment systems, which are expensive and cumbersome.

"Fleets tend to use after-exhaust treatment systems for existing ships, but newbuild ships that can be designed for LNG's characteristics tend to use LNG," Campbell said.

In the past two years, 11 new LNG-fueled ships have been built, Campbell notes. They vary from patrol vessels to fueling barges to tugboats and ferries. Within these categories, LNG usage varies from high-speed ferries to large cruiser ferries. A complete list can be obtained online at www.zeusintel.com/ZeusEvents/WLNGF2012/VesselInventory.aspx .

LNG-fuel is also beginning to take root in new geographic regions like South America and the Gulf of Mexico. Units are also being considered in Quebec, Washington State and New York.

Alongside the trend are proposals for fueling facilities. New bunkering facilities are being discussed in Trinidad and Tobago, Dubai and Singapore.

Complete post at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lng-fueled-marine-industry-at-48-ships-and-growing-zeus-conference-to-examine-implications-2011-12-13

Maersk launches shipping biofuel experiment - Business Green

Posted - December 14, 2011 -By BusinessGreen staff - Business Green

Shipping giant Maersk Line is testing the performance of algae-based biofuels as a means of cutting emissions from a vessel en route from northern Europe to India.
Blends of between seven and 100 per cent biofuels will be used in the auxiliary test engine of the Maersk Kalmar, a 300m container ship, during its month-long, 6,500 nautical mile voyage.
During the journey, Maersk expects the Kalmar to use up to 30 tonnes of biofuel while on-board engineers analyze emissions data on nitrogen oxides), sulphur oxides, CO2 and particulate matter, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear.
The tests are scheduled to conclude this month with results following soon after.
Maersk said it expects to identify an optimal blend of distillate and biofuel that will meet the International Maritime Organization's forthcoming emissions regulations.
The project is the first collaboration between Maersk and the US Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command, a partnership that sprung up after Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Maersk's headquarters in Copenhagen in October last year.
While biofuels have been increasingly adopted by airlines as a method of reducing emissions and avoiding oil price volatility, shipping has not embraced the technology to the same extent.
Under a deal agreed at the IMO earlier this year, shipping companies must consider methods to improve the fuel efficiency of vessels, such as slower speeds, while new vessels will have to meet rising minimum efficiency standards from 2015.

Complete Post at:
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2132126/maersk-launches-shipping-biofuel-experiment

Maersk and the U.S. Navy Collaborate on Biofuel Initiative - Maritime Executive

Posted  - Monday, December 12, 2011

Maersk and the U.S. Navy are testing algae-based biofuel on the container ship Maersk Kalmar. The ship is en route from Northern Europe to India.
Maersk Kalmar has two key attributes that make it a suitable vessel for biofuel testing. The 300 meter-long container ship has a dedicated auxiliary test engine, which reduces the risks of testing, and its fuels system has a special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks.
In October 2010, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and learned of energy conservation initiatives across Maersk’s fleet of over 1,300 vessels. These programs fit well with the Navy’s interests in increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The biofuels test is the first collaboration between Maersk and the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
“The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades. In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving fuel efficiency. In the longer term, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available, low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment at Maersk Line.  
During its month-long, 6,500 nautical mile voyage from Bremerhaven, Germany to Pipavav, India, the ship will use 30 tons of biofuel. Engineers and crew onboard are testing blends ranging from 7% to 100%. The team is also analyzing emissions data on NOx (nitrogen oxides), SOx (sulphur oxides), CO2 and particulate matter from the fuel use, along with effects on power efficiency and engine wear and tear. Tests are scheduled to conclude in early December with an analysis of results following soon thereafter.


 Complete Post at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/maersk-and-the-u-s-navy-collaborate-on-biofuel-initiative

Climate deal delays new concerted effort on greenhouse gases - LA Times - World

Posted - December 11, 2011 - LA Times - World 

REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON -- Negotiators at a climate change meeting in South Africa struck an 11th-hour deal to avoid the collapse of international negotiations over global warming, averting the worst fears of environmental advocates but doing little to immediately advance the cause of limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The agreement in effect would postpone new concerted global action on climate change for at least eight years. However, given the political realities, particularly in the United States and China, the accord probably offered the best chance to move the process forward, analysts said.
The mood at the United Nations gathering in Durban was somber as the talks ended just before dawn Sunday, participants said, largely because many questions remained unanswered and the risk of a catastrophic increase in global average temperature had not been reduced.
Under the deal, nations committed themselves to talks aimed at reaching a legally binding agreement by 2015 that would limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. The limits would not go into effect until 2020 at the earliest.

Most countries have agreed to voluntary emission-reduction goals that scientists and environmentalists consider too modest. Without significant cuts in greenhouse gases, the world would be on course for a jump in global temperature of about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, which would profoundly disturb water, weather and agriculture almost everywhere, according to widely accepted climate models.

Complete Post at:
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7048304257613697692

Shipping Fuel Levy Blocked by U.S. at UN Talks, Greenpeace Says - BLOOMBERG L.P.

Posted - By Kim Chipman - Dec 9, 2011 5:01 AM ET - Bloomberg L.P.

The U.S., China and India oppose efforts to use charges on shipping fuel to funnel money into a United Nations climate aid fund, according to Greenpeace’s Martin Kaiser.
The Obama administration and Basic group of negotiating countries that also includes South Africa and Brazil say funds must come from national budgets rather than charges on shipping fuels, Kaiser, head of international climate politics for Greenpeace, said in an interview today.
A draft UN proposal at talks in Durban, South Africa, called for funds raised by actions to be taken by the International Maritime Organization to cut maritime fuel emissions to be channeled into both the UN’s mooted Green Climate Fund and into providing compensation to developing nations whose companies are affected by the extra shipping costs.
The IMO is considering an emissions-trading system or global levy as a way to lower emissions blamed for climate change.
The draft proposal released in Durban earlier this week marked the first potential private source of income for the fund, which Christiana Figueres, the UN diplomat leading the discussions, has said is a key outcome the negotiations ending today need to agree on. Industrialized nations have pledged to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and reduce emissions.
“Given the financial crisis and budgetary crisis of many industrialized countries, the only way to fill up the climate fund is through this mechanism,” Greenpeace’s Kaiser said.
“There’s a broad alliance saying it has to come from national budgets rather than from reliable mechanism but given the financial crisis and the budgetary crisis of many industrialized countries, the only way to fill up the green climate fund is through” this mechanism.
US lead negotiator Todd Stern yesterday declined to comment on the issue of shipping fuels and climate finance proposals in Durban. He said he is optimistic progress will be made on establishing the fund countries agreed to at UN talks last year.
 
Post at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-09/shipping-fuel-levy-blocked-by-u-s-at-un-talks-greenpeace-says.html