APL plans to cut emissions - Turkishmaritime.com

Posted - April 4, 2012 - Turkishmaritime.com

Container line APL announced it is on track to reduce a key carbon exhaust measure 30% by 2015 from its global shipping operations.

The Singapore-based line said its fleet will produce 130 grams of carbon exhaust for every teu of cargo transported one nautical mile by 2015. That would be a 30% reduction from emission levels in 2009.
“We're changing the profile of our fleet with larger, more efficient ships that will significantly curb exhaust emissions,” said Kenneth Glenn, president at APL.
APL is undertaking additional steps to curb carbon exhaust emissions that include optimising vessel trim, speed and routing, improving maintenance on vessel hulls to reduce drag in the water, and upgrading cargo handling equipment at APL terminals.

http://www.turkishmaritime.com.tr/
source: portnews.ru

http://www.turkishmaritime.com.tr/news_detail.php?id=13642

Ghana moves to become hub for Rapid Oil Spill Response - myjoyonline.com

Posted - From: Ghana | J. Ato Kobbie, Managing Editor |The Business Analyst          Last Updated: April 6, 2012, 8:30 pm 

Even as Ghanaians wonder about the level of the country’s preparedness in responding to oil and oil-related spillage, environmental experts are already looking at Ghana becoming the hub for rapidly responding to such incidents in the West African sub-region.
Disclosing this to participants on the second day of the three-day Ghana Summit on oil and gas held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) last week, Mr. Kojo Agbenor-Efunam, Principal Programme Officer (Oil and Gas) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said recent industry activities and discoveries in other West African countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, have increased risk levels and therefore stakeholders have been discussing the need to pool resources together to effectively respond to any spillages.
In a presentation that focused on Ghana’s capacity building and preparedness to dealing with oil spillage, Mr. Agbenor-Efunam said following initial studies undertaken as far back as 1986, with the assistance of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), to assess the country’s risk level, the country started building capacity for dealing with any eventual oil spillage. 
According to him, the study, which covered the country’s 550 kilometres of coastline, helped in determining the ecological diversity, the brisk economic activities along the coast, which is densely populated with important cities, revealed the country was at risk and risk zones were determined.

Complete Post at:
http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201204/84480.php 

IMOs-MEPC-issues-new-guidelines-to-boost-energy-efficiency - zambotimes.com

Posted - Friday, April 6. 2012

MANILA — The International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has issued a series of guidelines to support the uniform implementation of mandatory measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by global merchant marine fleet.
The MEPC also continued its intensive discussion on market-based measures for greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.
It also adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) relating to regional arrangements for port reception facilities; and guidelines related to the implementation of the revised MARPOL Annex V (Garbage) and the Hong Kong Convention.
The MEPC also granted basic and final approval to a number of ballast water management systems that make use of active substances.
Guidelines for implementation of energy efficiency measures adopted
The MEPC adopted four sets of guidelines intended to assist in the implementation of the mandatory Regulations on Energy Efficiency for Ships in MARPOL Annex VI, which are expected to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2013:
• 2012 Guidelines on the method of calculation of the attained Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships;
• 2012 Guidelines for the development of a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP);
• 2012 Guidelines on survey and certification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI); and
• Guidelines for calculation of reference lines for use with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).

Complete Post at:
http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/45991-IMOs-MEPC-issues-new-guidelines-to-boost-energy-efficiency.html

Ship Smog Seen as Next Target to Clear Hong Kong Skies - Bloomberg News

Posted - By Ben Richardson on April 04, 2012 - Bloomberg News

As OOCL London entered the English Channel in early February, the 323-meter vessel owned by Hong Kong’s biggest container line was forced to switch from burning the black sludge known as bunker oil to less polluting fuel. That wasn’t the case in the ship’s home harbor last week.

Vessels calling at North Sea and Baltic ports must use fuel containing no more than 1 percent sulfur to cut emissions estimated to cause at least 60,000 deaths a year worldwide. Ships steaming into Hong Kong are free to burn less costly 3.5 percent sulfur oil, which means they account for a growing share of the city’s air pollution and threaten the health of more than 25 million people in China’s Pearl River Delta.
Emissions from Orient Overseas International Ltd. (316), A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S (MAERSKB) and their rivals are under rising scrutiny as Hong Kong seeks to fix a mounting smog problem at home and meet the demands of leaders in Beijing to deliver cleaner air. Tightening marine fuel standards in the delta will add to costs for shipping lines, already squeezed by record energy prices and too many vessels competing for cargo.

Complete post at:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-04/ship-smog-seen-as-next-target-to-clear-hong-kong-skies

Harris Pye takes 3D on board Laser scanning to help shipping firms manage ballast water regulations - Spar Point Group

Posted - by Sam Pfeifle | April 04, 2012- Spar Point Group
 
 BARRY, SOUTH WALES, UK – When ships take on ballast, they take on more than water. They also take on any number of marine organisms that hitch along for the ride. It’s how Alligatorweed hitched a ride from South America to Alabama. And how Purple Loosestrife came on over from Eurasia.
 The problem is such that the international community has responded with diverse rules and regulations about ballast handling, including proposed global regulations put out by the International Maritime Organization and, in some cases, even stricter regional regulations like those put out by the state of California. Essentially, you’ve got to kill off all marine life living in your ballast before you expel it.
What all of this means is that practically all ships, around 60,000 of them, that travel the world need ballast water treatment systems, which are generally installed in and around the engine room, where space is tight. You can imagine the workflow the naval architecture team at Harris Pye, a global player in the offshore oil and gas, industrial and marine industries, had to go through as they proposed solutions for clients: pick out a potential system to solve the problem, measure potential spots in the ship’s engine room, put together a plan, make a presentation to the client.
Then the client says, “Is there a less expensive option?” Do that all over again.
Enter 3D laser scanning. “We do quite a lot of work offshore,” said Chris David, group technical director at Harris Pye, “where it’s quite difficult to survey.” Oil companies started providing CAD diagrams that resulted from laser scans from which Harris Pye could fabricate.

Complete story at:
http://www.sparpointgroup.com/News/Vol10No14-Harris-Pye-takes-3D-on-board/

Government advisers: Aviation and shipping must be part of UK climate targets - Green Business

Posted - April 5, 2012 - By Will Nichols - Green Business

Committee on Climate Change says continuing to exclude the sectors would lead to serious doubts about government's low carbon commitment.

Any action other than bringing aviation and shipping emissions into the UK's carbon budgets would represent a retreat from the country's climate objectives, the government's emissions watchdog will say today.
A new report by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says the advent of emissions caps in the two sectors means there is no longer any valid reason why the government should continue to exclude them from the UK's rolling program of carbon budgets when it makes a final decision on the issue later this year.
Shipping and aviation combined contribute around six per cent of total global emissions, but both are expected to rise substantially in the coming years.
They were left out of the 2008 Climate Change Act, which mandates an 80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050, due to the complexity of estimating and monitoring shipping and aviation emissions at a UK level.
Instead, the key domestic sectors of power, buildings and surface transport were given a higher target of cutting emissions by 85 per cent by 2050 to make up for the absence of shipping and aviation emissions.

Complete Post at:
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2166151/government-advisers-aviation-shipping-uk-climate-targets

The Motoshhip Propulsion & Emissions Conference 2012

The Motoshhip Propulsion & Emissions Conference 2012

 Wednesday - May 23 thru - Thursday May 24, 2012 - Hamburg Germany

In its 34th year, this annual Motorship Propulsion and Emissions conference is now recognized as the longest established and the most important and informative seminar for the global shipping industry. The Conference brings industry professionals together to network, discuss topical issues and exchange information and ideas. The 34th conference will offer solutions to operators on how they will be able to comply with the 0.1% sulphur levels under the title "Are you ready for 2015?".

http://www.propulsionconference.com
 
http://www.mercatormedia.com/our-business/events