Sea go-slow cuts costs - Maritime Connector

Posted July 26, 2010 - Maritime Connector

The world's largest cargo ships are traveling at lower speeds today than sailing clippers such as the Cutty Sark did more than 130 years ago.
The recession and growing awareness in the industry about climate change emissions encouraged many ship owners to adopt "slow steaming" to save fuel two years ago.
This lowered speeds from the standard 25 knots to 20 knots, but many major companies have taken this further by adopting "super-slow steaming" at speeds of 12 knots.
Travel times between Australia and Europe are now comparable to those of the 19th century. American clippers reached 14-17 knots in the 1850s, with the fastest recording 22 knots or more.
Maersk, the world's largest shipping line, has adapted its diesel engines to travel at super-slow speeds which reduces fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent. It is believed Maersk has saved more than £65 million ($138 million) since it began its go-slow.

http://www.maritime-connector.com/NewsList.aspx?lang=English

APL moves one step closer to a clean-air breakthrough - HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS WORLDWIDE

Posted July 27, 2010 - HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS WORLDWIDE

Global shipping leader APL has moved a step closer to an environmental breakthrough. The world’s fourth-largest container carrier said today it has completed the retrofit of five vessels for cold-ironing. Cold-ironing is industry jargon for turning off a ship’s diesel generators at berth and connecting instead to cleaner shore-side power.
The clean-air technique will be introduced next winter at APL’s marine terminal in Oakland, California. APL will become the first and only carrier or terminal operator at the Port of Oakland to cold-iron ships.
By shutting down shipboard generators in Oakland, APL expects to eliminate 50,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions annually. Nitrogen oxide is a leading component of smog. The carrier also expects to eliminate 1,500 pounds of particulate matter emissions a year.
“We are committed to reducing the impact of global trade on the environment,” said APL Americas President Gene Seroka. “Equipping our vessels for cold-ironing is tangible evidence that we are advancing on the goal.”
APL has been equipping its C-11 class vessels with cold-ironing capabilities throughout 2010. The last of the five ships returned to service this month from the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore.
The ships are scheduled to plug in at port beginning early in 2011. That’s when APL expects to complete a construction project to electrify its Oakland vessel berths for cold-ironing.
APL has been awarded two grants, totaling $4.8 million, for the cold-ironing project. Part of that funding helped finance the month-long retrofit of each ship. Every one of the five vessels has been equipped with:
Complete story is at:
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112694&Itemid=79

Cruise Industry Faces Tougher Emissions Regulations - The Maritime Executive Magazine

Posted July 22, 2010 - The Maritime Executive Magazine

Some cruise lines are reconsidering voyages to Canada as the country imposes tougher emission regulations.
As of 2012, all ships within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) of North American shores will be required to use fuel with no more than 1% sulfur content. In 2015, that maximum will fall to 0.1%.
The average sulfur content in fuel used by cruise ships is about 2.5%, with the global limit at 4.5%.
Stricter regulations already exist elsewhere. In Europe, for example, ships must use fuel with a sulfur content of 0.1% while in port.
The Cruise Lines International Association voiced its concerns to the International Maritime Organization last year after the new limits were proposed, recommending that the 0.1 per cent limit be increased to 0.5 per cent.
Earlier this month, British cruise line company Fred. Olsen said it may end service to Canada and the U.S. in 2012, citing increased fuel costs.
The company, which has a fleet of four ships and doesn't visit North America regularly, estimated its fuel expenses would increase by $16,000 a day under the new regulations.
Carnival, which operates 11 cruise lines and reported a net income of $1.7 billion, last year, reported the regulations would add about $50 million to $70 million in costs annually.
Despite the cruise industry's protests, the International Maritime Organization approved the new sulfur limits in March.
A 2007 study, published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, found that up to 60,000 deaths are caused each year by shipping emissions.
It also found that these deaths could increase by 40 per cent by 2012, due to steady growth in shipping traffic worldwide.
Story found at:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/cruise-industry-faces-tougher-emissions-regulations/

New emission rules up shipping costs - Carbon Positive

Posted - Monday, 19 July 2010 Carbon Positive (Telegraph, Alaska Journal 16/7/10, Dow Jones 1/7/10)


Cruise and cargo lines claim that new low-sulfur fuel standards for ships will increase their costs substantially and will have to be passed on to passengers and cargo owners.

New rules that came into force in the Baltic Sea and North Sea this month dictate that the sulfur content of ship fuel must not exceed 1 per cent. The EU has earmarked these heavily-trafficked maritime zones as Emissions Control Areas (ECAs), extending out to 200 miles from coastlines.

A similar North American ECA, along the vast coastlines of the US and Canada, will apply the same low-sulfur standard from 2012. In 2015, both the European and North American ECAs will slash the maximum sulfur level to just 0.1 per cent. The ECA rules also require reductions in emissions of nitrous oxides.

The US Environmental Protection Agency says that the reduced maritime sulfur emissions under the rules could save up to 14,000 lives a year. But low-sulfur fuel is significantly more expensive than the cheap low-quality bunker fuel predominantly used in shipping. With many cruise and cargo services plying coastal routes within these zones, shipping companies say the added cost of using the costlier fuel could amount to many thousands of dollars per day.

Complete Story at:
http://carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=2053

INFORMATION RESOURCES ON Climate Change and the Maritime Industry - Maritime Knowledge Centre

Posted July 14, 2010 - Maritime Knowledge Center

(Air Pollution from Ships, MARPOL Annex VI and other issues) (Last update: 16 July 2010)

Important notice

This information resources document is offered by the Maritime Knowledge Centre specifically to assist those who are conducting research on “Air Pollution from Ships’ Emissions and the Impact of Climate Change on Shipping”. All users of this document should be aware that the information presented in this document has been compiled from a limited variety of sources, which cannot be guaranteed to reflect the mostup-to-date examination or complete survey of the subject concerned or of the associated issues and possible points of view. You may wish to refer to the Internet major search engines for further research.

Furthermore, some of this information is subject to copyright protection and restriction as to distribution or re-circulation. Additionally,while every reasonable effort has been made to focus only on (publicly available) information which is valid and helpful, neither the IMO nor its Maritime Knowledge Centre can accept responsibility for information which is out-of-date, incomplete, biased or otherwise inaccurate, misleading or offensive; and the mention of a reference, item of information, publication, product or service in this document should not be
viewed as constituting a validation or endorsement by IMO as to its quality, content, or value.

Finally, users who have questions regarding the interpretation and/or implementation of IMO instruments should direct such questions to their National Maritime Administration.

Complete Research Document at:
http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D29234/Climatechangeandthemaritimeindustry%2816July2010%29.pdf

PHA, Maersk $1.5m EPA Grant for Emissions Reduction - Marinelink.com

Posted July 21, 2010 - Marinelink.com

The Port of Houston Authority and Maersk Line, which partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the first-ever low-sulfur “fuel switch” demonstration on a container ship in the Gulf of Mexico last November, have been selected to receive a nearly $1.5m grant from the National Clean Diesel Program.

Funded by the National Clean Diesel Emissions Reduction Program, the grant will pay the differential costs incurred when Maersk Line vessels switch from high-sulfur bunker fuel to lower-sulfur marine diesel while approaching Texas waters. The Maersk Line vessels call at the APM Terminal located at PHA’s Barbours Cut complex.
Complete story at:
http://www.marinelink.com/news/emissions-reduction334964.aspx

Technological Progress and Visions of Zero Emissions in Shipping - Cruise & Planners

Posted Mon, Jul 19th 2010, 11:13 - Cruise & Planners

The concerns of the shipping industry are coming more and more into harmony. Good economics and good environmental practices no longer conflict with one another – combining the two of them gives a competitive advantage. The contribution that technology can make to environmentally sustainable shipping is a major subject at the global maritime environmental congress gmec, to be held at the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH) on 7 and 8 September 2010.
Shipping is already among the most environment friendly means of transport, and shipowners, shipping companies and shipyards are working hard to achieve further improvements in technology to reduce CO2 and NOx, bilge water and noise emissions. After all, shipping still is responsible for 3% of worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases. How can technological innovations help to deal with these problems? What opportunities are there in green technologies? What ecological challenges does industry have to face? These questions will be addressed by leading industry experts in Panel 3 “Environmentally sustainable shipping – opportunities from technological innovation” at gmec 2010. They will give an overview of the various technological capabilities, from the current state of the art to visions for 2030.
“Zero pollution of the environment”
Panel 3 will be chaired by Spyros Polemis, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). The maritime industry’s vision of “Zero pollution of the environment” is also intended as an incentive for technical innovation. Spyros Polemis sees one of the best opportunities for reduction of carbon emissions in new building of green ships. “Regarding the fact that ships have a life cycle of 25 years, we need new ideas for long-term reduction of the carbon footprint of shipping.”
Complete Story at:
http://www.fantasycruiseplanners.com/blogPosts/view/technological-progress-and-visions-of-zero-emissions-in-shipping