This blog post compares the uses of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel with other options for complying with the more stringent sulfur emission requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) beginning in 2020 and then discusses the development of LNG as a marine fuel. The IMO 2020 sulfur limit The IMO is the United Nations agency tasked with setting global standards for safety, security and environmental performance in global shipping. In 1973 the IMO signed the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), and ...

The car show Top Gear was notorious for its disdain of environmentally friendly cars, so viewers were stunned in 2008 when the hosts confidently predicted that hydrogen fuel cells would power the cars of the future. But today these cars remain rare. What went wrong? “Going to hydrogen fuel cell automobiles was not as easy as they thought,” explains Fredrik Östman, Wärtsilä’s General Manager of Ecosystem Innovation. “There have been improvements in capacity and efficiency, but the capital outlay and operating expenses for hydrogen fuel cells remain high. However, the ...

Eco Marine Power (EMP) is pleased to announce its Aquarius MAS + Solar solution has been installed on the large general cargo ship MV Panamana. This installation was carried out by the ship’s crew with remote support provided by Zeaborn Ship Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and EMP from Japan. Over the next few weeks the solar power equipment will be integrated with EMP’s Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS) and then put into service. MV Panamana is a 54, 694 metric tonne (MT) open hatch general cargo/container carrier with 2 ...

Sushant Gupta, Research director, Asia Pacific refining and oils market, spoke about the changes expected for crude and product prices. These regulations are likely to be the biggest step change the shipping industry has ever seen, with massive sulfur reductions for the industry. A number of uncertainties still remain, meaning it is hard to envisage full compliance by January 2020. Sushant talked through the likely rate of compliance and explains why, in our view, it will take the market a few years to reach full compliance. We currently expect full ...

The Union of Greek Shipowners warmly welcomes the significant progress made by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) (London, May 13-17, 2019) of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (UN IMO) with regard to the outstanding issues related to the challenges stemming from the implementation of the new 0.5% sulphur limit on marine fuels. MEPC 74 made progress towards a robust data collection system and feedback mechanism on fuel oil quality and availability, adopted the revised template on the Fuel Oil Non-Availability Report (FONAR) in the 2019 Guidelines for ...

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has approved and adopted a comprehensive set of guidance and guidelines to support the consistent implementation of the lower 0.50% limit on sulphur in ships’ fuel oil, which will enter into effect from 1 January 2020. Related draft MARPOL amendments were also approved The 2020 rule will bring in considerable benefits for the environment and human health. The stricter limit will be applicable globally under IMO’s MARPOL treaty. (In designated emission control areas (ECAs), the sulphur limit will remain at 0.10%.) The 1 January 2020 ...

ABB will provide a power and propulsion solution for a newbuild vessel operating along the Rhône river in France to run entirely on hydrogen fuel cells ABB strengthens its position as the marine market’s frontrunner on hydrogen fuel cell technology through its role in FLAGSHIPS, the EU-funded initiative to deploy commercially operated zero-emission vessels for inland and short sea operations. Under this initiative, ABB will provide a fuel cell based power and propulsion solution for a newbuilt push boat for the France-based Sogestran Group subsidiary Compagnie Fluviale de Transport (CFT), ...

The Jinling Shipyard in China has ordered 4 × MAN 51/60DF engines in connection with the building of 1 + 1 × 230-metre-long RoPax vessels for TT-Line, the German ferry operator. The vessel will feature a complete MAN propulsion package, besides the engines, including propellers, a fuel-gas-supply system (FGSS), and HyProp ECO – MAN’s innovative, fuel-saving, hybrid propulsion system. The newbuilding is based on TT-Line’s ‘Green Ship’ design, developed in collaboration with Copenhagen-based designer, OSK-Shiptech, and is scheduled for delivery in 2022, whereupon it is expected to enter service within ...

IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) pushed forward with a number of measures aimed at supporting the achievement of the objectives set out in the initial IMO strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, in line with the Paris Agreement under UNFCCC and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The MEPC 74 session (13-17 May) approved amendments to strengthen existing mandatory requirements for new ships to be more energy efficient; initiated the Fourth IMO GHG Study; adopted a resolution encouraging cooperation with ports to reduce ...

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – which represents the world’s national shipowner associations – remains confident that shipping will improve its carbon efficiency by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2008, in line with the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This follows important decisions made by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) which met in London this week. ICS Secretary General, Guy Platten commented: “We welcome the adoption of important new IMO regulations to strengthen and bring forward the ...

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday agreed stricter energy efficiency targets for certain types of ships in an effort to speed up action to cut the sector’s emissions. The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee has been meeting in London this week to discuss tougher rules on sulfur emissions and other measures toward meeting a long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050. Factbox: IMO 2020 – a major shake-up for oil and shipping The international shipping sector accounts for about 2% of global ...

NYK and Nippon Yuka Kogyo Co. Ltd., an NYK Group company, have jointly developed a new fuel-oil additive for low-sulphur compliant fuel-oil that meets SOx emission requirements. Yunic 800VLS (patent pending) is Japan’s first additive for very low sulfur fuel oil, or VLSFO. The additive improves safety by helping to avoid troubles that may be caused by certain contents of VLSFO. 1. Background A global sulfur cap will enter into force on January 1, 2020, and one way ships can meet the requirement is by using VLSFO (sulfur content below ...

Effective January 1, 2020, in accordance with a mandate from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the allowable percentage of sulfur in marine fuel will fall substantially, from 3.5% to 0.5%. This looming change, known informally as IMO 2020, could pose a major disruption to the markets and business practices of oil refiners, shipping companies, and other stakeholders. Precisely how great the disruption proves to be—and, critically, how long it lasts— will be influenced by several factors, including the speed at which refiners can produce compliant fuel and the specific strategies ...

CSA 2020 statement in response to Environmental NGOs and lobby groups’ concerns relating to Exhaust Gas Clean Systems: Ian Adams, Executive Director, CSA 2020: “Collectively CSA 2020 is dismayed at media reports from activist groups that are making unsupported statements regarding exhaust gas cleaning systems. Many of these statements are counter-productive and do little to help the global shipping industry’s on-going efforts to prevent emissions of sulphur, black carbon, particulate matter and other substances from having a detrimental impact on the environment and on human health. “Taking a wider environmental ...

Norsepower Oy Ltd., the leading provider of low maintenance, software operated, data verified auxiliary renewable wind energy propulsion systems, today announced that independent test results showed that Norsepower’s Rotor Sail technology has great potential to deliver savings on the Viking Line-owned and operated M/S Viking Grace. Long term LNG marine fuel savings are expected to be up to around 300 tonnes on annual basis. When looking at fuel consumption alone over the measurement period, the savings were not immediately evident. However, when expert analysis companies NAPA and ABB reviewed the ...