DECARBONISATION

Having the right infrastructure, including fuel supply systems will play a key role in ensuring efficiencies, continuity and safety, says John

Bergman, chief executive officer at Auramarine

John Bergman Chief Executive Officer, Auramarine

A FUEL-AGNOSTIC

APPROACH

The phrase “take action now” couldn’t speak more truth when it comes to tackling the marine industry’s decarbonisation pathway. Achieving the upcoming regulatory targets will require shipowners and operators to embrace an effective future fuel strategy to drive emissions reduction and sustainability.

The transition to decarbonise the shipping industry is unprecedented in both urgency and breadth. In recent months, we have seen climate debates unfold and reports emerge that place pressure on industries to take action in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Examples of this can be seen with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) most recent climate change report that emphasises the need for immediate action – “every tonne of emissions reduction matters, and every investment in adaptation matters” – and at COP26 for including shipping for the first time that solidifies the importance of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The challenge here lies in the need for the shipping industry to start showing sustainability progress. So how should companies approach the energy transition?

While the momentum is building, we can all recognise that there will not be one single solution to reach shipping’s GHG emissions targets. There will be a gradual evolution as future fuels continue to be developed, and questions over availability and cost become clearer.

In conjunction with this, there needs to be complete scrutiny of every aspect of the supply process and the supporting fuel supply infrastructure that is needed to drive the widespread and successful uptake, which will ensure the continuity and safety of operations in a future fuels world.

A key element of this is to ensure that the right bunkering and onboard operational infrastructure are fully developed, proven and in place to inspire ship owner and operator confidence; indeed having the right fuel supply system for alternative fuels must become part of the overarching decarbonisation solution for maritime players.

Providing owners and operators with an expert technical review of a vessel’s or fleet’s fuel supply system will determine the best adaptation of existing onboard technology to effectively and safely handle new and future fuels.

Right now, one of the most viable pathways to drive decarbonisation for shipping is the use of methanol as a marine fuel. Powering vessels with methanol could be a major first steppingstone for ship owners and operators looking to achieve full carbon neutrality as it opens the door to green methanol. By choosing methanol, owners and operators will immediately comply with EEDI and EEXI regulations, as well as support the drive to achieve the IMO’s GHG emissions targets for 2030 and 2050.

To meet the demand for methanol as a viable future fuel, at Auramarine we have already taken the necessary steps to bring this fuel into operation, and are in advanced discussions and collaborating with shipowners, operators, OEMs and shipyards for the development of a fuel supply system for methanol.

Another option that can help to reduce shipping emissions immediately is sustainable biofuel. As this fuel can be corrosive and wear on metals, it is important to ensure every element of material used in a vessel’s fuel supply units is analysed and examined to underpin a safe environment for the fuel. It is this attention to detail and assuring that all bases have been covered that will be the foundation in enhancing shipowner confidence and drive further uptake.

With our long-standing knowledge of marine fuels, we have developed a blueprint in determining the requirements of bringing new fuels online, while also enabling the use of fuels currently available to the market from a supply system perspective.

We are delivering a full suite of modular fuel supply and auxiliary systems for alternative fuels with a full lifecycle service to support this critical energy transition within the industry.

What is most important to remember is that there are partners and solutions available to the market today that can support shipping on its decarbonisation journey to create a more socially and environmentally responsible industry.

The Transition to decarbonise the shipping industry is unprecedented in both urgency and breadth

Last year’s climate talks have accelerated the decarbonisation debate in the shipping industry, demonstrating the need to focus on immediate gains and set the industry up for long term success

Sebastiaan Bleuanus General Manager, Wärtsilä

DE-RISKING

DECARBONISATION

Following the global COP26 climate conference at the end of last year, many green shipping actors were left disappointed by the outcomes of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) MEPC77 meeting a few weeks after. Although these talks have reinforced the scale of the challenge shipping has to transform itself into a more sustainable industry in a relatively short timeframe, no drastic action has been taken by the IMO to the regulatory landscape set out for 2030 and 2050. Add to that the mounting social pressure from consumers who are pushing for more transparency in environmental, social and corporate governance, the challenge is unprecedented in both urgency and complexity.

Despite this, decarbonisation frontrunners can lead shipping’s energy transition if they make decisions in the short term to set themselves up for long-term success. Add this all together and you have the ingredients for transformational change in an industry responsible for around 90% of world trade volumes.

But the big question remains: how can shipping get the trajectory to net-zero right and at a rapid pace?

What is clear is that emissions in the global maritime industry are likely to increase unless action is taken today. It won’t be an easy mountain to climb, but it’s one we can start taking steps in today if we utilise the solutions already available to the market today and make de-risking decarbonisation a strategic priority.

The good news is that we have started to see progress across the industry. We’ve seen key players, including Wärtsilä, sign the Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonisation initiative, which aims for net-zero emissions by 2050.

To deliver on the most ambitious requirements of 2050, we will not only need sustainable fuels but also efficiency enhancing technologies. Going into 2022, technology is at the forefront of this

transformation. Zero-emission ship concepts have started to emerge, and we are seeing a wave of low carbon fuel bunker trials.

But before we consider achieving net-zero, there are many steps to take before then. Stalling or failing to take action could greatly impact a vessel’s profitability or even render it a stranded asset, so a step-by-step approach gives us the best chance of achieving full decarbonisation whilst safeguarding profitability.

To enable the first right steps towards the IMO’s 2030 and 2050 goals, owners and operators should de-risk the energy transition by reducing baseline emissions now. Taking this course of action will contribute to a further reduced fuel consumption and in turn, lower emissions. Options here include installing efficiency-boosting technology, such as wind-assist, propulsion system improvements, air lubrication, or hybridisation.

The main reason for this is that changing from fossil to sustainable fuels is currently, and will remain, quite expensive – hence the need to improve energy efficiency today.

The other key area to invest in is the engine room. The engine is an excellent platform to use any fuel, and will remain a big part of the business model in future decades. Now that the green transition is underway, investing in an engine that unlocks a wider range of fuel options and possibilities for the future is a good insurance premium indeed. LNG for example will be a viable pathway for delivering on immediate decarbonisation because it can be used today and opens the door to zero-carbon fuels in future, such as bio-LNG, methanol, ammonia or hydrogen.

It is vital our industry remembers that it is possible to make sustainability progress today if we make de-risking the low carbon transition a strategic priority. So what first steps will you take to achieve decarbonisation?

How can shipping get the trajectory to net-zero right and at a rapid pace?

The industry coalition says it is disappointed to see an ongoing campaign of misinformation when it comes to methane slip

SEA-LNG

FIGHTS BACK

Methane slip from liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled vessels is a recognised problem that the maritime industry has been actively addressing for well over a decade. As a multi-sector industry coalition established to demonstrate LNG’S benefits as a viable marine fuel, we are disappointed to see the ongoing campaign of misinformation that misrepresents the progress the industry has made, and is continuing to make, to reduce slip.

Sensationalist claims lacking scientific evidence are a transparent attempt to distract the industry from investing in LNG – a solution that can deliver immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions and provide a low risk, incremental pathway for full decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

At SEA-LNG, we believe in and support transparent and professional studies and analyses using current data and peer-reviewed by academics. We are confident in the analysis published in 2021 by ESG lifecycle experts, Sphera, based on primary data from all major engine manufacturers and reviewed by independent academic experts.

This study shows that LNG-fuelled engines have greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits compared with current oilbased engines of between 20% to 30% for two-stroke slow-speed engines, and 11% to 21% for four-stroke medium speed engines, inclusive of methane slip. With the ongoing steady technological advancements, the GHG benefits will only improve in the future versions of LNG-fuelled engines as the technologies are more widely adopted by the shipping sector.

It is important to recognise that methane slip represents a waste of precious energy. Engine manufacturers are commercially

incentivised to reduce slip to improve overall efficiency and performance. LNG-fuelled engines are available now which have minimal levels of slip: these engines represent at least half the LNG new build order book.

For those technologies for which slip remains an issue, levels have fallen four-fold since the early 2000s and engine manufacturers continue to identify technological pathways that will mean all LNG-fuelled engines have minimal levels of methane slip by 2030, if not sooner.

Regulations are also being developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union to further reinforce this industryled direction. The regulatory initiatives can be expected to make methane slip a regulatory compliance issue for the shipping industry.

Further, the industry is also undertaking projects to improve on-board monitoring of methane slip and develop exhaust gas after-treatment catalyst systems to deal with any methane that may inadvertently escape the combustion chamber.

In summary, LNG is a step in the right direction today. It is the only widely available marine fuel that immediately cuts GHG emissions compared with traditionally powered vessels. The LNG pathway that SEA-LNG supports also offers a route to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the shipping industry through the continual introduction of available bioLNG and ultimately renewable synthetic LNG. Emissionneutral bioLNG is already being bunkered in Europe and North America.

We continue to be confident that bioLNG and renewable synthetic LNG will be an integral part of a basket of net-zero emission marine fuels in the future.

It is important to recognise that methane slip represents a waste of precious energy

A number of new innovations aim to have a positive impact on the environment

CUTTING

THE CARBON

Technology company ZeroNorth says its platform prevented 218,000 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere in 2021, at a time when shipping’s emissions as a whole increased by 4.9%.

Significantly, this saving occurred at the same time as users were able to improve their earnings, proving that there is latent potential for shipping to optimise its operations for both profit and planet.

To calculate the emissions savings, ZeroNorth examined vessels whose voyages were optimised using its software. The results are a clear indicator of the ZeroNorth platform’s potential to cut emissions from shipping, and come as the company places a particular focus on working with customers to optimise operations for the benefit of the planet as well as earnings.

To further support the maritime decarbonisation transition, ZeroNorth has unveiled a new CII optimisation functionality in its platform.

The new CII optimisation option means that shipowners and operators can optimise their voyages for CII-based decision-making. By combining a huge variety of vessel, market, bunker, and weather data together with its advanced algorithms, the ZeroNorth platform now offers a green route – that considers emissions together with profit – to improve or maintain vessel CII ratings.

Lora Jakobsen, chief purpose activist at ZeroNorth, says: “We have now been able to quantify our positive impact in 2021: a reduction of nearly 220,000 tonnes of CO2 from our customers’ fleets. We see this as a strong first step in making global trade green and are proud that our platform has made a positive contribution in a market where emissions are still going in the wrong direction.

“We also believe that launching our CII optimisation feature will give the industry another means to act on its environmental footprint. The tightening regulatory environment in shipping is creating an urgency to act, which in turn can help the industry’s green transition. Commercial entities need to do their part, which is why we are building a platform to drive the industry’s sustainability.”

NIPPON ADDS ADVANTAGE

The staging of the United Nation’s COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, towards the end of last year finally put the focus back on tackling humankind’s longer-term challenges after the considerable distraction of covid-19 for the past two years, according to Nippon Paint Marine.

In terms of its impact on global climate change, shipping has spent several years on the environmental naughty step due to its spewing in excess of a billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, accounting for around 3% of all human-made emissions, as it transports 90% of world trade, the company says.

In addition to alternative propulsion systems and alternative marine fuels, hull coatings have long been recognised as playing a significant role in reducing the environmental impact of vessel operations, as Bill Phua, managing director, Nippon Paint Marine (Singapore), says.

“Energy efficiency and carbon emissions are inseparably linked to fouling growth. Algae and barnacles add significant frictional resistance [drag] requiring more engine power to move the ship through the water. This results in speed loss and, as a result, fuel consumption and carbon emissions increase.”

Additionally, the accumulation of marine fouling may cause the spread of invasive aquatic species in the environment they have been transported to, thus affecting biodiversity and its ecosystem. “An effective antifouling paint minimises all of these environmental impacts,” says Phua.

In 1990, Nippon Paint Marine developed Ecoloflex SP, the world’s first tin-free, self-polishing copolymer (SPC) antifouling paint that pre-dated the AFS Convention (the law prohibiting the use of TBT [tributyltin] antifouling paint on ships), by more than a decade.

The popular low friction antifouling paint LF-Sea series was launched in 2008, followed five years later by an ultra-low friction version, A-LF-Sea. Then, in 2017, the world’s first completely biocide free, self-polishing antifouling paint AQUATERRAS®, a technology that incorporates a patent protected SPC antifouling resin material based on a carefully formulated mix of hydrophilic and hydrophobic components.

The technology, similar to that used in the medical industry to create artificial hearts and blood vessels where surfaces are required to suppress platelet aggregation, contains no heavy biocidal pigments, active ingredients nor silicone but is proven to reduce a ship’s drag (frictional resistance) by up to 10%.

Nippon Paint Marine’s latest innovation is FASTAR, which incorporates nano-sized hydrophilic and hydrophobic resin binders, enabling the antifouling ions that come from the biocide to be extracted to a high level of accuracy and uniformity.

“We expect the number of vessels drydocking in the Asia Pacific region for a new coating to be 680-800, slightly up on the previous two years, but still only 60-70% of the 980 docked in 2019 that had a combined tonnage approaching 76m deadweight,” predicts Phua.

“For vessel owners and operators, the inevitable commercial imperative is to minimise time spent in drydock,” he continues. “For Nippon Paint Marine, the reduced thickness and fast drying time of FASTAR – up to 37% faster for a large container vessel, depending on the ambient local temperature – gives them a key commercial advantage.”

For Nippon Paint Marine, the regulatory and commercial imperative for any shipowner is clear: “Working to improve fuel efficiency by using advanced antifouling coatings will increase competitiveness and reduce impact on the environment.

“The enforcement of ever stricter regulations requires ship operators to up their ante to comply with the many regulations that will come into force. Investing in green technologies will help them to save costs, as well as conserve the environment. Keeping a clean hull is the way ahead,” says Phua. JOINT INNOVATIONS

The collaboration between bound4blue and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs emerged more than three years ago as part of moves by the shipping company to reduce its carbon footprint.

Both companies worked together during 2020 on a preliminary project to assess the viability of the installation on one of the shipowner’s vessels. In parallel, the financing to launch the project has been closed, with the support of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Acceleration Program, allowing the installation of bound4blue’s technology on one of LDA’s vessels during 2023.

José Miguel Bermúdez, CEO of bound4blue, highlights that this is “a great milestone to expand our technology, as it gives us the possibility of scaling up our systems for larger ships and doing it with a top-tier shipowner in France and in Europe, which is undoubtedly a big step forward for bound4blue”.

Regarding the support received from the EIC, Bermúdez states that “it is very important for our company, not only financially, but also in terms of accelerating our development and launching far-reaching projects. This will undoubtedly take our technology a step forward, increasingly becoming a standard for sustainable maritime mobility”.

Kamil Beffa, CEO of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs: “We pay particular attention to the decarbonisation of all our ships and are taking a proactive approach to study, develop and adopt solutions in this direction.

“Our ship project management, engineering and innovation teams have been working for more than three years in partnership with bound4blue to implement an innovative and environmentally virtuous solution to assist in the propulsion of our ships.

“With the eSAIL® system, the sail propulsion will take the form of boundary layer suction wing profiles and will take advantage of the apparent wind encountered by the vessel to generate additional thrust. This device should make it possible to generate substantial fuel savings.”