Terminal velocity

VOC MEASURES HAMPERED WITHOUT TERMINAL INVESTMENT

Norway and Canada have proposed onboard measures for reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from tankers, but some in the industry argue that more action is needed by terminals

Canada and Norway submitted a paper to the Intersessional meeting of the Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships in August (ISWG-GHG9) calling for changes to regulation 15 of MARPOL Annex VI for oil and chemical tankers that carry volatile cargo. As well as having GHG potential, these emissions can be harmful to human health and contribute to the formation of tropospheric ozone, a component of smog.

The submission is based on a report by DNV that found that approximately 70% of VOC emissions are generated during cargo loading. Around 20-30% are generated during laden voyages.

Currently Marpol Annex VI Regulation 15 regulates the control of specific VOC emissions for oil tankers and at ports and terminals. (Methane is excluded from the definition of VOC.) Where required, both the shipboard and shore arrangements are to be in accordance with MSC/Circ.585 “Standards for vapour emission control systems”. A second aspect of the regulation, regulation 15.6, requires that all tankers carrying crude oil have an approved and effectively implemented ship specific VOC Management Plan.

The proposal

Norway and Canada, based on an analysis by DNV, propose amendments to MARPOL that they consider to be feasible, practical and economically viable: 1. installation of pressure control systems in way of the mast riser for the purpose of automatic maintenance of tank pressure on voyage and during loading. 2. increased settings of pressure/vacuum (P/V) valves from current standard at 0.14 bar to 0.2 bar. 3. requirements to P/V valve type in terms of blow-down.

DNV notes that the ability to load cargo against a controlled back-pressure has been shown to reduce the quantity of VOCs in the ullage space with a VOC emission reduction potential of approximately 10%. Additionally, an investigation of shuttle tankers in the North Sea indicates that maintaining the cargo tank pressure could reduce the emissions by 3040% depending on tank design pressure.

The submission notes that a vapour return system used during terminal loading would send all cargo vapours to shore for processing with no VOC emissions to air. However, currently only few terminals are requiring loading with vapour emission control systems.

Industry responds

Dragos Rauta, Technical Director at INTERTANKO, says the involvement of the shore terminals is the key element to success. “The proposed amendments in the DNV Study, forwarded to ISWG-GHG9 by Canada and Norway do suggest tankers contain onboard VOCs but there is no indication what tankers can do with these VOCs. Therefore, one cannot see a net environmental benefit without assistance from shore facilities.”

Christian Bækmark Schiolborg, BIMCO Manager, Marine Environment, notes: “This proposal - by Canada and Norway - is the first step on the path to reduce emissions of VOCs which by itself is a welcomed and positive step towards decarbonisation. The fundamental problem related to VOCs, however, is that the majority of tankers have had costly vapour emission collection systems installed since the MARPOL regulations came into force in 2010, but many port and terminals still don't have vapour emission collection systems installed and are therefore not capable of receiving VOCs from tankers. The problem will not be solved by continuing to regulate oil tankers if the ports and terminals are not mandated or incentivised to catch up with the oil tankers.”

Jahn Viggo Rønningen, Director - Head of Ship Safety for the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, says members can agree to the proposed control measures, but says: “By far the largest effect during loading at the terminal would be to fully utilize the VECS (vapor return line) onboard. To which degree

Credit: Wärtsilä Gas Solutions 8 Using a VOC

recovery system (pictured) for loadings would yield net CO2 equivalent (CO2e) savings of 1,200-1,500 metric tonnes per loading of a VLCC

the received crude oil is stabilised (from shore side) during loading dictates the amount of VOC emissions from the ship throughout the journey.” He notes that very few oil terminals have a vapor return facility, unlike the ship side. “There's not much point in regulating the maritime sector further if the shore side is lagging.”

Rajiv Malhotra, Thome Group's Head of Technical Support, also points to the need for terminal facilities. “Another measure that needs to be considered is the mandatory quantification of the VOC emissions using suitable means, to set future targets and assess the effectiveness of the enforced measures. This will help to reasonably understand what future industrywide investments would be justified for further VOC emissions control.”

He says: “There is room to improve the control of these emissions without extensive financial implications, and I believe substantial reductions can be achieved without compromising on operational safety. The proposed amendments to MARPOL annex VI regulation 15 appear to be addressing reductions in a practical way through minimal intervention with the design and construction requirements while implementing significant strengthening of operational controls.

“The increase in the PV valve settings to safe levels without changing the tank designs should be possible without incurring major costs while significantly reducing emissions. Similarly, automatic pressure control systems can be installed at reasonable costs, if not existing already.”

Captain Cristin Nutu, Cargo Manager at Ardmore Shipping, says the proposals are all good ideas that can easily be put into practice if they aren't already. Class could check that the proposed pressure increases would not jeopardise the structure of the ship. He also notes the lack of terminal facilities. “Vapour emission control systems are used in north-western Europe and Australia, and it's working perfectly.” However, he notes that in other places, including ports in the Far East, this is not the case. “And I'm not just referring to VOC. When the vessels trade chemicals, sometimes it is carcinogenic products such as benzene being released to the atmosphere.”

He believes that the cheapest, safest and fastest way to achieve the goal of reducing GHG emissions would be if VOC systems were operational in all terminals worldwide. However, Nutu also notes that training can help minimise VOC releases operationally and that improved cargo sampling systems could reduce the release of VOC during routine port operations.

Advanced recovery systems

DNV didn't propose the use of advanced recovery systems, with Canada and Norway therefore noting in their submission: “Due to the high investment cost of the installation (approximately USD25-40 million or close to 30% of the new build cost for a very large crude carrier) and also operational cost in combination with complexity of operation, it is difficult to see how advanced VOC recovery plants for mitigating VOC emissions will work as an effective measure on a global scale.”

Wärtsilä and Norwegian company Vaholmen VOC Recovery have formally responded, saying: “In our view, the report's conclusion is based on limited knowledge of products available on the market.”

The companies offer a VOC recovery system to be installed on a dynamically positioned platform supply vessel (PSV). The PSV would be stationed alongside and in safe distance to tankers being loaded at sea islands or offshore single point moorings. The VOC would to a certain extent be combusted in the PSV's three gas turbines and most of it liquified and then discharged to shore where it would be reinjected in the crude storage tank or exported for further refining. The companies say that the system enables the owner of the captured VOC to capitalise on its value. “You can imagine that a single PSV vessel serving 200+ VLCC loadings per year could generate tremendous total savings,” says Hans Jakob Buvarp General Manager, Sales at Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.

He says the system has worked in the North Sea and would work well in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Brazil. He had hoped that the proposal by Norway and Canada would be more ambitious and calls on the IMO to look further into imposing restrictions on crude oil tankers' liberty to discharge VOC to the atmosphere during loading or discharging. Such restrictions would be in line with the obligation of gas tankers not to emit gas during loading or discharging (IGC Code chapter 17.18.13).

If restrictions were imposed, say the companies, it would significantly reduce VOC emissions. Their analysis indicates that the VOC recovered (including methane - the gas element with the highest CO2 equivalent index) could be as high as 200 tons per one million barrels of crude oil loaded. The companies also note that active process equipment removing emissions during laden voyage is available at a fraction of the cost mentioned in the DNV report.

In response to the letter, DNV notes that its report was delivered in March 2021 and included concepts that were in the public domain before that point. A spokesperson says: “We have identified vapour emission control systems as the most efficient way of reducing emissions from loading. We have also identified that there are a lack of terminals providing reception facilities for vapour return. The Vaholmen/Wärtsila concept seems to be intended as an alternative to terminal facilities for such vapour return. We note that they present it as an alternative to installing VOC recovery plants on individual tankers.

“With respect to the mention of active process equipment during laden voyage, we have only referred to active measures to handle VOC emissions during loading, as this represents 70-80% of the total VOC emissions and have proposed procedural and low cost technical measures to limit emissions during voyage for international shipping.”

The proposal from Canada and Norway will be discussed at MEPC 77 with a recommendation from the ISWG-GHG9 session to possibly send it for technical discussions to the IMO's PPR Sub-Committee.

8 Far left:

CBS Schiolborg of BIMCO. Centre: Captain Cristin Nutu, Cargo Manager at Ardmore Shipping and left: Rajiv Malhotra, Thome Group's Head of Technical Support

MFMS BENEFITS EXTEND BEYOND INCREASED TRANSPARENCY

Armelle Breneol, ExxonMobil’s Marine Fuels Technical Advisor, discusses the advantages that mass fl ow metering systems off er customers

Commercial interest in mass fl ow metering systems (MFMS) has steadily increased since ExxonMobil fi rst introduced the fi rst MFMS in Singapore, before extending it to Hong Kong in 2016. The system was then brought to NW Europe in 2018, where ExxonMobil was the fi rst to supply fuel via a 3rd party accredited MFMS in 2018.

The steady growth in interest in such systems has accelerated since Singapore’s MPA introduced requirements for the use of MFMS for bunkering, while the widely followed trials in connection with the Southernpec (Singapore) Pte case have raised perceptions of risk.

Armelle Breneol was keen to emphasise that the majority of such disagreements about quantity shortage were probably due to human error or measurement discrepancies, customers did see disagreements about bunkering deliveries as a disruption to business activities.

Breneol noted that errors can be introduced simply by mistakes in measuring temperatures, which has a direct impact on the volume you are measuring, the density unit, or simply when converting the volumes into tons. “This can happen when a crew has been rotated – sometimes discrepancies are introduced inadvertently.”

“The real problem is that without a mass flow meter, disagreements between bunker barge crew and a vessel’s crew become a case of one crew’s word against another’s. Certainly, we hear at ExxonMobil occasional stories about disagreements and claims. This is similar to the situation we used to see in Singapore before the mandatory introduction of the mass flow metering system.”

The MFMS eliminates these steps, calculating directly the delivered volume in tons. The system also offers the facility to provide a full digital receipt, listing temperature, density and delivered quantity in tons, on request.

A mature technology

While the use of MFMS is comparatively recent in maritime bunkering, it is a mature technology which has been successfully used in the oil and gas sector for some time, Breneol noted. However, there were specific challenges in the bunker barge segment that needed to be overcome.

The first was ensuring that operational procedures minimised the risk of air entering the pipe. “Given that a 3,000 ton stem might require 10 to 12 tanks to be emptied, and that there is a risk that air entering the pipe can contribute to the cappuccino effect, this was a real focus.”

The second was related to finding a location upon the vessel that minimised the effect of movement (swell & vibrations) upon the system itself. “Bear in mind that this system was originally developed for stationary, land-based applications, such as in the food industry”.

Operational benefi ts

The use of MFMS offers significant operational advantages for the crew of the bunker barge, which might see the overall delivery time for a larger stem reduced by up to three hours, compared with conventional tank dipping.

The current requirement for crews to open tank lids to conduct dip tests on each of the tanks is eliminated if an MFMS is installed.

“Maintaining a sealed system helps improves the safety for both crews as it removes any physical contact with the fuel and additionally saves on the use and disposal of cleaning rags normally required to clean the dipping equipment.” Breneol noted.

The benefits are also shared by the receiving vessel, although the benefits take the form of improved peace of mind, and the receipt of a simplified ticket from a system that has been certified by a third party, rather than an increase in potential uptime.

A further advantage of the MFMS used in ARA and elsewhere is that they are calibrated in line with OIML R 117 and ISO 17025 standards, ensuring accuracy to within +/- 0.5%.

Future proofi ng

Turning to the future, Breneol noted that the bunker sector was undergoing a transition, with digitalisation also altering the relationship between bunker suppliers and customers. Improved access to data is also leading to an increased demand for transparency and product quality.

This was also seen in concerns about off-spec products, given the need to demonstrate compliance. Breneol noted that the company had taken the decision to supply initially ExxonMobil Premium HDME 50TM marine fuel through an MFMS in ARA and has now extended this to other products.

Looking further ahead, some market observers have discussed the possibility that fuels may become more expensive in the future. “I don’t have a crystal ball,” Breneol said, before adding that there had been a correlation between rises in bunker prices and letters of protest for shortage in the past.

“We think MFMS is a technology that offers advantages to both vessel operators and bunker suppliers, and would encourage all segments of the market to get behind the technology”, Breneol concluded.

8 The use of mass

fl ow meter systems off ers operational benefi ts for bunker suppliers and for vessels

NORWAY MOVES AHEAD WITH HYDROGEN PLANS

Norway's goal is to be a low-emission society by 2050, and its plan encompasses hydrogen production and export, off shore wind and carbon capture and storage

The nation is already committed to cutting domestic emissions by 50-55% by 2030. A series of strategy documents released since June 2020, including a white paper Putting Energy to Work, a hydrogen strategy and hydrogen roadmap, set out the government's ambitions. In the medium term, up to 2030, these ambitions include establishing hydrogen in the maritime sector.

“We must prepare for the fact that the petroleum industry will not remain the same driving force in our economy as previously,” said Tina Bru, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, with the publishing of the white paper in June 2021. However, she recognised that the expertise and technology developed in the industry will be vital for the development of new industries such as carbon capture and storage.

DNV is involved in many of the emerging hydrogen projects. Magnus Killingland, Principal Consultant at DNV, says there will be parallel development of large-scale and smaller-scale projects as the nation looks to export scale hydrogen production and also distributed production and use throughout Norway.

The Norwegian government wants Norway's renewable energy resources to be used nationally as much as possible. One of the goals of the white paper recognises the need for further power and grid development to support smart and effective electrification. The potential for the electricity grid to support the production of hydrogen using electrolysers can be limited in more remote fjords, says Killingland.

The potential for large-scale hydrogen storage in remote locations could also be an issue, as more regulations apply to larger storage facilities, potentially adding cost and logistics constraints. “In that case, we might have trucks delivering hydrogen at small scale, but there are also projects that are really large-scale delivering hydrogen to refineries or converting it to ammonia for export to Europe.”

Dr Paolo Pisciella, a researcher at NTNU, raises another consideration. He says that Norway has a large supply of renewable energy including the planned expansion of wind power, but both carbon capture and storage and hydrogen production using electrolysis could sharply increase the need for energy. This could increase its cost.

Advancing carbon capture

To be low-emissions, hydrogen produced through natural gas reforming must be combined with carbon capture and storage. Already experienced in the development and operation of CO2 storage projects on the Sleipner and Snøhvit fields on the Norwegian continental shelf, the government is now supporting the development of the Longship project that will implement carbon capture implemented at Norcem's cement factory in Brevik as a first step.

The Northern Lights project is the storage part of the Longship project and is a joint project between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies. It will receive captured CO2 transported by ship to Øygarden municipality on the western coast of Norway. Here, the gas will be temporarily stored before it is sent through a pipeline to the storage site on the continental shelf. The CO2 will be pumped down to a sealed reservoir for permanent storage 2,600 meters below the seabed. Northern Lights will sell additional capacity to other customers, and construction work is now proceeding on the Øygarden terminal. In September, Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced that it will be taking applications for CO2 storage in two other areas located in the North Sea and the Barents Sea.

Carbonor and Aker Carbon Capture have signed an MoU to jointly develop Carbonor's low CO2 char production at Øygarden. The project will utilise Aker Carbon Capture's Just Catch 100 technology integrated with Carbonor's pyrolysis technology to produce low-emission, high-carbon reductants for the alloy

Photo: Ole Joergen Bratland of Equinor 8 Prime Minister

Erna Solberg at the Northern Lights construction project

industry. The project could become the first in which carbon capture and storage is sold as a service, where the emitter pays a fee based on the volume of carbon captured. The goal is to commission Carbonor's new char operations in time for the opening of the Northern Lights terminal in May 2024.

With funding from the Research Council of Norway, Aker Solutions and partners (Cognite, Aize and AGR, as well as Wärtsilä, OpenGoSim, The Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre, SINTEF, Wintershall Dea, Vår Energi, Lundin, Equinor and TotalEnergies) have established a research project aimed at cutting costs for new carbon storage facilities by 70%. The LINCCS research project will look at optimising various technologies throughout the value chain, and the ambition is that the new solutions will enable new projects that can facilitate the storage of 100 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, twice Norway's annual CO2 emissions. The project partners aim to have solutions ready for a first demonstration projects by end of 2024 and for full scale commercial projects by 2027.

Venturing into off shore renewables

Almost all of Norway's electricity is supplied by hydropower, and it has Europe's lowest carbon emissions grid. According to the European Hydrogen Strategy, the need for green hydrogen production in Europe could account for 24% of energy demand in 2050. To expand its renewables footprint, the Norwegian government has opened up two areas for offshore renewable energy production: Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord.

The government is also providing financial support for the Ocean Grid project which will develop new technology for the profitable development of offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf. It will look particularly at the way offshore wind will be connected to the grid and will encompass both bottom-fixed and floating wind farms.

TechnipFMC and consortium partners Vattenfall, Repsol, ABB, NEL, DNV, UMOE and Slåttland are moving ahead with a pilot project for the Deep PurpleTM green hydrogen offshore energy system, after Innovation Norway recently announcing financial support. Deep Purple will use offshore wind energy to produce hydrogen from seawater via electrolysis for delivery direct to customers or for storage subsea in dedicated tanks. Fresh water for the electrolysis process will be produced from seawater using reverse osmosis.

TechnipFMC is also participating in the BEHYOND project for green hydrogen production from offshore wind power. The project will evaluate integration of equipment for the production and conditioning of green hydrogen and infrastructure for its transportation to the coast. The goal is to create a unique concept that can be standardized and implemented worldwide, allowing for large-scale hydrogen production.

There is 9,000 kilometres of subsea pipeline used for natural gas transport in the North Sea. Researchers at SINTEF are investigating the possibility of using them to transport hydrogen as part of the HyLINE project. “We are carrying out a very complex matrix of testing in environments with pressures up to 200 bar and 100% pure hydrogen gas to develop ready-to-use solutions,” said Mihaela Cristea, Tenaris Line Pipe Product Manager, who is leading the project which will study the nano, micro and macro effects of hydrogen on material performance and structural integrity. The project is a key step for the European Hydrogen Backbone Initiative that envisions a 6,800 kilometres of hydrogen network by 2030 and a 22,900 kilometre network by 2040.

Supporting clean fuel shipping

Environmentally friendly shipping is a priority for the Norwegian government. Currently, more than 70 ferries in Norway are run, fully or partially, with battery powered propulsion systems. In 2022, the first hydrogen powered ferry will be launched, and the first ammonia powered vessel will be operational in the offshore sector in 2024.

INC Invest and Sogn og Fjordane Energi (SFE) have established a joint venture, HyFuel, to produce sustainable green hydrogen at Fjord Base, Norway's largest offshore oil and gas supply base. HyFuel will develop, own, and operate a plant for producing hydrogen and hydrogenation of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) for maritime transport. The production is planned to include an industrial symbiosis with the land-based fish farm at Gaddholmen, which will use the oxygen and waste heat produced.

The Aukra Hydrogen Hub is also well-positioned to becoming a key hydrogen hub that will provide emission-free fuel for ships. Earlier this year Aker Clean Hydrogen and Aukra municipality entered into a cooperation agreement to explore and develop a project for production of hydrogen, ammonia, and related products. Aker Clean Hydrogen and CapeOmega have since signed an MoU with AS Norske Shell to explore opportunities for large-scale hydrogen production using natural gas from the local gas processing plant at Nyhamna.

Azane Fuel Solutions has received government funding for what could be the world's first ammonia bunkering terminal network in Norway. The flexible terminal design will be capable of receiving ammonia from ships, trucks and barges and includes a shore-based and a floating solution.

Carbon Contracts for Diff erence

In August, the “Arendalsuka” Norwegian community democracy event discussed Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfD) that cover the difference between fossil fuels and zero-emission alternatives. CCfD have been broadly discussed as a potential instrument to support energyintensive industries in developing and deploying zeroemission fuels. They could be used to cover the difference between fossil fuels and zero-emission bunker fuels until it is more cost beneficial for the industry to transition to zeroemission fuels. The government would pay the difference between fossil fuels and zero-emission fuels.

Norway's Green Shipping Program has plans for around 50 hydrogen projects in Norway, and Sveinung Rotevatn, the Norwegian minister on climate and environment, says CCfD is an important support scheme.

8 Wärtsilä

advances CCS as part of the LINCCS project

LNGC DESIGN FOR CII RATINGS EXPECTED IN EARLY 2022

Shipowners will need to be ready to meet the evolving requirements of the IMO's Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) to ensure their assets remain viable, and a new LNG carrier design is under development that off ers that long-term fl exibility without the need for speed reduction

Wärtsilä, ABS and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding are collaborating on the design concept that is intended to deliver immediate CO2 savings as well as being ready for the adoption of future decarbonisation technologies to meet IMO's CII trajectory of -70% by 2050.

The propulsion and auxiliary power plant will be built up around multiple latest generation 4-stroke multi-fuel engines operating initially on LNG, combined with a battery and smart energy management system. The base design will include heat recovery technologies and additional optimisations to the propulsion system made possible by the latest electric permanent magnet drive technologies that feature low speed and high torque. Energy saving devices including a Hull Air Lubrication System will also be included in the initial design.

Fuel flexibility is achieved as 4-stroke multi-fuel gensets running at nominal speed are able to easily burn alternative fuels via LNG blending or in high concentrations, says Grant Gassner, Director, Integrated Systems & Solutions, Power Supply at Wärtsilä Marine Power. The most likely scenario is that these fuels will be initially blended with fossil LNG from the cargo tanks. “For LNG carriers, the most likely alternative fuels introduced would be bio-methane, synthetic methane, ammonia or hydrogen which all could be used in Otto cycle. for example application of contra-rotating propellers or pods are possible to implement, he says.

The inclusion of a shore power connection system for charging and zero emission port operation could be incorporated in the Day 1 design. Onboard carbon capture will be evaluated, but it is not yet clear if this will be included.

Expected emissions and costs savings will depend slightly on what technologies the customer wishes to take into newbuild directly and which technologies are taken up later, says Dr Gu Hai, Vice President, ABS, Head of Global Simulation Singapore. “In general, if one considers that the targets of IMO are to reach 40% reduction in CO2 intensity by 2030 and 70% reduction by 2050 (compared to 2008), the newbuild design might include technologies that satisfy IMO CII A-Rating up to about 2035-2040 and then the remaining technologies could be added at an appropriate point in time to secure IMO CII A-Rating up to 2050 without a significant compromise in vessel speed. If the owner did decide on speed reduction as a compliance lever, then the system efficiency also remains very high at low vessel speed. However, the overall objective of the project is to show a clear pathway while maintaining competitive speed through evaluation of alternative decarbonization technologies using advanced simulation methods.”

“Thanks to the compact and lightweight attributes of Wartsila's 4-stroke multi-fuel engines, customers can realize an additional 4,000m3 of LNG cargo space versus a traditional 174,000m3 LNG carrier. The higher cargo delivered could be good for the CII and benefit the shipowner,” said Mr. Song Wei, R&D Director of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. “The new design will make a double reduction for shipowners on low carbon footprint, low OPEX cost but higher income.”

The more detailed conceptual design will be carried out during Q4 2021, and it is anticipated that the vessel design will be enter commercial offering in Q1 2022. There are interested customers already inquiring” says Mr. Song Wei.

The design partners are expected to present further information at Marintec Shanghai in December 2021. Preliminary calculations show very good system performance and flexibility.

The new design will make a double reduction for shipowners on low carbon ‘‘ footprint, low OPEX cost but higher income

One or more gensets could be replaced with alternative new low carbon power sources such as fuel cells, solar panels or heat to power energy recovery systems in the future. “Simply remove, or turn off, one genset from the common electrical distribution system and replace it with the new power source that can be either AC or DC,” says Gassner. “The modular, multi-engine nature of the plant, combined with energy storage, ensures that individual units are always running at high load with very high efficiency regardless of the load demand from propulsion and auxiliary systems.

“This also provides a suitable system foundation to accommodate new propulsion energy savings devices such as wing sails or Flettner rotors which can significantly reduce and create variability in the power demand from the propulsion plant. Additionally, methane slip is extremely low regardless of the vessel speed and power requirement thanks to latest engine technology and high load factors and the engine-battery hybrid.”

Novel electric propulsion enhancement is made possible with the design including potentially a gate rudder and large diameter low speed fixed pitch propellers. The flexibility of electric propulsion enables a far wider choice and room for optimization of the propeller designs now, and in the future

8 Mr. Song Wei, R&D

Deputy Director of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding expects commercial off ering of the new LNG carrier design to begin from Q1 2022

METHANOL HOLDS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING HYDROGEN

If the arrival of low and zero carbon future fuels is central to achieving progress in decarbonising shipping, we can expect an increasing focus on the viability of solutions for alternative fuels in the maritime market ahead of COP26

As e1 is a collaboration of engineers, fi nanciers, and shipowners, we understand the multi-faceted challenge of transitioning a global fl eet from traditional bunkers to future fuels.

But it's not one that is not unsolvable. By innovating, collaborating and considering the real requirements of ship owners and operators, we can distinguish and drive forward economically viable solutions. Moreover, we can provide owners and operators with the agility required to react to future market demands, with fuel flexibility a key consideration.

Diff erent approaches

As is stands, there are a few core approaches being considered to elevate clean maritime transportation. However, these come with notable challenges. Firstly, battery-electric solutions (BESs), contrary to common assumption are far from readily available. This is because the 100% carbon free renewable energy used to charge them is far from sufficient to meet necessary demand. The US national grid only generates 18% of its power from renewable sources, for example. Secondly, carbon scrubbing and recovery (CSR) will be challenging to establish in the near term due to plants being large and the significant storage associated with the capture of CO2 often not available. Finally, while they carry huge potential, alternative fuels, such as ammonia, are less feasible due to their production carbon footprint and the lack of truly renewable manufacturing of these future fuels.

We therefore view hydrogen, used in a fuel-cell electric solution (FCE), as the solution to offering an immediate alternative to support emerging clean marine transportation solutions.

The Most Abundant Element

Hydrogen, on its own, is not yet a viable decarbonisation solution for the maritime industry. This is not due to a lack of potential or desire for hydrogen-fuelled vessels. It is because of the complexities involved with scaling, handling, storage and bunkering, and a lack of regulation.

As a famous Hungarian mathematician once said, “It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way.” In the case of hydrogen, finding a range of innovative techniques to enable its use as a fuel at sea now, is better than the alternative of waiting for one costeffective, safe, and high storage hydrogen-fuelled vessel to enter the market.

Methanol, for example, can be used to solve the challenges associated with hydrogen as a maritime fuel. As a chemically effective carrying medium for hydrogen, widely approved fuel type and available at more than 85 of the top 100 ports worldwide, methanol holds the missing link to hydrogen use. Chemically, methanol has the highest hydrogen to carbon ratio of any non-cryogenic liquid marine fuel and has a considerably smaller storage footprint and lower weight than compressed hydrogen.

Its cost-competitiveness, availability and chemical composition have not gone unnoticed by shipping's industry leaders. In August, Maersk ordered a series of eight large container vessels capable of being operated on carbonneutral methanol, along with an option for a further four vessels. The major player's order was spurred on, in part, by consumer demand for a greener overall supply chain.

CH₃OH > H

Our methanol to hydrogen generator technology, which was covered in The Motorship in June, combines the strengths of both fuels, with a PEM fuel cell, to provide ship owners and operators with electricity on their ships or as the main source of propulsion on smaller vessels.

Moreover, with one-third of the hydrogen produced by the technology coming directly from water, our technology reduces CO2 emissions by a minimum of 28% at a competitive price. Likewise, with our technology consuming 35% less energy than diesel-generators, and eliminating NOx, SOx and PM emissions it is cost-effective operationally today - even before considering any new regulations or carbon tax.

While there is no realistic way to decarbonise the entire shipping industry today, there are people driving solutions that can significantly reduce emissions now. By taking into consideration the requirements of owners and operators, newer fuel components and realities of our current bunkering infrastructure, we can determine each fleet's unique challenges and create solutions that work for them. The new era of shipping is upon us and it's hydrogen powered.

8 Maite Klarup,

Commercial Director, e1 Marine

AHC TECHNOLOGY BOOSTS US OCEAN RESEARCH VESSEL

When the University of Hawai'i Marine Center decided to upgrade the winch and off shore crane on its Research Vessel Kilo Moana in 2019, the new Launch and Recovery System was equipped with enhanced winch control with active heave compensation

The solution provides scientists with a safe, effi cient and reliable way of deploying water sampling equipment at depths up to 5,000 meters in even the roughest sea conditions.

The solution, which was installed by Canada-based Hawboldt Industries, included an ABB winch drive with unique inbuilt active heave compensation (AHC) software.

The Kilo Moana is a 60m Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) ship owned by the US Navy and operated by the University of Hawai'i Marine Center. This oceanographic research vessel enables scientists to conduct tests that increase their understanding of the effect of deep ocean currents on marine life and climate change.

One of the vessel's main activities is to carry out conductivity, temperature and dissolved oxygen (CTD) 'casts' at depths of up to 5,000 meters in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During a cast, the CTD package, weighing around 900 kilograms, is lowered from the deck of the ship into the water. In addition to sensitive pressure and temperature sensors, the package includes 24 bottles that collect water samples at various depths.

In 2019, the University of Hawai'i Marine Center decided to upgrade the Kilo Moana's CTD Launch and Recovery System (LARS) to a new design with active heave compensation (AHC). This system takes information on wave action from the vessel's motion reference unit (MRU) and adjusts the winch motors to compensate. The precise adjustments in winch tension - made hundreds of times per second - keep the package steady in relation to the seabed as the vessel pitches up and down.

ABB ACS880 drive with Integral AHC

ABB supplied the ACS880 winch drive to Hawboldt Industries, the Canadian company that specialises in the custom design and manufacture of deck equipment for ocean science vessels. According to Dylan Wells, General Manager of Hawboldt Industries, AHC is essential in UH's CTD operations, minimizing cable tension spikes, and allowing the package to take samples safely and reliably. It's especially critical in rough conditions when waves can be as high as four meters and there are significant vessel roll, pitch, and heave motions.

The AHC also allows for a faster yet more controlled deployment by keeping a more consistent cable tension and thereby eliminating slack conditions as well as the tension spikes. A slack cable can get hockled (tied in knots) which can result in major damage requiring replacement of the long cable, meaning high costs for replacement equipment and lost ship time.

“A winch drive is an integral element in our equipment and the ABB ACS880 drive is unique because it comes with AHC functionality built in as firmware,” said Wells. “Therefore, we didn't need to change the system architecture or deal with the cost and complexity of installing an external, third-party AHC control system. With the ABB drive all we needed to do was to connect it to the MRU and switch it on.”

8 The 60m Kilo

Moana is a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) ship operated by the University of Hawai'i Marine Center

CTD cast times cut by around 30 percent

The Kilo Moana undertook successful sea trials of the CTD crane and winch in 2020. The trials confirmed that the AHC performed well in reducing the snap loading on the winch cable, with fast response and smooth transitions. An added bonus is that it also enables scientists to carry out more precise water sampling, with depths controlled to a resolution of one meter at depths up to 5 kilometers.

Cast times are also reduced significantly. The time for each cast - from deployment to recovery - has been cut from 45 minutes to 30 minutes. This is important as the Kilo Moana may often perform up to five casts per day. With the new Hawboldt system it can reach 60 meters per minute average payout speed - while the actual cable speed at the winch varies from 0 to 130 meters per minute according to the sea state.

Scientists approve the new CTD system

The Kilo Moana spends between 200 to 250 days at sea with operations from a few days up to a month. One of its most regular missions is the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) cruise that has been making repeated observations at a station north of Oahu since October 1988. The aim is to monitor the carbon dioxide (CO2) content of the seawater as a measure of the progress of climate change.

For Scott Ferguson, University of Hawai'i Director for Marine Technical Service, the new CTD winch and crane has offered real benefits.

“Taking CTD samples is a primary element for the Kilo Moana with a cost of around $50,000 to run each day at sea,” said Ferguson. “If we can't work because the sea is too rough then we face a major loss of revenue. The advantage of our new crane with AHC is that it enables CTD casting to be carried out with safety and precision even when waves are 4 meters high. That's why our scientists love it. While our deck crew appreciates it because of its reliability and ease of operation.”

8 The enhanced

winch control provides a safe, effi cient and reliable way of deploying water sampling equipment

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