Zero emissions – a pipedream?

Hamburg, the epicentre of the German shipping industry, was the venue for the 32^nd Motorship conference and, in his introduction, the chairman, Max Johns, director public relations of the German Shipowners Association (VDR), emphasised the importance of environmental issues which is reflected in the decision to make Hamburg the environmental city of the world in 2011.

The conference kicked off with a keynote speech from Joachim Konrad, deputy chairman of the executive board at Hamburg Sud, in which he highlighted the need for the whole shipping industry to take tackle the potential consequences of climate change which is the biggest challenge of the 21^st century. This can be done by significantly reducing green house gas emissions in the international shipping sector which currently generates 3 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels. Despite being the most environmentally friendly mode of transport, shipping needs to reduce its carbon footprint.

With the cost of bunker prices rising again, Hamburg Sud has adopted a policy of slow steaming for its container fleet which has resulted in a reduction in fuel consumption of 30% at 16 to 17 knots. Konrad pointed out that, although slow steaming is here to stay, it does create logistical problems with more ships needed to maintain services.

Regarding IMO regulations to control emissions, Konrad wants to see these applied worldwide without exception. The main focus was the further refinement of the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) for new ships and how to improve the energy efficiency operational index (EEOI), which enables operators to gauge the effectiveness of any measures adopted to reduce energy consumption. The industry is also working on a ship energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP). Konrad suggested that a levy on bunker fuel should be introduced penalising inefficient vessels and that the money raised be used by the IMO to fund GHG reduction schemes.

This led the conference neatly into the first session which looked at fuels. The first paper, latest updates regarding IMO and EC directives with respect to the bunker industry, was presented by Ian Adams, chief executive of IBIA. He provided an update on the timetable for the introduction of Marpol annex VI which will see a progressive cap on sulphur oxide (SOx) in fuels with ECAs having a 0.1% limit in 2015 forcing ship owners to use either distillate fuel or fit scrubbers. EC directives add further constraints on the use of sulphur fuel while the accuracy of tests to measure SOx levels are open to debate and a number of solutions are currently under consideration.

The second paper was from Ian Crutchley from Innospec Fuel Specialities, which looked at the technical problems associated with slow steaming. Poor combustion is inherent in low load operations causing an increase in the formation of carbonaceous deposits which affect engine components such as turbocharger nozzle rings. Ferrecene based combustion catalysts and magnesium based ash modifier additives can significantly prevent such problems from occurring.

This was followed by a paper from Jacques Desdouits from Bureau Veritas in which he explored the challenges and safety considerations of the use of natural gas as a fuel. IMO and class societies have developed rules and regulations to address natural gas propulsion for ships although the lack of sufficient number of gas bunkering stations is a major obstacle at present. Desdouits concluded with a plea to take a more holistic approach to lowering the global carbon footprint by making more intensive and efficient use of ships and ports in the movement of goods.

Session two dealt with shipping and greenhouse gases and the opening paper was presented by Lars Robert Pedersen of BIMCO in which he provided an update of IMO’s MEPC 60. At that meeting it was concluded that more work needs to be done on the proposed mandatory application of measures designed to regulate and reduce emissions of GHGs from international shipping. Although the committee was able to prepare draft text on mandatory requirements for the EEDI  for new vessels and on the SEEMP for all ships in operation, issues concerning ship size, target dates and reduction rate in relation to the EEDI requirements all require finalisation.

With regard to market-based measures, the committee agreed to establish an expert group on the subject to undertake a feasibility study and impact assessment of the various proposals submitted. The committee also formally established a North American Emission Control Area, in which emissions SOx, NOx and particulate matter will be subject to more stringent controls and is expected to enter into force on 1 August 2011.

Next was Matthias Plotzke from the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) to talk about reducing GHG emissions and the concept of an international GHG fund. VDR supports the establishment of an international GHG fund for shipping to be set up by the IMO which would be used to make a direct contribution to CO₂ reduction in developing countries. Further discussions at the MEPC meetings will be required to implement such a global regulation.

Session three dealt with energy efficiency in ships and was opened with a paper by Dr Pierre Sames of Germanischer Lloyd on future required energy efficiency of container vessels. Container ships are the lifeblood of global supply chains and their operational efficiency is vital to the aim of lowering CO₂ emissions. Sames argued that, even with challenging energy efficiency improvements in design and operation, container shipping will probably not meet a possible emission target which has not yet been agreed. Nevertheless, efficiency improvements should be implemented as soon as possible to optimise emission reduction.

This was followed by a paper presented by Martin Briddon from James Fisher Mimic on the subject of improving a ship’s efficiency by doing the right maintenance at the right time. By monitoring the efficiency of a vessel’s power plant on a continual basis, Briddon contends that conditioning monitoring is vital to maintaining optimum output. The techniques for monitoring include ultrasonics, visual inspection and vibration analysis which can pick up alignment and balance problems as the two main causes of inefficiency.

The next session looked at the exhaust gas and after-treatment and was kicked off by Chris Leigh-Jones of Hamworthy Krystallon with a paper on marine exhaust gas cleaning solutions. With emissions control legislation requiring virtually zero SOx levels in some parts of the world, many shipowners are faced with the choice of using distillate fuels or exhaust gas cleaning using scrubbing technology. The high price of distillate fuel has made the scrubber option very attractive and Leigh-Jones maintains that shipowners can expect a payback period of between one and one-and-a-half years for auxiliary engines and three to four years for main engines.

The second paper on experiences and results of the first dry scrubber installation was presented by Ralf Jurgens of Couple Systems. The first dry scrubber system was installed onboard a German owned 314 TEU vessel in November 2009. According to Jurgens, it removes at least 90% of SOx emissions and utilises granulated calcium hydroxide, has a low energy consumption and is almost maintenance-free. The system has now been approved by Germanischer Lloyd.

Olav Knudsen from Aalborg Industries was next with a paper on cost-saving sulphur emission abatement technology. The newly developed scrubber has been tested with MAN Diesel with the first system undergoing trials onboard a ro-ro ferry. Knudsen commented that the system is designed for operation with both fresh water and sea water giving it great operational flexibility.

Concluding this session was Aslak Suopanki from Wärtsilä who presented a paper on marine after-treatment solutions. He started with an update on marine exhaust gas regulations and focused on the elimination of NOx by various methods. With the forthcoming IMO Tier III or EPA Tier 4 requirements which specify substantially lower NOx emissions, exhaust gas after-treatment needs to be employed. Currently, the most viable abatement technology is urea-SCR (selective catalytic reduction) which can achieve a reduction rate in excess of 80%.

The company has also developed a fresh water scrubber with a claimed cleaning efficiency of 97% which permits diesel engines to be operated on HFO with sulphur content of up to 3.5% and still reach an equivalent performance of 0.1% sulphur content.

Lubrication was the theme for the final session of day one and opened with a presentation on the development of new lubricant chemistries in a changing regulatory world by Louise Audoire of Infineum. New detergent chemistries have been developed with lower threat rates, friction and film performance and an absence of TPP. While these aim at satisfying the requirements under REACH and MARPOL annex VI, Audoire pointed out that further regulations such as the OSPAR commission and the Bonn agreement could have an impact on the marine industry where evaluation of toxicity and bioaccumulation effects on the marine environment may need to be undertaken.

Next was Dr Paul Thomas Reischman from ExxonMobil who dealt with detecting asphaltene contamination to help optimise lubricant consumption and maintenance on medium speed engines with partially burned and unburned residual fuel. Using a highly automated oil analysis test called detecting asphaltene contamination (DAC), ship operators can now get quick results of a used engine oil sample in less than two minutes enabling ships’ engineers to take action to protect engine parts from abnormal wear.

The third paper on online oil condition monitoring was presented by Matthias Winkler from Kittiwake. By monitoring oil condition continuously, ships’ engineers will have vital reliable information immediately available enabling instant implementation of corrective measures thus avoiding costly damage. Online sensors mounted in the oil circuit provide early warning on bearing and gear wear debris, lubricant health and remaining life, as well as lubricant contaminants and water in oil. Onboard diagnostic equipment now provides laboratory grade results and empowers engineers to make fast and informed decisions.

The final paper on reducing marine oil pollution by raising standards in marine lubricants was delivered by Jonathan Pearce from Castrol Marine. Estimates on lubricant loss suggest that 80 million litres of oil-based lubricants are lost annually from stern tube alone while an EU study reported that 15% of all lubricants end up in the water representing as much as 224,000 tonnes. In response to this, Castrol has developed a bio range of products which are claimed to have superior biodegradation, reduced bioaccumulation and toxicity and enhanced renewability.

The second day of the conference was chaired by Matthias Plotzke from the German Shipowners Association and opened with a session on propellers and propulsion systems. It kicked off with a paper by Tobias Huuva from Berg Propulsion on feathered propellers increasing flexibility and efficiency of multi-screw vessels. With twin screw vessels becoming more prevalent, especially in the offshore business, Huuva argued that having feathered propellers enables a vessel, wanting to slow down, to close down one propeller shaft and feather the blades to offer the lowest resistance. This conserves fuel and optimises the efficiency of twin-screw ships.

Next was a presentation by Lionel Julliand from Converteam on compact jet pod propulsion as a solution to increase the performance of a 25,000gt Baltic ro-pax ferry. Operational constraints imposed by regulations on channel speed meant that the vessel’s open sea speed had to be increased to maintain the sailing schedule. Limitations on draught precluded the fitting of larger propellers which would also lead to increased fuel consumption. The solution proposed involved speeding up the discharge and loading of the cargo to improve the turnaround in port and fit azimuthing wing thrusters or pods. In response, Converteam has developed a compact 7MW pump jet pod propulsor of which three units would provide the required open sea speed. Converteam is awaiting a final decision on whether this project is going ahead.

The third paper on environmentally friendly lubricants for propellers was presented by Dirk Fabry from Kluber Lubrications. All types of propulsors were examined for their lubrication requirements including pods and Voith-Schneider propellers and the complex interaction between the individual additives as well as that between the lubricant and the sealing elastomer. As leakage of propeller lubrication oil into the sea cannot be completely prevented, it was important to use eco-friendly lubricants in preference to mineral oils.

Energy saving propulsion retrofit solutions was the topic in a paper given by Jens Ring Nielsen from MAN Diesel. The energy savings derived from retrofit solutions requires a thorough holistic feasibility study to improve propulsion efficiency and fuel consumption significantly. Nielsen referred to a number of recent retrofit projects involving modifications to the propellers on ro-pax ferries which have shown improvements that with limited investment resulted in short pay-back times while enhancing the operational capabilities of the vessels.

The next session looked at diesel-electric propulsion. Jorg Westhoff from Igel Elektronik explored the use of main propulsion with soft starters which are the only voltage reducing starting method allowing a fully controlled, closed loop starting process providing a stepless acceleration of the diesel generators. The importance of this has become more pronounced with the growth of electrical systems onboard ships such as thrusters, podded propulsors, cargo pumps and compressors. In 2007 the first diesel-electric ships to have medium voltage soft starters were commissioned and proved the practicability of the system.

Next was Harald Rostbo of Rolls-Royce Marine who discussed electric and hybrid propulsion systems. He explained the various aspects of diesel-electric or gas-electric and hybrid propulsion solutions for offshore support vessels which delivered substantial fuel savings and reduced emissions compared with pure mechanical systems. The greater flexibility of these propulsion power plants together with hybrid shaft generators has meant that efficiency under all operating conditions can be achieved by running at minimum loads.

The eighth session tackled the issue of engine design and this was kicked by off Andreas Weismann of Wärtsilä, who gave an overview on new emissions regulations, market requirements and engine technology based solutions. Listing details of the various IMO regulations, Weismann went on to explain how his company provides two- and four-stroke engine solutions to comply with the emissions limits using common rail technology, early inlet valve closing, optimisation of combustion chamber and fuel injection equipment. Higher environmental performance is achievable with dual-fuel engines in the current medium-speed engine portfolio. An important factor in assessing which solutions are most appropriate is the price difference between HFO and distillate fuels as well as the portion of a vessel’s total running hours in ECA areas and EU ports. Slow steaming is also a viable solution, provided certain measures are taken to maintain an engine’s efficiency.

Wrapping up this session, Lars Bryndum from MAN Diesel gave a paper on large marine diesels in challenging times, enhancing economy and controlling emissions and provided a brief rundown on the environmental regulations. He proceeded to give an update on NOx emission reduction systems which MAN Diesel & Turbo has been developing. The company has selected exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as the most suitable technologies for the necessary exhaust gas treatment. Regarding SOx emissions, scrubbers are being developed to remove SOx from the exhaust gas. MAN Diesel is working towards having proven technology ready by 2016 which will necessitate testing of several prototypes.

The final conference session looked at ship design, building and equipment, and the first paper on reducing through life costs with composite pipe systems was presented by Marc Groenewoud of Future Pipe Industries. He expounded the advantages of glass reinforced epoxy pipe systems and dispelled the many misconceptions surrounding the product which is type approved by all the major classification societies. Because of its non corrosive properties, its light weight, its longevity and its ease of repair and maintenance, it is proving a better alternative to steel pipes onboard ships, both in newbuildings and in retrofits.

This was followed by John Willsher from International Paint with a discussion on operational and environmental benefits of foul release coatings. Reducing hull friction is one of the main areas where fuel consumption can be reduced and coatings that prevent fouling of ships bottoms have been shown to generate average fuel savings of 4%. Foul release technology does not use biocides to control fouling but relies on non-stick principle to minimise fouling adhesion. Fluoropolymer chemistry represents the latest in foul release technology being exceptionally smooth with low levels of average hull roughness and ideal for all ship types with speeds above 10 knots.

The final paper on pumping and metering low sulphur fuels was delivered by Christoph Schneider of Kral. Recent legislation means that low sulphur fuel will become the norm for engines and boilers on board ocean going ships and it is crucial to check that components such as pumps and flow meters are capable of handling the viscosity and lubricity parameters. Schneider claimed that his company has successfully developed screw type pumps and meters which can perform safely even under worst case scenario conditions.

The conference concluded with the customary shipowners’ discussion session which focussed on reducing emission to zero. A number of presentations were made by Hans-Henrich Conzen of ferry operator TT-Line, Christian Suhr from Ahrenkiel Ship Management, Pierre Sames of Germanischer Lloyd and John Aitken from SEAaT. Most notable was the plea made by Conzen on behalf of the intra-north-European shipping network that short-sea vessels often have no space onboard to install scrubbers and will therefore have no option but to use the expensive 0.1% low sulphur fuel. This fuel is likely to cost 80% more and will mean ferry fees will have to be increased with the likelihood that road haulage firms will avoid using ferries and go by road or rail instead. Conzen was also critical about the manner in which the IMO introduced the 0.1% sulphur fuel requirement without bothering to consult

shipowners.

This was followed by a debate which got under way with a question on the short-sea shipping situation in Europe and that it should be looked at in a wider context of inter-modal transportation. Conzen reiterated that ferry operators in northern Europe will be facing tough times when the 0.1% sulphur limit is introduced in 2015 and could lead to a major shift from sea to road transport. However, a comment from the floor suggested that roads in Europe are already heavily congested and often grid-locked so short-sea shipping routes will be the only viable option for many transport companies. Looking for a political solution from the EU is likely to take years of deliberation and meanwhile Europe will suffer environmentally and economically from the mistakes made by politicians.

This highly successful and stimulating event was made all the more enjoyable by the sponsors, particularly Castrol Marine which hosted the lavish conference gala dinner at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg, Bureau Veritas and Deif, sponsors of the coffee breaks, and MTU which sponsored the lunches.