Lisbon, 7 April 2011

Ref: B.3.1/ALE/2011/na

INTERNAL MEMO

Alternative fuels and shipping / bullets points for the participation of EMSA at Conference on Future Transport Fuels (BXL/12.04/2011)

  1. Picture of the current situation
  • Marine fuels are regulated at international level, through MARPOL Annex VI. This text was revised in 2008, and until now, the main focus has been put on the sulphur content of the products used.

2007 / 2020
369 million tons (286 hfo + 83 distillates)
Source: IMO / 486 million tons (382 +104)
  • Number of ships in the world: 100.243 (in 2007) of which 59.000above 400 GT thereby falling under the scope of MARPOL (source: IMO). The remaining part is assumed to use distillates (40 million tons).
  • The regulation (MARPOL + EU directive) foresees the use of three types of fuels by a ship when operating in European waters (Hfo (3.5) + low sulphur fuel when transiting (1.5 % by a SECA and ultra-lowsulphur fuel when at berth 0.1 %).
  • Long life cycle of a ship (20/30 years) – trading pattern (availability aspect (HfO: 1.5 % problem).
  • There is no proper fuel quality standard for marine bunker fuel, just an ISO standard (ISO 8217) that serves as guidance for the industry.
  • Cross Government/ Industry Scientific Group of experts was established to evaluate the different options proposed under the MARPOL revision in 2007
  • Review foreseen in 2018 to see if the shipping sector would be obliged to use 0.5 % sulphur content worldwide.
  • Fuel costs represent until 70 % of the operating cost of a ship
  1. Potential future trends regarding alternative fuels in shipping

LNG

  • Natural gas for propulsion has been discussed in the maritime community in the recent years. Natural gas can either be liquefied (liquefied Natural gas (LNG) or compressed (compressed natural gas (CNG)). CNG are for the moment only limited used within shipping industry and will not be further analysed in this report. Within IMO the present development of a regulatory framework for gas-fuelled ships have been enlarge to incorporate not just LNG but also other low-flash point fuels with properties similar to liquefied natural gas such as methanol, ethanol and low-flash point synthetic fuels. In this paper we will focus only on LNG.
  • The use of LNG to propel ships represents a real ‘green’ alternative when it comes to air emission (complete reduction of sulphur dioxides and particulates matter and some 90% reduction of NOx. For greenhouse gases, LNG’s reduced carbon factor signifies a reduction of some 20% in CO2 emission compared to refined oil products).
  • Operating on LNG does not affect the speed or otherwise the operational qualities of the ship, though it does involve some additional technical and operational complexities, which necessitate special training for the crew members.
  • A legal framework for gas fuelled ships is currently under preparation at IMO. The interim Guidelines on safety for gas-fuelled installations in ships have been finalised and adopted in 2009 (voluntary). The second step will be the development and finalisation of the International Code of Safety for Gas-fuelled Ships (IGF Code) by 2014. The IGF Code addresses not only natural gas fuel, but also other gas types, such as butane, hydrogen, and propane, and the intention is to make the Code mandatory through its inclusion in the SOLAS Convention by 2014.
  • Several ports, including some of the main European ports, are currently studying rules for the LNG bunker facilities and bunkering process. The need to have harmonised rules have however been pointed out in several times.

Biofuels

  • As bio-fuels are also sulphur-free, their use would also contribute to remove the SOx emissions from shipping. Bio-fuels have not been used commercially on board ships, but a number of projects are currently looking at the potential. Other related projects have demonstrated that existing engines can be modified to operate on biofuels.
  • The consortium in charge of the IMO’s update study on greenhouse gases concluded that the potential of bio-fuel (in the context of reducing CO2 emissions) is limited in the short to medium term, in particular as they are currently more expensive than oil-derived products (including MDO/MGO). Nevertheless, biofuels produced out of biomass like wood and algae, could further increase the production and reduce the price. Combined with potential future regulations on greenhouse gas reductions, the use of bio-fuels such as pyrolysis-oils or lignin could well represent part of solution for the longer term.
  • According to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Member States should aim to diversify the mix of energy from renewable sources in all transport sectors.
  • EMSA just launched a tender to assess the situation and prospect related to the use of biofuels in the shipping sector.

Nuclear

  • This technology has been used since many years on board navy ships, but nuclear powered ships have also been used for commercial purposes. The German cargo ship Otto Hahn operated successfully under nuclear power between 1968 and 1979 and a number of ice-breakers also use this technology.
  • There is already an existing legal framework for this type of ships. Chapter VIII of the SOLAS Convention provides basic requirements for nuclear-powered ships and refers to the more detailed and comprehensive Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships which was adopted by the IMO Assembly in 1981.
  • Seems unlikely that nuclear propulsion represents a real alternative in medium long term.
  1. A greater ENERGY EFFICENCY of ships
  • 15 to 20 % saving is expected from better ship designs
  • Better operating procedures could add saving in consumption (5-10 %)
  • Potential adoption of the Energy Efficiency Design Index next July

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