News

Comment: Shipping industry chases moving target in quest for cleaner fuels

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 29 January 2020 29 January 2020

For decades, the shipping industry’s notion that sending goods and passengers by sea was the most environmentally friendly solution was widely accepted.

However, as the new Millennium dawned, a growing number of observers started to point out that most ships used heavy fuel oil (HFO), which emitted lots of particles of sulfur and nitrogen, both of which are harmful.

As concern for the state of the environment started to worry a growing number of people, the shipping industry in general and passenger shipping companies in particular had to react.

Many ferry and cruise ship owners started to install exhaust gas cleaning systems onboard their ships, so that particle emissions could be cut while the use of HFO could continue as marine gas oil (MGO), a lower sulfur alternative, is much more expensive.

LNG was introduced an efficient way to tackle particle emissions and the first large cruise ferries using this fuel appeared in Scandinavia in 2013 and AIDAnova, the first LNG powered cruise ship, five years later.

As pressure mounted against them, authorities followed the public opinion and emission control areas that curbed particle emissions were introduced, such as one covering the Baltic and the North Sea in 2015.

However, in the meantime the public debate about the climate switched focus to green house gas emissions, such carbon dioxide (CO2). As LNG is a fossil fuel, burning it does emit CO2.

While this was happening, the United Nations’ maritime organisation IMO drafted global rules to limit particle emissions, which took effect at the beginning of this year. HFO can only be used if an exhaust gas cleaning system is fitted onboard, otherwise lower sulfur content fuels, such as MGO or LNG, must be used instead.

Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman of the Viking, has been a vocal critic of LNG, drawing attention to the fact that it does not offer a solution to eliminate CO2 emissions.

In order to go emission free, shipping will have to look at other fuels than oil or LNG, according to Hakan Enlund, EVP at the Finnish ferry builder Rauma Marine Constructions.

However, although various potential options have been tabled, there are certain conditions that they have to meet before they can be viable in marine use.

You can read more about the views of Hagen and Enlund in the next issue of CruiseBusiness.com Magazine, which will be published in the next few weeks.

ICCT report highly critical of LNG as marine fuel

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 29 January 2020 29 January 2020

The use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as marine fuel will result in higher green house gas (GHG) emissions than if marine gas oil (MGO) is used, states a report of International Council of Clean Transport (ICCT)

Using a 20-year global warming potential, which reflects the urgency of reducing GHGs to meet the climate goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and factoring in higher upstream emissions for all systems and crankcase emissions for low-pressure systems, there is no climate benefit from using LNG, regardless of the engine technology.

“HPDF (High pressure injection dual fuel) engines using LNG emitted 4% more life-cycle GHG emissions than if they used MGO. The most popular LNG engine technology is low-pressure dual fuel, four-stroke, medium-speed, which is used on at least 300 ships; it is especially popular with LNG- fueled cruise ships,” the report said.

“Results show this technology emitted 70% more life-cycle GHGs when it used LNG instead of MGO and 82% more than using MGO in a comparable medium-speed diesel (MSD) engine,” ICCT concluded.

Historic Port Royal opens in Jamaica

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines; Published: 25 January 2020 25 January 2020

The mystique and allure of historic Port Royal was boldly awaken on January 20, 2020 when the PAJ’s newly built Port Royal Cruise Port received its inaugural ship call by Marella Cruise Line’s Discovery 2 on January 20, 2020. The introduction of cruise shipping to Port Royal and by extension Kingston, represents an achievement of an objective which was first contemplated over 25 years ago. Port Royal joins Montego Bay, Falmouth, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio and it is anticipated that the new complement of five cruise ports of call will further strengthen Jamaica’s cruise shipping product and enhance the Cruise Jamaica brand. The PAJ built a cruise port in Port Royal to fulfil three main objectives which are to: create economic and social benefits whilst collaborating with other Government of Jamaica agencies; enhance the unique historical assets of Port Royal for the benefit of Jamaicans and visitors; as well as Create a gateway to Kingston, the ‘cultural capital’ of the Caribbean of the Caribbean in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Cruise Passengers on the Discovery 2 were treated to a grand fare representing an infusion of authentic Jamaican vibes, cuisine and music which was augmented by the natural heritage and culture that the town of Port Royal offers. The port’s courtyard buzzed with products and services from iconic Jamaican brands including Red Stripe Beer, Appleton Jamaica Rum and Devon House I-Scream which were all well received by cruise passengers and crew. Visitors experienced a taste of Jamaica through a number of tours, most of which were conducted in Kingston that included a visit to the Bob Marley Museum, Trench Town Culture Yard and New Castle for a Blue Mountain coffee experience. They also had a chance to experience the new Fort Charles, now upgraded and managed by the PAJ, where they were immersed in 17th century history and had the opportunity to visit the renowned Giddy House.

In addition to this historic call at Port Royal, the PAJ marked another milestone with its first use of the SeaWalk during the maiden visit on Monday (January 20). The SeaWalk is a floating articulated bridge that is motorized and under electronic control, which unfolds to meet a ship off the shore (analogous to a jet-bridge at an airport). It is anchored at the port at one end and positioned and secured alongside the ship at the other end allowing passengers, baggage, trolleys and crew to move from the ship to the bridge to the port. It facilitates the berthing of vessels in Port Royal without dredging and extensive infrastructural works typically required to construct a conventional berthing system. Therefore, the use of the SeaWalk technology in Port Royal enables the PAJ to both adhere to its environmentally conscious operational practices as well as fulfil the objective of establishing Kingston as a permanent cruise port destination. Passengers travelling on the Discovery 2 disembarked and embarked the ship using the SeaWalk.

Three more calls are scheduled for the rest of the 19/20 winter tourist season, one each in February, March and April. It is expected that the construction works on phase one of the new port development will be completed by the time it welcomes the last call of the season.