Science a step closer to biofuel for ships

I found this report on the Maersk website about Bio fuels.
Quite an interesting read.

Science a step closer to biofuel for ships

Slowly but surely, science seems to be advancing toward a production of biofuel that does not take away agricultural land from the world’s food supply. When this kind of fuel is ready, so is A.P. Moller - Maersk.

Five Maersk business units are already carrying out tests on a large container vessel with the ultimate aim of cutting CO2 emissions and diversifying the fuel supply. It is currently being tested how the fuel tanks and engines of Maersk Kalmar react to biodiesel, and this puts the Group at the forefront of the industry. The test is made with biodiesel based on crops grown in temperate regions, or reused oils. In the first go, the scope is a fuel blend with 5-7 % biodiesel.

The partners in the Biodiesel Project are Maersk Line, Maersk Tankers, Maersk Supply Service, Maersk Drilling, Maersk Ship Management, Lloyd’s Register – Strategic Research Group, and a consortium of Dutch subcontractors. The project is supported by the Dutch government.

Action could be relevant sooner than expected. Recently, several biotech companies have reported positive leaps in the creation of enzymes, which act as catalysts when biomass, such as agricultural waste, is converted into fuel. Jacob Sterling of the Maersk Line sustainability team considers the reports encouraging.

“It’s good news. Maersk Line will probably never sail on bioethanol, but lignin is a residual from producing bioethanol, and this may be a real option for us. Lignin is essentially a precursor for oil and coal, so it is very similar to the fuel we are using today - just with far less sulphur and CO2 emissions,” he says. Taking the lead on biofuel could be a strategic investment, according to Lasse Kragh Andersen senior specialist at Maersk Maritime Technology.

"At Maersk Maritime Technology we see the development of the technology behind shipping and biofuel as a big and exciting business opportunity," Andersen says. Biofuel is one way to diversify the fuel supply as fossil fuels are likely to become scarcer and more expensive in the decades to come.

“To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to test biodiesel in a large container vessel. We want to be ready when sustainable biofuels become available in large volumes,” says Sterling.

There are caveats, though.

”It is crucial that future biofuels for shipping are sustainable – their CO2 emissions must be far less than conventional fuels, and the production should be based on biomass that can be produced without negative impacts on food production and biodiversity,” Sterling says.

Maersk Line used more than 9 mill. tonnes of bunker fuel in 2009. Maersk Line has set a voluntary target to reduce CO2 emissions from its container vessels by 20 % per container moved in the period 2007-2017. Biofuel is expected to be part of the solution.

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Can Slow Steaming Save You Money?

Can Slow Steaming Save You Money?

Slow Steaming, Fuel Efficiency and the Environment

As fuel makes up a large part of a ship’s operating costs, many Ship owners are seeking ways of delivering fuel savings and often approach Martek Marineregarding how using our MariNOx™ engine emissions monitoring system can assist them in this process.


Within the document is a section concerning MARPOL Annex VI and the consequences of engine modifications which has a direct relevance for the MariNOx™engine emissions monitoring system:

“Inevitably, virtually any modification to a diesel engine’s component parts or settings, in order to meet the changed load requirements resulting fromslow steaming, will also affect the composition of the exhaust emissions and hence possibly its MARPOL Annex VI NOx compliance status…adopting the Direct
Measurement and Monitoring (DMM) method as an alternative Onboard NOx Verification Procedure for showing compliance, with the applicableengine speed related NOx limit, could be a viable option in some instances since, provided it can be shown that that value is complied with, there isno requirement to pre-approve either individual or combinations of modifications…components such as modified fuel injector nozzles and turbochargerparts or altered fuel pump timing settings can be readily introduced as required in order to meet current trading circumstances.”

We have made the whole document available for you to download as it contains a lot of information, not just about ship emissions monitoring,that we think will be of interest to you.

website

Fast or Slow Steaming?

It is a mark of how the world has turned on its head that the hare is in danger of being ridiculed by the tortoise.
In little more than a year, slow steaming has become a cornerstone in shipping’s recovery. The logic seems unassailable:
it soaks up extra capacity and saves enormous amounts of fuel, providing a useful counterweight to bunker prices
that are once again heading north.

Additionally, as has been previously noted in these pages, slow-steaming also provides shipowners an unexpected
green card; the industry’s CO2 emissions collectively decline, it looks as if they are doing their bit to save
the planet. Bizarrely, the shipping industry is acting as one.

Meanwhile, the exact position of shippers is unclear precisely because one doesn’t exist. They too get to wave
the green card, but social responsibility remains secondary to survival and plenty of shippers are suffering as
much as the carriers.

Slow-steaming entails higher costs. Inventory that spends a week longer at sea is effectively cash thrown overboard,
although that was mitigated in the early days of slow steaming as slower services came with a reduced freight rate.
Not any more, rates are up and transit times longer than ever – if containers were passengers there’d be an outcry.

Some shippers will take it on the chin; others will turn the screw on their logistics providers to claw back the
time lost at sea; and some might even return to air freight.

Into this confusion steps the prospect of faster services returning to the seas. It is far too early to make a
judgement on the possible success of Horizon Line’s fast US west coast-China service, due to launch in December,
but shippers will welcome another alternative.

Maritime-connector.com