Demonstration Aboard the Maersk Taurus Containership.
Belco Technologies Corporation (BELCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., USA, has reached an agreement with A.P. Moller – Maersk, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, to design, manufacture and supply the BELCO advanced marine scrubbing system for demonstration on one of the auxiliary engines aboard the Maersk Taurus. The system will be designed to remain on board as a commercial installation following the successful demonstration. The BELCO Exhaust Gas Cleaning System can be used to reduce SO2 from ship engines and boilers as an economic alternative to using a more expensive low sulphur content fuel when operating in SO2 restricted areas known as emission control area (ECA) zones. This high-efficiency technology allows a ship to meet the International Maritime Organization’s ECA zones (or EU Ports) mandate of 0.1 percent sulphur even when using a lower cost fuel with sulphur content of 3.5 percent or more. The BELCO® system can be installed on new ships and as a retrofit to existing ships.
A.P. Moller – Maersk, a global conglomerate operating mainly in the shipping and energy industries, is the world’s largest containership company. The Maersk shipping companies provide comprehensive coverage of the world’s need for cargo, oil and gas transport, terminal services and on-land logistics. Maersk’s energy-related business units include drilling and platform service companies, as well as one of the world’s leading independent oil and gas firms.
“We have been investigating SOx scrubber technologies for several years to find appropriate technology for installation on our ships. We are pleased with our partnership with BELCO and trust it will bring us one step further in understanding our possibilities to improve environmental performance in a cost-effective manner,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, head of Maersk Maritime Technology. BELCO has extensive experience in the marketing, manufacture and erection of flue-gas cleaning equipment using its proprietary technologies.
“This demonstration will allow us to fine-tune our design for on-board installations. It opens up new possibilities for BELCO® and will allow A.P. Moller - Maersk to have an option that will provide long-term fuel cost savings. We are proud to have A.P. Moller - Maersk as one of our initial customers for our marine scrubbing design,” said Nick Confuorto, vice president of Licensing, Sales and Marketing, Belco Technologies Corporation.