Operational Energy Use News

Shipping and energy supply chain firm Crowley has teamed with nuclear power specialist BWX Technologies through a memorandum of understanding for a ship concept that, the companies say, has the potential to generate alternative, zero-carbon emission energy for defense and disaster needs by including a microreactor on board.The two U.S.-based companies will jointly pursue and develop opportunities relative to the design, engineering, and development of new shallow-draft hull ships that will supply small-scale nuclear energy to shoreside locations.

According to the latest edition of DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050, the shipping industry will find it challenging to secure enough supply of carbon-neutral fuels.To meet the anticipated demand of 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) annually by 2030, the maritime sector would need to access 30-40% of the projected worldwide carbon-neutral fuel supply.As the shipping industry will compete for these fuels with aviation and road transportation, as well as other industries, their production needs to significantly accelerate if the industry’s emission-reduction goals are to be met.

A new report by maritime advisory service UMAS has put figures on the energy efficiency improvements that are needed for international shipping if it is to meet the IPCC-derived 1.5ºC decarbonization pathway.This magnitude of GHG reduction, 37% in 2030 and 96% in 2040 on a 2008 baseline, has also been championed by some states as the targets that IMO should use in its revised GHG reduction strategy – due for adoption at MEPC 80 in July this year.UMAS states that, irrespective of how new fuels enter the global fleet…

Finland-based power electronics specialist Yaskawa Environmental Energy/The Switch is partnering up with maritime energy storage system (ESS) manufacturer Corvus Energy to continue the development of its smart Battery Short-Circuit Limiter (BSCL) protection device for large-scale battery solutions and advanced DC power distribution.Under the three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU), Corvus Energy becomes the preferred partner for Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch in the ongoing development of the.According to the companies…

Companies planning a new ferry build should focus on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) instead of kW-power, in order to optimize costs, Steeprop, a designer and manufacturer of azimuth propulsion systems, said.Choosing the propulsion unit based mainly on Capex, for example, will most likely increase costs in the long run, adding that a ferry owner can save more than two million euros over a 15-year period by concentrating on the TCO."The traditional way of handling the procurement of propulsion systems…

Ammonia and hydrogen are promising potential fuels of the future in a de-carbonized shipping industry, which has to switch to alternative, zero carbon fuels in order to meet the targets set out in the initial  International Maritime Organization (IMO) strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, an IMO symposium on sulfur 2020 and alternative fuels heard on Friday (18 October).Setting the scene, IMO's Edmund Hughes said the initial GHG strategy, adopted in 2018, had sent a clear signal that shipping will need to adapt. "We have to change to address global climate change," he said."We have to find new technologies and new fuels if we are to achieve at least 50% reduction in annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050…

IMO’s 2050 deadline to reduce GHG emissions 50% from 2008 levels has set off a gold rush to develop Zero Emissions SolutionsClimate change is the biggest issue facing [all aspects of] the maritime industry, said Kitak Lim, IMO secretary general, in an interview earlier this year with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. He predicted that shipping could experience as much change in the next 10 to 20 years as it has in the last 100 years, as the industry races to meet a number of challenges…

DNV GL secured a leading role as technical advisor to GVO Wind Ltd and Bluemerang Capital Ltd, supporting the sale of an 80% stake of the 26.1 MW Ventus portfolio of wind projects. Ventus is the UK’s largest portfolio of feed-in-tariff wind turbines, comprising 53 operational projects located across the UK. The portfolio was acquired by Malaysian power utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). This is TNB’s second acquisition in the UK, which brings its renewables portfolio to a total capacity of approximately 280 MW. DNV GL conducted a technical analysis and Vendor’s Due Diligence of the entire Ventus portfolio and successfully supported the process which culminated in the GBP 171 million investment from TNB.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty covering the prevention of air pollution from ships has been ratified by Iceland, bringing the total number of contracting States to 89, and representing more than 96% of world merchant shipping tonnage. The MARPOL Annex VI treaty limits the main air pollutants contained in ships exhaust gas, including sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. It also includes energy-efficiency measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson, Ambassador of Iceland to the United Kingdom, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (22 November) to deposit the instruments of accession.

A two-day Biofutures Industry Forum hosted by the Queensland government and U.S. Navy at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre commenced today in Brisbane, Australia. The forum will bring together biofutures industry leaders from each step in the supply chain to collaborate and discuss the production of biofuels that meet both jet and marine specifications; all while forming and strengthening professional relationships between the nations. "The Navy has always been in the energy-innovation business- from wind to coal, coal to oil, and now alternative fuels," said Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy for Management, Tom Hicks. Hicks was joined by the Queensland Premier…

In an official handover ceremony at the Den Helder Naval Base, the Royal Netherlands Navy took formal delivery of three Damen ASD 2810 Hybrid tugs. In addition to providing an increase in ship handling capacity, the new vessels are also installed with hybrid propulsion systems. This will contribute to Dutch Ministry of Defence ambitions regarding sustainable operations of the Navy. The acquisition of the three Damen tugs is part of the Royal Netherlands Navy’s ongoing fleet renewal programme. The hybrid vessels, named Noordzee, Waddenzee and Zuiderzee, can sail under diesel-direct, diesel-electric or fully-electric power. This will result in a significant increase in fuel efficiency and reduction of exhaust emissions.

On February 22, a new, advanced 14,000-TEU containership entered the NYK fleet after being delivered at the Kure shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation (head office: Tokyo; president and CEO:  Shinjiro Mishima). The vessel, NYK Blue Jay, employs a hull form that allows for improved cargo-loading efficiency, mainly achieved by minimizing engine-room space. Moreover, the vessel’s main engine is equipped with the world’s first system (patent pending) featuring two power ranges (high and low) that allow for high speed operations, and result in an improved fuel-consumption rate when slow-streaming, resulting in a significant reduction of both carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption.

The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships GloMEEP), Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia. Georgia is one of the Lead Pilot Countries for the project, which aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The national workshop in Batumi, Georgia (15-17 December), focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in chapter 4.

Ecoships introduced a customized version of the Six Sigma DMAIC approach to process and performance evaluation in order to optimize the energy-efficiency of the vessels under its management. The technique has already resulted in Ecoships’ managed ships benefiting from up to 15% greater fuel efficiency, resulting in substantial reductions in CO2, NOx and SOx emissions. “We specialise in eco-friendly and fuel-efficient shipping tools, techniques and technologies,” said Capt. Aykut Yilmaz, GM. “Our three primary goals are safety, fuel efficiency and minimum ecological impact.

International experts are meeting at IMO Headquarters with the aim of providing current & reliable ship Green House Gas emission information. This information would be used by IMO , through its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), to base its work on further measures to reduce GHG. The Second IMO GHG Study 2009 estimated that international shipping emitted 870 million tonnes, or about 2.7% of the global man-made emissions of CO2 in 2007. An updated GHG inventory is…

Germanischer Lloyd’s (GL) North American Committee, considered current topics & challenges to the shipping industry at its recent Texas meeting. The challenge of improving vessel efficiency heads the agenda of every ship owner and operator. With sailing speeds reduced across the board, fuel efficiency has become the biggest lever to increase cost competitiveness. Both regulatory agencies and the industry are developing mechanisms to improve efficiency and in 2013 the IMO’s EEDI and SEEMP regulations will enter into force, in an effort to spur innovation and reduce CO2 emissions. David Greening of Seaspan, one of the world’s largest independent containership companies, set out his firm’s response to the challenge of rising bunker prices and a tighter regulatory environment.

At 576MW The Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm will be one of the largest in Europe. The contract requires Reef Subsea Power & Umbilical assist with engineering, project management, ROV and survey operations linked to the subsea installation and burial of all infield array cables for Gwynt y Môr, located 13 kilometres off the North Wales coast in Liverpool Bay. The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 576MW, and is designed to be ultimately integrated into the UK National Grid in 2014. Reef Subsea Power & Umbilical (RSPU) has been tasked with installing and burying the 161 infield inter array cables. Workscope also covers connection to the two offshore sub-stations.