Transportation Emissions News

You can feel it in the air, and increasingly on the water: a steady increase in momentum toward a global economy that prioritizes sustainability. Government stakeholders at all levels, and shipping customers across industries, are setting ambitious goals and high expectations for environmental performance, and that includes the transportation of U.S. and global commerce on the waterways.For the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, which moves nearly 700 million tons of cargo on America’s rivers, coastal waters and Great Lakes annually, it’s both an exciting and challenging time.

How technology can bring data to life, from design through to operations, helping improve efficiency and reduce emissionsOver the last year, climate change – or more appropriately climate action – has emerged as the critical issue impacting the future of global industries. Companies are under pressure to outline plans to transition to a more sustainable way of doing business – and the shipping and maritime communities are no exception.Transportation emissions – which typically include road, rail, air and marine – are responsible for an estimated 24% of the world’s carbon emissions.

JAX LNG, a small-scale LNG facility located along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Fla., recently completed the first fueling of a marine vessel in the United States with a blend of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable LNG (RLNG).JAX LNG loaded the RLNG/LNG blend into the Clean Jacksonville bunker barge to fuel the Isla Bella. The Isla Bella is the world’s first LNG-powered container ship and was put into service by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico in 2015. Element Markets supplied the renewable natural gas (RNG) used to produce the RLNG via renewable thermal certificates (RTCs).

Belgium-based shipowner Exmar is partnering up with a Canadian fertilizer company to build jointly develop and build a low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel which they aim to deploy as early as 2025."Partners for over three decades in transporting ammonia globally, Nutrien is one of the world’s largest producers of low-carbon ammonia and is a leading player and innovator in the transportation of liquefied gas products," Exmar said."Nutrien and EXMAR support the decarbonization of shipping and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Green House Gas (GHG) Strategy to reduce emissions.

The British Columbia Government has joined Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and FortisBC to establish the first ship-to-ship LNG marine refueling – or bunkering – facility on the west coast of North America.The use of LNG to power the world’s ocean-going vessels is forecast to expand and B.C. is well positioned to benefit from this growth.According to industry standards, replacing diesel fuel with LNG has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20%. Because FortisBC’s Tilbury facility runs on clean B.C. electricity, LNG produced there could reduce GHG emissions in marine shipping by up to 26%.LNG-fueled…

SW/TCH Maritime has announced its investment to construct and own the ‘Water Go Round’ e-ferry in collaboration with Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine (GGZEM).SW/TCH Maritime is a New York-based investment platform building the first fleet of zero-emissions maritime vessels in the US. GGZEM is a provider of turn-key hydrogen fuel cell power systems for ships.The 84-passenger e-ferry is currently under construction at the Bay Ship & Yacht shipyard in Alameda, CA using private funding from SW/TCH and a $3 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) through the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District), the administrator of the grant.The $3 million grant comes from California Climate Investments initiative…

Washington State Ferries say they are another step closer to significantly reducing fuel costs and transportation emissions by switching a class of vessels from diesel fuel to liquefied natural gas. After more than three years of study, WSF has a plan to safely convert six Issaquah Class vessels to run on cleaner-burning LNG. The proposal has been officially submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard in a formal letter of intent (LOI) and waterways suitability assessment (WSA). The submission of the LOI and WSA marks the official starting point of the Coast Guard’s review process.

A report (available at www.horizonlines.com) presenting the company’s progress in pursuing environmental excellence through its ongoing “Green Initiatives Program" has been release by Horizon Line.” The report describes the carrier’s efforts to mitigate environmental impact from shipping operations and intermodal transport. Initiatives taken up by Horizon Lines include vessel management controls, low sulfur diesel fuel usage, and marine terminal pollution mitigation planning.