Industry news

BHP completes its first refuelling as part of a sustainable biofuel trial in Singapore

4 April | SUSTAINABILITY

Multinational mining major BHP has completed its first refuelling of a ship with biofuel as part of a trial using sustainable biofuel supplied in Singapore, the largest bunkering hub in the world.

Together with German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers and biofuels provider GoodFuels, and with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, BHP completed the marine biofuel trial on 4 April.

The 81,290 deadweight tonne (dwt) dry bulk carrier Kira Oldendorff, which was built in 2020, was refuelled with advanced biofuel blended with conventional fossil fuel as part of the trial.

This biofuel bunkering trial was undertaken to understand the behaviour of the fuel, as well as examine engine and vessel operational performance, and also explored the technical and commercial benefits and challenges of using biofuels as marine fuel.

GoodFuels chief commercial officer Isabel Welten said: “This trial marks the start of a process for GoodFuels of facilitating more structural supply of sustainable marine biofuels in Singapore, in a commercial, operational and technically feasible manner.”

BHP completed the refuelling of dry bulk carrier Kira Oldendorff with biofuel. Credit: Andy Li on Unsplash

16 April | PIRACY

SEAS OF TRANQUILITY AS PIRACY DROPS

There was a 39% decrease in armed robbery and piracy against ships between January and March 2021, according to a report by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

Compared with the same time last year, when 28 incidents took place, in the first quarter of 2021 only 17 episodes were registered, all of which were armed robberies and did not involve piracy.

According to the study, the decrease in incidents was particularly noticeable in countries such as Bangladesh – where no incident took place compared with two the previous year, as well as India – where only one attack was reported compared to six.

All the incidents that have taken place in the last three months fell under categories CAT 3 and CAT 4, used by ReCAAP to assess the gravity of episodes, which range in severity from a small gang of potentially armed robbers, to unarmed bandits – neither of which resulted in crew being harmed.

20 April | PORTS

ANTWERP TO GET ECO TUGS

Belgium’s Port of Antwerp is expanding its fleet with the inauguration of three new energy-efficient reversed stern drive tugs.

The three tugs form part of the renewal and greening of the port’s fleet, to help out during the 19,000 yearly towing operations.

Port alderman Annick De Ridder said: “By expanding our fleet, we are continuing our efforts to ensure that our services are operational 100% of the time, while seeking to pave the way towards sustainable shipping.

“As the Port of Antwerp, we are setting a good example by taking a major step towards making our own tugs greener. In the near future, we will also experiment with tugs powered by renewable methanol and hydrogen.”

Currently, the Port of Antwerp manages a fleet of 32 vessels, made up of tugs, dredgers and support vessels, which are responsible for approximately 85% of the port’s total CO2 emissions, but it has now commenced a multi-year project to renew, green and optimise its fleet to reduce this impact.

20 April | EMISSIONS

US PLEDGES TO JOIN GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST SHIPPING EMISSIONS

The US is planning to join the global effort by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce emissions and decarbonise the shipping industry by 2050.

According to Washington-based, non-profit environmental group Ocean Conservancy, the global shipping sector releases nearly 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to Germany’s annual emissions.

At a conference hosted by the Ocean Conservancy, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said: “I want to announce that in support of the global effort to keep us in reach of 1.5°C and in support of global efforts to achieve net-zero by no later than 2050, the United States is committing to work with countries in the IMO to adopt the goal of achieving net-zero emissions from international shipping by no later than 2050.”

He also stated that the US will aid in the deployment of technologies that will help to quickly reduce carbon emissions in the shipping sector.

The US had previously raised concerns regarding the IMO’s initial greenhouse gas initiatives.

On 20 April, the UK Government announced that it will set the target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels into law. This will be the world’s most ambitious climate change target.

The country’s sixth Carbon Budget will include the UK’s share of global aviation and shipping emissions for the first time.

19 April | TECHNOLOGY

UK COMPANY COMPLETES AIR LUBRICATION FUEL TRIALS

UK-based Silverstream Technologies has completed trials of its air lubrication system, Silverstream System, on a Shell-chartered 170,000m³ liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, named Methane Patricia Camila.

The system is claimed to have shown approximately 6.6% net savings after its operational testing.

To analyse the fuel and emissions savings, the technology was tested at several vessel speeds at the time of the Methane Patricia Camila’s normal operations, and its unique design is claimed to increase fuel and emissions efficiency.

The Silverstream System produces a thin layer of micro-bubbles along the entire flat bottom of the vessel, thereby reducing the frictional resistance between water and hull.

During its October 2020 dry docking at the Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Shipyard in Singapore, the system was retrofitted on the 2010-built LNG carrier.

Silverstream Technologies founder and CEO Noah Silberschmidt said: “Shipping requires solutions to solve the decarbonisation challenge today. With fuel bills only set to rise in the future, owners need to invest in fuel-agnostic technologies that are proven to save costs and emissions, without impacting the flexibility or profitability of the vessel. We are proud of the role that our technology can play to solve this challenge.”

In brief

Shipping industry calls for emissions price

The International Chamber of Shipping and other groups have asked the International Maritime Organisation to finally put a price on carbon dioxide emissions. To eliminate the 2% of all global CO2 emissions caused by shipping, the revolutionary submission called on world leaders to use pricing measures to incentivise a move away from carbon-based fuels.

Lockdown breakdown

Recycling old ships broke down again after the newest Covid-19 wave of infections sweeping India caused the ship recycling market to crash. The resurgence of the pandemic across the Indian sub-continent has left brokers unsure about when reclamation and demolition works will commence in earnest, despite wet and dry scrap prices reaching 12-month highs.

Shipping decarbonisation boosted by new fund

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced two new initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping – including a huge $90m fund for a decarbonisation centre. The MPA is leading the way in taking a proactive step at combatting shipping emissions, in the industry’s quest for a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

New eco venture marked by Asia’s first hydrogen tugboat

Belgian shipowner Comagnie Maritime Belge has teamed up with Tsuneishi Facilities & Craft to launch a joint venture exploring hydrogen internal combustion engines with a view of finding a less carbon-intensive fuel source to power ships. This is being marked by Asia’s first hydrogen-powered tugboat, which launched in Japan.

19 April | TECHNOLOGY

UK COMPANY COMPLETES AIR LUBRICATION FUEL TRIALS

UK-based Silverstream Technologies has completed trials of its air lubrication system, Silverstream System, on a Shell-chartered 170,000m³ liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, named Methane Patricia Camila.

The system is claimed to have shown approximately 6.6% net savings after its operational testing.

To analyse the fuel and emissions savings, the technology was tested at several vessel speeds at the time of the Methane Patricia Camila’s normal operations, and its unique design is claimed to increase fuel and emissions efficiency.

The Silverstream System produces a thin layer of micro-bubbles along the entire flat bottom of the vessel, thereby reducing the frictional resistance between water and hull.

During its October 2020 dry docking at the Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Shipyard in Singapore, the system was retrofitted on the 2010-built LNG carrier.

Silverstream Technologies founder and CEO Noah Silberschmidt said: “Shipping requires solutions to solve the decarbonisation challenge today. With fuel bills only set to rise in the future, owners need to invest in fuel-agnostic technologies that are proven to save costs and emissions, without impacting the flexibility or profitability of the vessel. We are proud of the role that our technology can play to solve this challenge.”