Filtering ship exhaust gases or using cleaner fuel?
Time：2014-11-10
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“The LNG Initiative Nordwest coordinated by the company MARIKO GmbH is making a key contribution by assisting shipping companies especially in coping with future environmental requirements. In this respect, not only do we deal with technological solutions; we also address the legal and financial challenges in the wake of the new maximum sulphur limit,” says Katja Baumann, Deputy Managing Director of MARIKO GmbH.
Most scrubbers installed to date use seawater to purify exhaust gases. These certified systems comply with the international MARPOL VI parameters and the EU Sulphur Regulation, but an increasing number of EU states are now prohibiting the discharge of scrubbing water into the sea with reference to the EU’s Water Framework Directive. This process makes the relevant equipment considerably more difficult to operate.
“The EU member states need to establish uniform rules for discharging scrubbing water in their ports and coastal waters,” said Ralf Nagel, Chief Executive Officer of the VDR. “Shipping companies that invested a great deal of money in scrubbers at an early stage in compliance with European and international parameters must not be punished for that now.”
Challenges also exist in converting the ships’ engines to marine gas oil. “Whoever doesn’t install a scrubber will need to fill up with low-sulphur marine gas oil starting on 1 January 2015. As there may still be residues of heavy fuel oil in the pipelines, in the beginning we’re going to need a certain degree of flexibility as far as port state controls are concerned,” explained Nagel. “After all, the bunker delivery note clearly shows that conforming fuel was bunkered.”
Worldwide, the maximum permissible sulphur content in fuels is to be lowered from 3.5 per cent today to 0.5 per cent in the year 2020 – a reduction by almost 90 per cent. As a result, maritime shipping worldwide will reach a completely new fuel quality.
The LNG Initiative Nordwest is the biggest national network to support the maritime shipping industry during the transition to gas-powered shipping. The “LNG Initiative Nordwest” includes shipping companies, shipyards, ports, research facilities, technology developers, engine manufacturers, classification companies, gas utilities and municipalities, with the common objective of enhancing the innovation capabilities of companies engaged in gas-fuelled maritime shipping with the aid of knowledge networking, technology transfer, and research. With some 60 network partners, extensive expertise on the subject of LNG is being bundled and further developed as part of the LNG Initiative Nordwest. It is promoted with funding by the European Fund for Regional Development. MARIKO GmbH is responsible for coordinating the activities of the network.
The principal task of MARIKO GmbH consists in networking the core sectors of the maritime industry, especially on the Ems axis region. In the course of various projects with different orientations, proposed solutions are worked out for the maritime shipping sector in Germany and the Netherlands – solutions with as little impact on resources as possible. The primary focus of the work being carried out by MARIKO GmbH – in addition to green shipping, offshore wind energy as well as maritime vocational and advanced training – also extends to include activities for shipping companies and port management services.
The German Shipowners’ Association (Verband Deutscher Reeder, VDR) is responsible for representing the common business and social policy interests of German shipping companies at federal and state government level. The VDR was founded in 1907 and merged with the Association of German Coastal Shipowners (Verband der Deutschen Küstenschiffseigner) in 1994. With approximately 220 members, the German Shipowners’ Association represents the lion’s share of the German merchant navy.