Fourteen top companies and organisations came together in London last week to work together to promote LNG as a marine fuel. Carnival Corporatio, DNV GL, ENGIE, ENN, GE, GTT, Lloyd’s Register, Mitsubishi Corporation, NYK Line, Port of Rotterdam, Qatargas, Shell, TOTE Inc. and Wärtsilä have announced a new cross-industry initiative called SEA\LNG.
Explaining the coalition’s objective, Peter Keller, chairman of SEA\LNG and executive vice president of TOTE Inc., said: “We recognise the need to work closely with key players across the value chain, including shipping companies, classification societies, ports, major LNG suppliers, downstream companies, infrastructure providers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to ensure an understanding of the environmental and performance benefits of LNG as a marine transport fuel. SEA\LNG aims to address market barriers and help transform the use of LNG as a marine fuel into a global reality.”
The emissions reduction requirements which have come into force around the world are increasing demand for LNG as a shipping fuel. LNG offers significant environmental advantages over heavy fuel oil, the main fuel used in shipping today. LNG significantly reduces SOx, NOx and particulate emissions, and can also contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions. LNG is therefore able to offer a fuel solution compliant with both current and anticipated future regulations.
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Tag: Shipping
Russian Arctic Development “Iced” For Now
At a major conference on the economic development of the Arctic, Russian experts and politicians outlined the practical steps that need to happen for Russia to realize its energy, infrastructure and geopolitical ambitions for the region.
Notwithstanding geopolitical tensions, the difficult economic situation in Russia and falling oil prices, the Kremlin has continued its efforts to develop the vast natural resources of its Arctic territories. The latest example is Russia’s unveiling of its new nuclear icebreaker Arktika, which was reportedly completed on June 27. A nuclear-powered vessel capable of traversing the icy Northern territories could open up new opportunities for Russia to access the oil and gas deposits of the Arctic.
According to Marina Kovtun, governor of Russia’s Murmansk Region, the authorities allocated 41.5 billion rubles (approximately $634 million) to build new infrastructure in Russia’s Northern regions. “3 billion rubles [$45.8 million] worth of works has been completed as of today. The plan for 2016 is 4.4 billion [$67.2 million],” she said during the Conference on the Economic Development of the Arctic that took place in St. Petersburg on June 18.
The International Monetary Fund is calling for a carbon tax on aviation and shipping to help deliver global climate goals.
A charge of US$30 a tonne on carbon dioxide embedded in international transport fuels could have raised US$25 billion in 2014, the influential Washington DC-based body estimates.
In a report found here http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2016/sdn1601.pdf, IMF said carbon pricing should be “front and centre” in efforts to curb global warming. Levies on so-called bunker fuels were “promising”, it said, and a possible source of climate finance – support for developing countries to go green and adapt to shifting weather patterns. Emissions from planes and ships, around 4% of the global total and rising, were not directly addressed in the Paris agreement.It is up to the UN-backed authorities, the International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organization respectively, to regulate the international sectors.The IMF noted there were “challenges” to imposing a levy, including the need for international coordination and legal issues, “but the practicalities should be manageable”.
Arctic IMO completes Polar Code, regulating Arctic and Antarctic shipping
Source: Alaska Dispatch News
Starting in 2017, it will be illegal for shippers to dump oil, oily waste or noxious materials into Arctic or Antarctic waters.
That prohibition is part of a set of environmental rules and standards approved on Friday by the International Maritime Organization.
Friday’s action, which followed the approval in November of a set of marine safety standards for ships sailing in polar waters, cements what is now a comprehensive International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters — commonly known as the Polar Code.
Other provisions in the environmental standards approved by the IMO include a requirement for barriers to separate fuel tanks from ships’ outer hulls, a limit on discharge of sewage and a prohibition of trash disposal within close proximity to land or sea ice.
Those add to the standards that were approved in November, which range from ship design rules to a requirement that mariners avoid marine mammals.
The result of the year-long process is a major improvement for ship and environmental safety in the vulnerable and icy waters near the globe’s two poles, said Kevin Harun, Arctic program director for the conservation group Pacific Environment.
Marine Traffic Engineering Conference and International Symposium Information on Ships
We would like to inform you, that 16th Marine Traffic Engineering Conference will be organised jointly with International Symposium Information on Ships as MTE-ISIS and will be held in:
Kołobrzeg (Poland) from 14th to 16th of October 2015.
The Conference is organized jointly by Maritime University of Szczecin and German Institute of Navigation (DGON).
The Conference is the first step towards broader cooperation between MUS and DGON. In the future it is planned to organise such an event in Germany and Poland alternatively.
We cordially invite to MTE-ISIS every scientists, researchers and practition-ers. We look forward to see you in Kołobrzeg.
News:
During the conference sightseeing trip to one of the oldest polish lighthouses (26m height), Kołobrzeg Port and Baltic Fisheries Training Center owned by Maritime University of Szczecin will be organised.
Useful Links:
IMO Polar Code Infographic
Ships operating in the North and South Poles will have to follow a mandatory international code of safety being developed by a UN agency. The Polar Code is being drafted by the International Maritime Organization.It covers all aspects of polar navigation for international shipping including design, construction, equipment, seafarer training, search and rescue protocols and environmental protection matters.
The expected date of entry into force of the SOLAS amendments is 1 January 2017, under the tacit acceptance procedure. It will apply to new ships constructed after that date. Ships constructed before 1 January 2017 will be required to meet the relevant requirements of the Polar Code by the first intermediate or renewal survey, whichever occurs first, after 1 January 2018.
Because it contains both safety and environment related provisions, the Polar Code will be mandatory under both SOLAS and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Last month (October 2014), IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) approved the necessary draft amendments to make the environmental provisions in the Polar Code mandatory under MARPOL. The MEPC is expected to adopt the Code and associated MARPOL amendments at its next session in May 2015, with an entry-into-force date to be aligned with the SOLAS amendments.
Under the Ships in the Suez Canal
Source: New York Times
THIS summer, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt announced that the Suez Canal would be expanded — to around double its size. The canal is the fastest way to sail from Asia to Europe, a shortcut that brings Egypt $5 billion of revenue a year. But in addition to hosting 10 percent of the world’s shipping traffic, the canal is a major conduit for invasive species.
Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Yet the Suez Canal expansion is proceeding without any environmental review whatsoever.
In September, 18 scientists published a paper in the journal Biological Invasions calling the expansion and lack of environmental oversight “ominous” because “the Suez Canal is one of the most potent mechanisms and corridors for invasions by marine species known in the world.” The lead author, Bella S. Galil, from the National Institute of Oceanography in Israel, told me, “We are playing Russian roulette, not with a bay or a river, but with the entire Mediterranean Sea.”
Rising sea levels are threat to ports, experts say
By JOSHUA STEWART / THE REGISTER
Due to rising sea levels, storms will make it more likely that the Port of Long Beach’s wharves will be damaged, critical roads submerged and utilities harmed, bringing activity at one of the state’s economic hubs to a disruptive lurch, experts say.
And to some extent, it’s inevitable, Rick Cameron, the director of environmental affairs and planning at the port, said Friday at the Aquarium of the Pacific during a joint hearing of the Assembly’s Select Committee On Sea Level Rise And The California Economy and the Select Committee On Ports.
“There will be sea level rise,” he said.
Predictions show that by 2100, the water will rise between 55 and 66 inches above its current level. That in itself isn’t too much of an issue, but when it’s combined with the longer, more severe and more regular storms and floods that are expected to accompany global climate change, it creates serious problems, experts from around the state said.
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Arctic shipping access likely to vary for much of the 21st century
Access to Arctic shipping routes will become increasingly viable as the century progresses. However, at least in the short term, Arctic shipping will continue to be high risk because the length of seasons are variable and unpredictable, and because narrow, obstructive passages, or ‘choke points’, will appear along shipping routes. Future exploitation of these routes is likely to rely heavily on ice-breaking technologies and investment in extensive ice level forecasting.The study’s authors note that the model used may be overly conservative, and that Arctic Ocean access could increase faster than predicted. They also acknowledge the difficulties of accurately modelling complex coastal areas, particularly through the Northwest Passage.
World’s largest solar-powered boat docks in London
Source: The Guardian
The world’s largest solar-powered boat, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, this week docked in Canary Wharf following a two-month scientific expedition across the Atlantic to gather data on the effects of climate change on the Gulf Stream. The futuristic vessel is powered by 512 square metres of solar photovoltaic panels and has already become the first boat to circumnavigate the globe using only solar power.
Coastal & MarinE-News 