The Naval Architect: September 2016
At the centre of the new website, launched by the IMO, is information on the different segments needing energy efficiency attention, whether machinery, propulsion or hull design.
In looking at each segment in turn, the aim is to gauge the maturity of approaches to the topic in the market as a whole. This maturity encompasses the extent the technology has been embraced by industry, whether it is a tried and tested solution, or at a more rudimentary level as far as implementation is concerned.
The new website provides important information and updates on the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) project – a GEF-UNDP-IMO initiative that supports the uptake and implementation of energy efficiency measures for shipping, thereby reducing the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The portal builds on the work undertaken by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee to promote technical cooperation and technology transfer relating to improving the energy efficiency of ships.
The economic downturn in the shipping segment has had an inevitable effect on emissions volumes from ships according to the Third IMO Greenhouse Gas Study in 2014. The study states the industry emitted 796million tonnes of CO2 in 2012, which accounts for about 2.2% of the total emission volume for that year.
In contrast, in 2007, before the global economic downturn, international shipping is estimated to have emitted 885million tonnes of CO2, which represented 2.8% of the global emissions of CO2 for that year.
While part of this decrease is doubtless due to activity levels associated with the downturn, measures taken by the industry to reduce fuel consumption and increase energy efficiency have also had a role to play.
Classification society DNV GL provided the technical content for the website as well as developing a tool to appraise the technical and operational energy efficiency measures for ships. The tool aims to support interested parties in investigating and assessing energy efficiency measures and could potentially serve to assist decision-making.
It calculates the effect the measures have on the Energy Efficiency Design Index and Energy Efficiency Operational Indicator and the economic cost including the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve, the cost of reducing one more tonne of CO2. The output of the tool is a list of the available measures for the chosen ship type and size, and their effect.
In using the website, interested parties can look at individual aspects of energy saving and assess how developed technology is in the segment in question as well as the costs involved in using it.
For example, a section on shore side power which gives details of facilities that may be needed for larger vessels with more complex requirements, specifications for different power needs and system requirements for different sizes and types of ship as well as investment costs for different categories and size of vessels. As the information points out, in the case of cold ironing the costs associated with its use that are mentioned only relate to the vessel itself and not to any port infrastructure.
Other topics include: auxiliary systems and engine performance optimisation, shaft generators, waste heat recovery systems, hull cleaning, cargo handling systems, propeller retrofitting, energy efficient lighting systems and the use of Flettner rotors, to give some examples.
“We in DNV GL are proud to be part of IMO’s GloMEEP initiative and do hope the portal will be used as a knowledge base for users interested in becoming more energy efficient. Driven by its purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL is happy to provide information for capacity-building, technical assistance and transfer of information relating to improving the energy efficiency of ships.
“The portal’s purpose is to educate users on the range of energy efficiency technologies currently available for the international shipping industry and guide the user to additional information”, comments Liv Aune Hagen, consultant at DNV GL’s Shipping Advisory section and project manager responsible for GloMEEP.
The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has recently joined the GloMEEP project as its third strategic partner, along with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology.
IAPH will be collaborating with the GloMEEP project on the development of tools and materials to help in quantifying air pollutants and GHG emissions in ports, and will assist in the identification of measures to cost-effectively reduce port related emissions.
GloMEEP and the GLO Ballast Partnerships Programme are being used to accelerate legal, policy and institutional reforms in developing countries in order to implement the Ballast Water Management Convention and MARPOL Annex VI.
