Shipping Industry Slowly Facing Up to its Carbon Emissions

The shipping industry carries about 90% of global trade, at rates of efficiency which are already far higher than most ground and air transport, but it is also less visible to the public than the airline and smokestack industries, making it less exposed to calls for regulation. But its emissions equates to 3.9% of the global output of CO2 – or higher than the carbon footprint of the aviation industry. A Singapore company EcoSpec has come up with a solution to reduce emissions at sea.

New York Times and Straits Times (7 December 2010):

In an era when industries are competing to shrink their carbon footprint, the shipping industry has charted a slower course.

The industry carries about 90 per cent of global trade, at rates of efficiency which are already far higher than most ground and air transport, but it is also less visible to the public than the airline and smokestack industries, making it less exposed to calls for regulation.

Yet as global trade has expanded, emissions from shipping have soared in the past three decades, and that is piling the pressure on the industry to make improvements and start compensating for its annual emissions, which the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has said may be as much as 1.26 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).

That equates to 3.9 per cent of the global output of CO2 – or higher than the carbon footprint of the aviation industry.

The IMO, a United Nations agency which sets rules for the maritime industry, has publicised a much lower figure of 2.7 per cent.

But that leaves out shipping along national coastlines and a margin of error of as much as 20 per cent in its calculations.

At the start of this year, European Union commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard warned the 169 member countries of the IMO that they would have to ‘speed up’ to tackle their carbon footprint.

She pledged to impose regulations – possibly in the form of a trading system or a mandatory carbon levy – if the industry failed to come up with a plan to reduce its emissions by the end of next year.

Last month, a group convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon concluded that a levy on shipping should be one of the sources for a fund worth US$100 billion (S$130 billion) for developing nations to tackle climate change.

Sensing an increased threat of regulation, the IMO said last month it still deserved to be trusted with setting rules on the shipping industry’s environmental footprint.

One initiative which could hasten the tightening of rules in the industry is a website created by the Carbon War Room, a private group backed by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

The site, shippingefficiency.org, was to be inaugurated yesterday at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, and will provide efficiency details on about 60,000 vessels, including most of the world’s container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships and ferries.

Exporters and importers, as well as holidaymakers on cruises, will be able to choose between clean and dirty ships with the site, as it gives ships a rating from A to G, in a similar fashion to fridges or washing machines.

It will also allow supermarkets, oil and mining companies, food importers, retailers and manufacturers to specify that their goods are sent from places like China or Australia only by ships which pollute the least, reported Britain’s The Guardian newspaper on Sunday.

The ratings could eventually appear on the bows of ships, if their operators choose to display them.

The site will aim to change the way that manufacturers, retailers and liner companies choose their ships.

The goal, said Mr Branson, is to help ‘the key players in the industry and their customers make better decisions for their businesses and the planet’.

Mr Branson’s spokesman Nick Fox said the Carbon War Room was also pushing for airlines, including those owned by the Virgin Group, to improve their environmental profile.

That project could eventually include a ‘plane index’ to compare the environmental footprint of commercial aircraft, according to other officials who work with Mr Branson.

Maersk, a Danish company operating about 500 container ships around the globe, said it was working with the website to help publicise what it said were its above-average environmental standards.

Mr Peter Boyd, chief operations officer of the Carbon War Room, said naming and shaming existing vessels could help solve the problem of ‘innovative shipowners finding it hard to signal they are cleaner than the rest’.

Even so, enhancing transparency is only part of the solution, he said.

‘The industry must solve the capital gap,’ he added. ‘Many shipowners will need finance to make the necessary improvements.’

‘The industry must solve the capital gap. Many shipowners will need finance to make the necessary improvements.’

Source: www.admpreview.straitstimes.com

Singapore company:

ECOSPEC Global Technology Pte Ltd is an enterprising Singapore-based research and development technological company that offers solutions to better the environment. Founded in 2001, Ecospec has since established itself as a market leader in advance emission reduction and environmental technologies with an international presence and numerous technology patents to its name.

In 2009, Ecospec introduced CSNOx, the world’s first 3-in-1 emission abatement system. CSNOx is currently the only commercially viable solution that is capable of effectively reducing harmful pollutants like sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from vessel emissions.

More impressively, the system has achieved unparalleled removal rates of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from exhausts. Such removal rates are unrivalled by CO₂ reduced through application of energy efficient measures. 

All three gases are removed in a single process, in a single system, without any chemicals. CSNOx uses Ecospec’s proprietary Ultra-Low Frequency waves to treat seawater, freshwater or brackish water. The treated water becomes highly reactive in removing CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x.

The resultant wash water also meets and surpasses IMO standards for discharge water, and CSNOx enables vessels to meet ECA 0.1% sulphur fuel regulations and the strictest IMO NO_x Tier 3 engine requirements without engine change or distillate use. 

Ecospec has gained world recognition and awards for its pioneering CSNOx technology. These include the prestigious “Technology of the Year” global award at the Green Ship Technology Conference 2010 in Copenhagen, and the “Environment Protection Award” at the Seatrade Asia Awards 2009 for its excellence and innovation in the Asian region. 

Despite the accolades, Ecospec has not rested on its laurels but push forth to continually develop and introduce new products to the market, reinforcing its status as a research and development company that consistently presents groundbreaking green solutions for environmental problems.

Wärtsilä, a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets, and Ecospec Global Technology, owner of the revolutionary CSNOx emissions abatement technology, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together towards the common goal of improving the environment by providing the world with clean power solutions.

By combining the joint expertise of Wärtsilä and Ecospec, the carbon footprint of both marine and onshore heavy industries can be significantly reduced through the development of clean power solutions. The aim is to achieve the lowest possible CO2 emissions, near zero SOx emissions – even when using heavy residual fuel, and to attain the capability to meet future NOx emission requirements.

Under the MOU, Wärtsilä is responsible for integrating the CSNOx system into various engine applications. This includes the engineering, installation, supervision, project management, and commissioning of the system for both newbuildings and retrofits.

Ecospec, as the supplier of the CSNOx system, would be responsible for supplying the key components of the system.

 “It is Wärtsilä’s long-established strategy to assist its customers, not only in meeting current environmental legislation requirements, but to be pro-active in providing solutions that go well beyond these minimum standards. Emissions control is an area that is developing very rapidly, and this co-operation with Ecospec will help us to continue our leading role in this field. Without any question it will support our position as a total solutions provider to our customers,” says Juha Kytölä, Vice President, Product Centre Ecotech of Wärtsilä.

Tany Tay, General Manager of Ecospec, commented: “Ecospec has always been on the lookout for suitable organisations with whom we could develop strategic alliances for the various technologies we have developed. This is a fine example of optimizing the synergistic effects from two companies with the same goal of providing the world with a clean power solution.”

Source: www.ecospec.com