Page 14 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 02.18

■ GREEN PORT
Ralf Nagel
Chief Executive Officer of the German Shipowners’ Association
14 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2018
confirmed this during a parliamentary hearing. Even the relevant NGOs recognize that the IMO has taken a giant stride towards increased climate protection. Not least, the industry itself drove the decision. That was very widely recognized, especially in the ranks of IMO member states.
The sulphur ceilings already set by the IMO boost development of technical innovations, but put tremendous pressure on the industry. To fulfil the regulations on climate protection, ships must be re-equipped or run on costly diesel fuel. That’s a problem for shipowners, shipyards and the ma- rine supplies industry, for cost pressure in the in- dustry is high. How do you assess the situation?
Malte Siegert: The problem for climate protection is less the sulphur, but above all the soot from ocean shipping. This can drift up to 400 kilometres and de- posit itself on Arctic ice.
Here producers have tremendous responsibility, but also the customers at the end of the chain.
Ralf Nagel: Equipping vessels with filter technolo- gy and the use of alternative fuels involve enormous costs for ocean shipping. Our trade association, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) estimates that the introduction of stringent worldwide sulphur ceilings from 2020 is the costliest-ever environ- mental measure in ocean shipping. Together with further extra costs, e.g. for the installation of bal- last water treatment equipment, ICS puts the total figure for the world merchant fleet at 50 billion US dollars per year.
Against this background, we need uniform world- wide application and control of the regulations, es- pecially on the sulphur ceiling. We want to see fair competition, namely. The shipping sector accord- ingly advocated that carriage of heavy oil as a fuel
should no longer be permitted. The IMO aims to ac- cept the call this autumn. That will mean the end for conventional heavy oil. Shipping will become even cleaner. Availability of sufficient low-sulphur fuel in all ports is equally important. Refineries and suppli- ers of bunkers need to ensure this.
The key to climate-friendly, maritime energy tran- sition lies in more efficient engines and filters. Shipping requires greener propulsion systems. Hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid propulsion systems and gas-fuelled engines represent highly prom- ising developments that are already even in use. Which technologies will gain long-term accept- ance in the various areas of shipping?
Malte Siegert: There will be no ‘one-fits-all’ solution for shipping. On the longer trade routes between Asia and Europe, LNG vessels for the container seg- ment of the kind now ordered by CMA CGM, will in future tend to be the exception. With cruise ships, progress could be more rapid. However, of a world
cruise fleet comprising around 400 ships, even by 2025 only around 15 will be LNG-fuelled. In recent years the major container lines have put into service or ordered numerous vessels with tradition- al propulsion systems. These will operate in
the long term on heavy oil plus scrubbers, or with diesel distillates with a sulphur content of under 0.5 percent. In short-sea shipping, development and use of other systems, whether LNG or fuel-cell, could proceed more quickly. Electro-hybrid or fully electronic solutions, as with some ferry operators on the Baltic, could gain ground for shorter distanc-
Sunlight is not reflect-
ed then, but absorbed.
Soot emissions from
shipping are meanwhile
the second greatest
driver for the climate
after CO2. But sulphur
dioxide and nitrogen
oxide make people ill
and damage the envi-
ronment. Externalizing of internal costs must stop. Naturally, pressure on costs in the industry is high. Yet if a smartphone can be shifted halfway around the globe for ten cents, or a t-shirt for just 0.1 cents, there is scope for increasing the share of transport costs to achieve more in terms of avoiding atmos- pheric pollutants. Shipowners cannot do so alone.
„We are open-minded
on technology, because
just now we cannot predict
which systems will gain
acceptance.“
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