Page 37 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 02.18

Port of Hamburg Magazine | June 2018 | 37
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT BY CUT-
TING SHIPS’ EMISSIONS
Everybody enjoys breathing clean air. At the end of 2016, Hamburg Port Shipping Association – Hamburg- er Hafenschifffahrtsverband – launched a pilot project
to make the air in the Port of Hamburg cleaner and to cut emissions. Several medium-sized operators with a total of 20 vessels operated for a trial period of four months
with GTL – Gas-to-Liquids –, i.e., liquefied gas. At the time, monitoring indicated lower discharge of soot parti- cles, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. After this trial, the company Maritime Circle Line, one provider of har-
bour boat trips, opted for continued use of the synthetic diesel fuel. The ‘new’ fuel is not simply low-sulphur, but completely ‘sul- phur-free’. “So our staff, and above all, our guests, are no longer exposed to harmful sulphurous gases,” says Gregor Mogi, CEO of Maritime Circle Line. He is totally convinced by the product and also accepts that it is some- what more expensive than normal fuel. The engine is also not quite so pow- erful, but the guests can be happy about that: their port round trip lasts a little longer. An additional positive side-effect is that the engine is quieter. Nor does this form of environmental protection require any rebuilding of the engine.
Hamburg to host ITS Congress in 2021
Higher, faster, farther – these are maxims pursued especially by the
technology and mobility sectors. The City of Hamburg also ob-
serves them. In 2021 it is to host the ITS Congress, which rotates
annually between America, Asia and Europe. The Hanseatic City
aims to demonstrate how new ways of networking between mo-
bility as well as IT and communications technologies can be har-
nessed to boost the efficiency and sustainability of transport. Es-
pecially in the light of restricted space and economic capacities
in cities, this is something essential. Even now, Hamburg is act-
ing as a pioneer. In the wake of Hamburg Port Authority (HPA)’s
smartPort project, an intelligent road has been developed in the Port of Ham-
burg. This collects a variety of data that facilitate improved conclusions, for example on the mainte- nance of infrastructure. Yet digitalization has also reached roads outside the port: Traffic flow there is controlled with the aid of road traffic cameras that enable regulatory measures to be implement- ed more quickly. In the event of accidents, the system can also alert rescuers with minimum delay. The city’s car parking systems are also networked, enabling display panels or mobile units to notify drivers in real time of a suitable parking opportunity with a space free. ‘switchh’ also intermeshes local public transport and car-sharing providers. Once registered with ‘switchh’, a customer can use the Hamburg Public Transport Association (HVV)’s app to make purchases, orders, bookings or res- ervations for public transport, various car-sharing providers and rental bikes (StadtRÄDERN) in Hamburg, as required, and then switch back, e.g. from bike to car to public transport.
© HPA/Andreas Schmidt-Wiethoff
© Maritime Circle Line