The key issue for the maritime industry at SMM 2010 is undoubtedly green technology. The political demands of the International[ds_preview] Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) greenhouse gas emission requirements for the reduction of the carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions for ships will materialize and one of the future goals in the marine industry is to reduce the impact of CO2 emissions from merchant ships.
The international shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of about 90 % of the world trade and it is vital to the functioning of the global economy. As a matter of fact maritime shipping is the most carbon-efficient mode of transportation. The transport industry produces roughly 28 % of the world’s CO2 emissions. 21 % thereof are emitted from road transport (trucks and cars), 2.6 % from aviation, 2.7 % from international maritime shipping and the remainder from rail, domestic shipping and fishing.
Shipping, however, is the servant of world trade. How can shipping find the right balance between the environmental demands and the interests of business? In order to achieve proper results in reducing carbon emissions it is necessary to also improve the ship efficiency focussing on reasonable expenditures on investments to increase the value of the fleet assets.
The focus of the IMO (MEPC 60) debate was on the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) (see page 142) which is conceived as a future mandatory standard but is that the right way for all merchant ships? It is the average state of technology but it is certainly not the state of research (see page 114)!
In the coming decades, MDO and gas will play a substantial part in reducing CO2. Using liquid natural gas (LNG) instead of heavy fuel oil may reduce the CO2 emission by approximately 25 % (see page 143 and 144) and current development in northern Europe indicates that LNG as fuel will be available for bunkering. Another possibility can be LNG carriers in service, linking the harbours worldwide. Many other examples could be illustrated here, but one of the major parameters for creating environmentally friendly ships is the ship efficiency.
For the last 30 years, the general development of cargo vessels has been going on slowly but not with big steps in technology. Almost overnight this seems to be changing now. Do tomorrow’s container ships really need a speed of more than 25 knots or could it be less? New individual designs will be developed for an individual ship with increasing the resistance in combination with the aft body design of the ship itself and its propeller in combination with a reduced design ship speed. The combination of a reduced ship speed and an increased propeller diameter for example and/or a changed number of propeller blades may reveal many new possible main engine selections not normally used for container ships (see page 146). And is nuclear propulsion in shipping a real option (see page 152)? Many possibilities which demand exploring. Advanced IT solutions, however, are already on the market (one example on page 158).
In order to sell ships or in charters, companies in the future will have to prove that the ship is environmentally friendly and fuel efficient, well maintained in structure and equipment and safe to operate, thus minimizing risk to cargo and hull structure.
The possibilities of presenting successful innovative technical solutions and thus gaining new markets have perhaps never been greater than today. We need plenty of fresh ideas and practical solutions. The aim is to find a way where all stakeholders can learn from each other.
