Think Maritime » Climate

Eco-friendly shipping pact

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:33:48 +0000

Singapore on Friday acceded to an international eco-friendly shipping convention. It deposited its Instrument of Accession to the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001 (AFS Convention) with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The AFS Convention was adopted at the IMO on Oct 5, 2001, and entered into force on Sept 17 last year. When it enters into force for Singapore on March 31 next year, the Republic will join 40 other countries to be a party to the AFS Convention.
The Convention will apply to ships registered with Singapore and also to ships calling at the Port of Singapore. Singapore’s accession followed consultations with the Singapore Shipping Association and the Association of Singapore Marine Industries.
Mr Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said: ‘As one of the world’s busiest port, protection of the marine environment is of great importance to Singapore. Singapore’s accession to the AFS Convention underscores our commitment to environmentally-friendly shipping and port activities.’
Anti-fouling paints/systems are used to coat the hulls of a ship to prevent fouling organisms such as algae and molluscs from attaching to it. If allowed to build up, these fouling organisms would reduce the speed of the vessel or increase the fuel consumption to maintain a certain speed. Some of these anti-fouling paints contain chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment.
The AFS Convention bans the use of harmful anti-fouling paints/systems on the hulls of new and existing ships and encourages the use of environment friendly anti-fouling paints such as silicon paint.
The accession to the AFS Convention adds to the list of IMO Conventions on the protection of the marine environment which Singapore had ratified and implemented.

Shipping could by 2030 cut emissions by 30%, at zero-cost

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:09:50 +0000

Tor Svensen, COO DNV Maritime yesterday introduced the press to the groundbreaking results of a new study depicting how the shipping industry, by 2030, could cut emissions by 30%. The results were presented onboard the Viking Lady, the world’s first commercial ship with a fuel cell adapted to marine use installed onboard, while docked in Copenhagen. The good news; the scenario implies a zero-cost for the industry.
Major reduction potential with existing technologies
The study, which is a follow-up of the abatement curve launched by DNV during Norshipping in June depicting the reduction potential of the existing world fleet, looks at the reduction potential of both the existing fleet and newbuildings.
“What we have here is a model that looks at the potential of a range of reduction measures; from more efficient voyage execution to speed reduction and the employment of fuel cells on board the ships. The results are quite encouraging; if the shipping industry starts acting now and applies the available cost-efficient technologies, emissions can be reduced considerably. Without additional costs incurred. By doing this we can go a long way in meeting some of the tough requirements already set. Also those currently being debated in Copenhagen,” says Mr. Svensen.
Even higher emission reduction at incremental costs
The study looks at ships from all market segments, both from the existing fleet and newbuildings projected to be built in the years to come. The results show that shipping, compared to a projected baseline (where no measures are applied) of 1,530 million tons of CO2, could cut emissions by 30% by 2030 at zero-cost . This equals a reduction in emissions of 500 million tons of CO2. The study also shows that the emission reduction potential would increase to 50% if all identified measures costing up to 100 $/tonne CO2 were implemented.
Regulations and tighter enforcement still needed
The study suggests that where emission reduction and sound economic rationale pull in the same direction, widespread implementation of cost-effective measures will come over time. Enforcement through regulatory means could, however, be necessary where the economic pull is weaker. “While there is no silver bullet which could make it all happen, the aggregated effect of all measures are significant and will ensure an industry that operates in a more energy efficient manner and also takes its share of the common responsibility of reducing carbon emissions,” Mr. Svensen says.

Arctic ships could face greenhouse gas restrictions

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:24:47 +0000

Shipping companies that operate in the Arctic may be required to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions they produce, depending on how climate-change talks go in Copenhagen, Denmark. The International Marine Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and environmental impacts, is seeking a mandate at the Copenhagen summit to regulate greenhouse gases generated by ships.
The issue of curbing pollution from marine vessels is becoming increasingly important in Arctic waterways, which in recent years have been seeing more traffic from commercial freight vessels, cruise ships, icebreakers and other boats.
The organization estimates that there are about 60,000 ships operating worldwide, generating 2.7 per cent of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions, said Karin Sjolin-Frudd, an IMO senior adviser.
Sjolin-Frudd told CBC News in Copenhagen that those emissions could double or triple by 2050 if nothing is done about it.
“So what we have to look at is that yes, we do contribute, and we take the responsibility for looking at what we can do within the IMO and the shipping industry to actually combat this,” she said.
Sjolin-Frudd said the goal is to require ships to be more energy efficient, as well as improve navigation and planning to waste less energy.
Vessels that go exceed an emissions limit would have to pay, under a global emissions-trading type of system. There would also be an international fund to help developing nations comply with the IMO’s standards.
Such standards, which would be enforced by the IMO, should be made mandatory for the entire shipping industry, said Christian Breinholt, deputy director of the Danish Maritime Authority.
“This globalized industry can move from flag to flag immediately, and any regulation which does not apply regardless of flag is worth absolutely nothing,” he said.
Breinholt said he hopes countries attending the Copenhagen summit will give the International Maritime Organization a mandate to continue its work and bring in mandatory greenhouse-gas regulations.

Source: CBC News

Sea level rise could cost port cities $28 trillion

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:17:55 +0000

London, England (CNN) — A possible rise in sea levels by 0.5 meters by 2050 could put at risk more than $28 trillion worth of assets in the world’s largest coastal cities, according to a report compiled for the insurance industry.

The value of infrastructure exposed in so-called “port mega-cities,” urban conurbations with more than 10 million people, is just $3 trillion at present.

The rise in potential losses would be a result of expected greater urbanization and increased exposure of this greater population to catastrophic surge events occurring once every 100 years caused by rising sea levels and higher temperatures.

The report, released on Monday by WWF and financial services Allianz, concludes that the world’s diverse regions and ecosystems are close to temperature thresholds — or “tipping points.”

Any one of these surge events could unleash devastating environmental, social and economic changes amid a higher urban population.

According to the report, carried out by the UK-based Tyndall Centre, the impacts of passing “Tipping Points” on the livelihoods of people and economic assets have been underestimated.

Global temperatures have already risen by at least 0.7 degrees Celsius and the report says a further rise by 2-3 degrees in the second half of the century is likely unless deep cuts in emissions are put in place before 2015.

The consequent melting of the Greenland and the West Antarctic Ice Shield could lead to one such tipping point scenario, possibly a sea level rise of up to 0.5 meters by 2050.

The report focuses on regions and phenomena where such events might be expected to cause significant environmental impacts within the first half of the century.

For example a hurricane in New York, which could cost $1 trillion now, would mean a $5 trillion insurance bill by the middle of the century, the report adds.

“If we don’t take immediate action against climate change, we are in grave danger of disruptive and devastating changes,” said Kim Carstensen, the Head of WWF Global Climate Initiative.

“Reaching a tipping point means losing something forever. This must be a strong argument for world leaders to agree a strong and binding climate deal in Copenhagen in December.”

Shipping has a cooling effect

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:13:03 +0000

Shipgaz – Shipping is reducing the speed of the global warming by its emissions of NOx and SOx, even so a reduction of these emissions is necessary, writes Jan Fuglestvedt, of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (CICERO) in a study published in Environmental Science and Technoilogy.
Anyone who thinks it is a good idea to continue with shipping’s emissions is advised to think otherwise by the scientists.
”Hence the available evidence suggests that “climate cooling” by continued shipping emissions of SOx would not be advisible.”
The reason for their conclusion is that the cooling effects from SO2 are much more short lived than the heating effects produced by CO2.

Curbs to ship pollution would stoke global warming, study says

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:47:05 +0000

OSLO (Reuters) – Shipping is slowing climate change by spewing out sunlight-dimming pollution but a clean-up needed to safeguard human health will stoke global warming, experts said Friday.

“So far shipping has caused a cooling effect that has slowed down global warming,” Jan Fuglestvedt, of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (CICERO), told Reuters.

“After some decades the net climate effect of shipping will shift from cooling to warming” because of cleaner fuels, he and colleagues in Germany, Britain and Norway wrote in this week’s edition of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Toxic sulphur dioxide emitted by burning bunker fuel accounted for the deaths of an estimated 60,000 people worldwide in 2001 through cancer and heart and lung disease, according to a previous study. A clean-up would save thousands of lives.

But sulphur pollution from the fast-growing shipping industry also helps create clouds by providing tiny seeds around which droplets form. Clouds have a cooling effect since sunlight bounces off their white tops.

The scientists argued against deliberate use of pollution from ships as part of possible schemes to shield the planet from sunlight, saying it was too risky and outweighed by the impact on human health.

CLIMATE COOLING

“The available evidence suggests that ‘climate cooling’ by continued shipping emissions of sulphur dioxide would not be advisable,” they wrote.

A clean-up of sulphur from ships will have a “double warming” effect — there will be more sunlight with less pollution and there will be ever more carbon dioxide, the non-toxic greenhouse gas emitted by burning fuel.

Shipping accounts for about 3.3 percent of world carbon dioxide emissions from human sources, emissions the U.N. Climate Panel says will cause more droughts, floods, heatwaves, rising sea levels and disease.

Some scientists, such as Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen, have suggested dumping sulphur in the upper atmosphere to slow global warming, one of several proposals for deliberate “geoengineering” to alter the climate system.

A U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen next month will consider new measures to penalize carbon dioxide emissions by both international shipping and aviation — both are outside the existing Kyoto Protocol for slowing emissions until 2012.

Fuglestvedt’s study estimated that it would take roughly 70 years for shipping to become a net contributor to global warming if sulphur dioxide emissions were quickly cut by 90 percent and all other fuel-related emissions stayed at 2000 levels.

The International Maritime Organization is seeking cuts in the sulphur content of bunker fuel to a maximum of 3.5 percent by 2012 and then to 0.5 percent by 2020.