By
Donald Crighton |
On 1 January this year, the new chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI came into force, ushering in requirements mandating the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) for all ships. This will have significant implications for both cruise ships and ferries. Cruise ship operators will no longer be able to burn heavy fuel oil (HFO) as they do now, and will be faced with the options of either changing to more expensive sulphur-free fuel, or alternatively installing costly flue gas scrubbers to meet the new low-emission requirements.
After 1 January 2016 the new environmental restrictions under Tier III legislation will considerably reduce permissible nitrogen oxide and sulphur emissions. This will seriously affect cruise ship and ferry operations in emission control areas (ECAs). IMO’s Tier III restrictions will mean a 75 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
Prior to that, from 2015, it will also be necessary for cruise ship operators to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions in ECAs. At present the amount of sulphur permitted in marine fuels in ECAs is 1 per cent. In 2015 this will reduce to 0.1 per cent.
Owners will therefore either have to operate on lower sulphur fuel or fit an exhaust gas scrubber. The latter will be expensive to install and also increase operating costs. The price tag of this equipment is likely to run into billions across the industry. DFDS Seaways alone is spending over DKK30 million per ship on the installation of scrubbers. Installing these systems will also entail additional operating costs as well as out-of-service time during installation.
At a time of recession, these are costs operators could have done without. However, there are those that have already grasped the nettle by upgrading their vessels to meet these latest environmental requirements. Companies including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, DFDS Seaways and MSC Cruises have all made significant moves towards complying with the new EEDI regulations and all agree that the new index is particularly critical to cruise ships and ferries because these vessels operate regularly in ECAs.
“Energy reduction is a huge element in our thinking and a prescriptive measure is welcome,” says Kevin Douglas, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises’ vice president of technical projects and newbuildings. “We look at reductions across the board, including refrigeration, pumps and motors, frequency control, lighting, use of LED and temperature control in accommodation and public spaces. Important savings can also be made in the galley and laundry. The need to improve hydrodynamics is a very important consideration and we look closely at hull coatings, openings (such as sea gratings and sea valves) and propulsion pods.”
On the Radiance-class ships, the trim is important for the efficiency of the bulbous bows, adds Douglas. “Our energy efficiency programme is vital and on our Solstice-class and Oasis-class vessels we have been experimenting with solar panels.”
For vessels cruising in environmentally sensitive areas like Alaska, Douglas says avoidance of harmful emissions from heavy fuel oil (HFO) is a key factor. “Cruise ship operators changing from burning HFO will probably switch to burning gas oil.”
Progress in one area of emissions control is inevitably accompanied by new challenges, adds Douglas. “The problem of installing exhaust gas scrubbers is that although they allow for the continued use of HFO, they worsen energy efficiency.
“Our target is to reduce fuel consumption by 15 per cent and improve energy efficiency by the same amount. Each new ship has to be more efficient than the previous one.”
Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS Seaways, says the Danish ferry operator has been extremely proactive in adopting a range of energy-saving measures across the fleet for a number of years. “This started prior to the adoption of the EEDI in 2013. As a result, it was a natural extension to already established procedures, and only formal documentation was necessary. As an ongoing process, measures are detailed, tracked and monitored within the vessel’s planned maintenance system – these include items such as optimising of vessel propellers to speed, hull coatings, and energy-efficient lighting.” Energy monitoring is carried out along with measurements of fuel consumption and onboard power. Appropriate class certification is issued at the first annual survey after 1 January 2013 and a number of DFDS Seaways vessels now hold this certification.
“Since 2009, DFDS Seaways has been testing a scrubber on Ficaria Seaways in collaboration with Aalborg Boilers, now Alfa Laval,” says Smedegaard. “The scrubber can remove sulphur from the exhaust gases and is one of the environmental tools that can be used instead of the expensive low-sulphur diesel when the new sulphur regulations take effect on 1 January 2015. DFDS Seaways is taking a huge step by ordering the installation of scrubbers on three more of the six ro-ro ships being built in Flensburg. The investment will be DKK100 million.”
The scrubber systems will be delivered by Alfa Laval, and will test the resources of the DFDS Seaways technical organisation when the more than 30-tonne equipment and the comprehensive pipe systems are installed in conjunction with drydockings later this year. “With this investment, DFDS Seaways is taking a big step towards protecting the environment and preparing the fleet for the new regulations,” says Smedegaard. However, there will still be many great challenges for DFDS Seaways and other shipping companies up to and after 1 January 2015 – partly because the huge investment of over DKK 30 million per ship will entail increased operating costs, and partly because it is not possible to install a scrubber on a large number of the ships because of the physical conditions on the vessels, their age or other factors sulphur regulations pose for shipping companies.
This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read the full article, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.