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UPDATES
ICS CALLS
FOR GLOBAL CO2 REDUCTION FUND TO REWARD GREEN FUEL FIRST USERS
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The fund and reward proposal aims to incentivize green fuel first movers.
THE INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF SHIPPING (ICS), which represents 80% of the world’s merchant fleet, has submitted a proposal to IMO calling for a “fund and reward” system to accelerate the maritime sector’s transition to net zero by financially rewarding ships and energy producers.
The fund and reward system would be financed by mandatory flat rate contribution by ships, per tonne of CO2 emission. It remains to be seen whether this latest proposal will be any more successful than earlier ICS proposals to fund shipping’s green transition by some form of levy on carbon remains to be seen.
This time around, ICS is proposing that contributions from the global fleet be gathered in an “International Maritime Sustainability Fund.” Such a fund, the chamber says, could raise billions of dollars annually, which would then be committed both to narrowing the price gap, globally, between existing high carbon marine fuels and alternative fuels, as well as supporting much needed investment in developing nations for the production of new marine fuels and bunkering infrastructure. The support of developing nations will be required to get the needed regulatory framework adopted. The architecture of that framework is based on the industry’s previous proposals for an IMO R&D Fund.
The fund, says ICS, would reward ships according to annual reporting of the CO2 emissions prevented by the use of “eligible alternative fuels.” For example, a ship fueled by ammonia (among many other alternative fuels including methanol, hydrogen, sustainable biofuels and synthetic fuels) could benefit to the tune of $1.5 million a year.
ICS says that a detailed impact assessment undertaken for it by Clarksons Research has identified that a financial contribution of up to approximately $100 per tonne of CO2 emitted would not cause what it calls “disproportionately negative impacts on the economies of states.”
Additionally, ICS believes that contributions could initially be set much lower and then be subject to a five-year review as increasing quantities of new fuels become available.
The ICS fund and reward (F&R) proposal combines elements of various recent GHG reduction proposals, including those from a number of governments, plus a flat rate contribution system previously proposed by ICS and INTERCARGO.
“With the ICS fund and reward proposal, IMO member states have a new but very short window of opportunity to put in place a global economic measure which can kick start the development and production of alternative fuels for shipping. To achieve net zero midcentury, these new fuels must start to become available in significant quantities on a commercial basis no later than about 2030,” says ICS Chairman Emanuele Grimaldi.
“Compromise is always difficult but, in any negotiation, having a proposal like this can enable everyone to come together. I hope this proposal will act as a bridge between the climate ambitions of both developed and developing countries so that no part of the global shipping industry will be left behind.”
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Eastern Shipbuilding to contest OPC Stage 2 award
EASTERN SHIPBUILDING GROUP (ESG) has not given up its fight against the U.S. Coast Guard’s decision to award Stage 2 of the offshore patrol cutter (OPC) program to Austal USA.
Although it has withdrawn a bid protest it filed with the GAO in June, Eastern will now pursue the matter in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, where it filed suit on October 21, 2022. At issue, says Eastern, is the government’s failure to release information in response to the GAO bid protest.
It is understood that the information that the Coast Guard refused to disclose, even under a protective order, was the Austal proposal or the agency’s scoring evaluations.
“The federal procurement process is designed to be fair and transparent. Ordinarily, the government discloses reasonable justification for its award decisions to the attorneys representing the parties in a protest. The government has declined to voluntarily disclose the information that might offer that justification. As a result, we are seeking the information and justification through a different legal pathway,” said Joey D’Isernia, president of Eastern Shipbuilding Group.
Eastern says its action in the Court of Federal Claims is not an appeal related to the bid protest. It is a new proceeding challenging the agency’s procurement award decision.
Eastern was the original prime contractor for the whole of the OPC program. However, in June 2019, it submitted a request to the Coast Guard’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for extraordinary contract relief after its shipbuilding facilities sustained significant damage resulting from Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, in October 2018. In response, then Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan made the decision to grant extraordinary contract relief limited to the first four hulls. Following that, the Coast Guard revised the OPC acquisition strategy “to mitigate emergent cost and schedule risk by establishing a new, full and open competition for OPCs five and through 15, designated as Stage 2 of the overall program.”
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Baleària orders second 123-meter LNG-fueled RoPax
The new vessel will be a not-quite-identical twin of Eleanor Roosevelt.
SPANISH FERRY OPERATOR BALEÀRIA has begun the construction of a second fast passenger and cargo ferry with dual fuel natural gas engines at the Armon shipyard in Gijón, Spain. The RoPax cat will be a near sister to the Incat Crowther 123 design Eleanor Roosevelt, delivered by Armon in 2021, but will incorporate a few changes, noticeably increased power.
The ship will be named Margarita Salas, in honor of pioneering biochemist Margarita Salas, and will be Baleària’s 10th vessel with dual fuel natural gas engines, which it calls “a versatile technology that can also consume 100% biomethane, as well as green hydrogen mixtures of up to 25%, and renewable gases that are neutral in CO2 emissions.”
The Margarita Salas will have the same dimensions as the Eleanor Roosevelt, which is 123 meters (403.5 feet) long, 28 (92) meters wide and can carry 1,200 passengers and 400 vehicles, but will have modifications that include adding a second passenger deck with a seating area in the bow and doubling the area of the aft terrace with a bar service outside.
Power will be increased by 10% compared to the sister ship, with the installation of four dual fuel Wärtsilä engines delivering 9,600 kW, compared to the 8,800 kW produced by the 16V31DF main engines in the Eleanor Roosevelt. This will allow the new vessel to reach a service speed of 35 knots.
While Baleària says the dual fuel gas engines “renew its commitment to this green energy as a transition fuel,” it notes that, for a year now, it has been forced to reduce the use of LNG “due to the skyrocketing growth in its price.”
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Why you should use synthetic lubricants for inland and coastal vessel operations
Synthetic lubricants offer vessel operators a number of benefits, including enhanced equipment cleanliness, reduced component wear, extended oil drain intervals and a wide temperature operating range. Together, they can improve equipment reliability, extend engine overhauls and reduce maintenance-related downtime.
These benefits were amply demonstrated during the inspection of a Cummins KTA38 marine diesel engine, one of two main engines on a U.S. inland waterways vessel. The engine had accumulated 21,782 running hours over nine years with an initial fill of Mobilgard™ 1 HSD1 . ExxonMobil engineers evaluated the cleanliness of the engine using the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) method as per Deposit Rating Manual 20. This rates component sludge contamination on a scale from one to 10, with 10 indicating a complete absence of deposit build-up. After nearly a decade of use, the oil had delivered exceptional results across a range of test areas, including:
• Engine component cleanliness rating: 9.80 • Sump rating: 9.66 • Front of the engine block rating: 9.80 • Valve covers rating: 9.95
There was also a significant lack of damage on common wear components, such as piston skirts, piston wrist pins, cylinder liners, crankshaft and gears. Results indicated that the engine could have continued to efficiently operate for even longer, due to the extremely high levels of cleanliness and low levels of wear2 .
Learn more about ExxonMobil’s comprehensive range of marine industry solutions at: exxonmobil.com/en/marine/ marine-industry/sectors/inland-and-coastal
1 Previously branded Mobil Delvac™ 1 ESP 5W-40. 2 Based on the experience of a single customer. Actual results can vary depending upon the type of equipment used and its maintenance, operating conditions and environment, and any prior lubricant used. Extended oil drain intervals
Oil drain intervals for the Cummins engine were also safely extended to 3,000 hours – more than 10 times longer than the engine builder’s recommendation – while maintaining Cummins’ suggested filter change intervals. This helped reduce operating costs by minimising lubricant consumption, which in turn reduced the environmental impact of waste oil disposal. Additionally, oil drain extension can help to promote productivity and safety by cutting down on human-machine interactions (HMI) and equipment downtime. Cummins Marine also confirmed a switch from Mobil Delvac™ 1300 Super, a synthetic blend diesel engine oil, to Mobilgard 1 HSD can result in an increase in fuel efficiency. The value of used oil analysis
ExxonMobil’s Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis was used to monitor the health of the Cummins KTA38 marine diesel engine throughout its operation. The service provides operators with reports on the condition of equipment and lubricants with tailored recommendations and data trends designed to assist maintenance schedules. Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis also offers mobile access, enabling operators to view data wherever and whenever needed, allowing for real-time updates of sample processing and results.
Keeping pace with evolving marine regulations
Changing marine regulations are likely to have an impact on fuel formulations, which in turn will drive the need for new, high performance engine oils. ExxonMobil is therefore transferring its Delvac™ oils over into its trusted MobilGard™ family for marine customer ahead of likely reformulations. The aim is to help ensure that vessel operators remain compliant without compromising engine operation or protection.
New heave compensation solution to be used for WTIV feedering
DEME OFFSHORE US LLC is to use a new heave-compensated offshore lifting solution on its contract to install the wind turbines for the first large-scale offshore wind installation in the U.S., Vineyard Wind 1. DEME will install the turbines using a foreign-flag wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) serviced by Jones Act-compliant Foss Maritime feeder vessels.
To safely transfer the wind turbine components from the heaving feeder vessels, DEME has awarded Dutch motion compensation specialist Seaqualize the first contract for its newly developed offshore lifting device: the Heave Chief 1100.
According to Seaqualize, the battery-powered HC1100 is currently the largest active heave compensator in the world. As a balanced heave compensator, it can compensate a vessel’s heave motions and safely quick-lift loads up to 1,100 tonnes.
The Vineyard Wind 1 project will see DEME transporting and installing 62 wind turbine generators at the wind farm site off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Each turbine will be transported in components from the supply harbor to DEME’s installation vessel Sea Installer using Foss Maritime supply barges.
“We contracted Seaqualize to de-risk the Vineyard Wind project: their solution is a novel, but realistic method to safely transfer the delicate components, minimizing the risk of damage and delays,” said Glenn Carton, project director Vineyard Wind at DEME. “We think this is how feeder barge operations should be done going forward.”
Set for delivery in March 2023, the HC1100 has a load-capacity of 1,100 tonnes, required to balance turbine components of the 15 MW generation. It can reach higher quick-lift speeds than the prototype and has a longer stroke to handle the larger motions of smaller supply vessels. It also offers a single lift point for operational efficiency.
The new design further minimizes dynamic load fluctuations impacting the crane and offers passive safety procedures. In addition, Seaqualize’s in-house developed “follow-mode” allows the full load to match the movements of the target vessel. If required, quick-lift operations are fully reversible.
Seaqualize says that a number of offshore installation contractors are currently investigating how to include the Heave Chief into their feeder-barge setups and that it expects to announce an additional contract before the end of the year.
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Keystone charters third AMSC Jones Act tanker
AMSC ASA REPORTS that it has entered into a bareboat charter for one of its Jones Act tankers with Philadelphia-headquartered Keystone Shipping Company.
The contract commences in December 2022 and has a duration of three years with no extension options. The bareboat charter is supported by a back-to-back time charter of the same duration between Keystone and a leading U.S. fuel distributor. The new bareboat charter adds approximately $31.3 million to AMSC’s existing charter backlog, excluding any proceeds from a profit share component of the charter.
The news follows the June announcement that AMSC had entered into bareboat charter agreements with Keystone Shipping for two of its Jones Act tankers, with those charters commencing in December 2022.
AMSC, which up until a name change earlier this month was called American Shipping Company, owns 10 Jones Act tankers delivered between 2007 and 2011 by the then Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (now Philly Shipyard).
Originally, all 10 were on bareboat charter to Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG). However, back in December 2021, OSG announced that it had exercised options to extend its bareboat charter agreements for two vessels, but would not be exercising extension options for three other vessels.
The two bareboat charter extensions provided for additional one-year terms, commencing in December 2022 and ending in December 2023.
“We are pleased to have secured employment for the final vessel well ahead of the expiration of its current charter,” said AMSC CEO Pål Lothe Magnussen. “By successfully bareboat chartering the three ships, we have increased our charter backlog by over $91 million. Jones Act tanker capacity is likely to remain constrained for the foreseeable future, and these charters are indicative of strong demand for our vessels. Chartering these ships to a premium U.S. tanker operator like Keystone gives us a great deal of confidence that our vessels will be operated and maintained to the highest standards.”
Keystone President Donald Kurz commented, “We are pleased to add the final AMSC vessel to our fleet on a back-to-back charter with a leading U.S. fuels distributor. We are very happy to have concluded this bareboat transaction which allows us to continue to service customers in the U.S. Gulf petroleum trade.”
