Ingo Emde, R. STAHL, Germany, discusses the challenges of fuel gas supply systems and how these can be addressed through the installation of a remote I/O system.
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nternational shipping today remains a growing source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), maritime transport emitting approximately 940 million tpy of CO2 and being responsible for 2.5% of GHG emissions. Furthermore, the use of heavy fuel oil not only causes CO2 emissions but also releases fine dust, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide that significantly contributes to air and water pollution. To this end, legal restrictions on the use of heavy fuel oil are becoming ever stricter. In 2006, the IMO tightened the specified limiting values for permissible sulfur content in ship fuels and expanded restrictions on the use of fuel in inland waters, in EU seaports, and in Sulfur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) such as the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Californian coastal region of the US. As a result, ship owners must refuel their ships with much more expensive, reduced-sulfur marine diesel. In January 2020, the IMO introduced even stricter environmental requirements regulating the use of heavy fuel oil.
LNG – an environmentally friendly alternative It is against this backdrop of growing restrictions that the shipping industry has been undergoing significant changes in the way it considers the fuel it uses, with more attention paid to LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) drives as either an alternative or as a transitional technology that conserves resources. Compared to conventional maritime fuels, the use of gas-powered combustion engines reduces fine particle and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90% and sulfur dioxide emissions by 100%. LNG fuel also offers benefits in terms of cost. While the type of ship and the speed of the wider gas infrastructure will determine when the retrofitting and installation of LNG drives will yield a profit, current model calculations assume that gas drives on ships will pay off after an average of five years, based on strict environmental requirements, the price of maritime diesel, and decreasing costs of LNG supply.
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