CLIMATE ISSUES IN SHIPPING OPERATIONS

The theme of the 2022 Donsö Shipping Meet, Clean Ocean with Future in Sight, with the climate issue in focus, is expected to play a crucial role for the maritime industries for many years to come. A transformation is necessary, and it needs to happen relatively fast.

“The Donsö Shipping Meet is an excellent opportunity for the entire maritime industry, including technology companies, universities, shipping companies, subcontractors and others working with shipping, to come together and discuss these issues,” says Claes Berglund, Director Public Affairs & Sustainability, Stena AB

At global level, the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) has agreed that greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping must be reduced by 50 per cent by 2050, compared to 2008. For the EU, the targets are even tougher: 55 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050. 

“We’re looking at the upcoming regulations and we want to be ahead of the curve and exceed the targets,” says Claes Berglund. “The most topical issue now is emissions trading, which aims to include the maritime industries from 2023 onwards.” 

The climate issue and reducing carbon emissions have been on Stena’s agenda for many years. As part of this, the Stena Germanica was converted to methanol operation in 2015 – a pilot project that has yielded good results and prompted more shipping companies to look at methanol as a possible alternative. 

“There are currently a number of development projects underway in the industry to find renewable alternatives to fossil fuels,” says Claes Berglund. “The main reason we’ve stuck with methanol is that it can be produced in so many ways. As a result, we believe that it will play an increasingly important role in maritime supply over the next 20–30 years.”

However, a crucial factor is the infrastructure in the ports and the availability of the fuel needed.

“For Stena Line, it is about fixed routes between two ports,” says Ron Gerlach, Technical Director Stena AB. “On the bulk side, it’s more complicated because it involves different ports all the time.”

Another important area for further work is energy efficiency improvement.

“The best energy is that which is not used,” says Ron Gerlach. “Although we have been working on these issues for a long time, there is still a lot to do. This includes technical measures such as optimized propellers and hull lines, but also maximizing the use of our vessel capacity. With more than 100 vessels in our fleet, it makes a big difference if everyone who works on board is involved and contributes to this.” 

The next step is to electrify as much of the ferry fleet as possible and use renewable electricity.

“On the Stena Jutlandica we have installed a large battery that can be charged with electricity from shore,” says Claes Berglund. “The goal is to be able to sail fully electric on our routes for up to 3–4 hours. The vision is to have a fully electrified ship by 2030.”

Carbon capture and storage, CCS, is another area of major interest. In the long term, this could help create a shipping industry that is not only carbon neutral, but even carbon negative. 

“We are currently working with our customers to see if we can capture the carbon dioxide and store it on board,” says Claes Berglund.