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Technology, innovation and the global shipping challenge

Technology, innovation and the global shipping challenge
A focus on research and development (R&D), continual refinement of technology and greater innovations are increasingly seen as being the tools required to take on the challenges of the global shipping and maritime industry.

While there are many challenges facing the shipping industry, those three areas of focus would serve to tackle at least two key problems: consistently high bunker fuel prices and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by ocean-going vessels. At a Green Technologies Seminar held in Singapore last week, more than 150 industry executives gathered to learn about developments on green technologies, exchange views and ask burning questions on vessel efficiency and fuel savings.

The seminar, jointly organised by ClassNK and Seatrade, attracted a range of speakers with indepth knowledge on various technological innovations and energy efficient features that can be applied onto ships.

“Even as (freight) rates and ship prices remain low, the price of bunker fuel has skyrocketed. In addition, concerns over emissions have led to shipyards and shipowners looking to build low emission vessels,” Tetsuya Kinoshita, managing director at ClassNK, told the seminar.

Shaj Thayil, vice president, technical services & ship management, APL, said that while the major driver of using eco-ships is to lower fuel costs, the wider benefit of reducing harmful emissions should not be forgotten. “Now the shipping industry and we at APL have over the past couple of years focused on the environment profile, protecting the oceans, conserving energy and minimising risks,” Thayil said.

One of the more straightforward ways of saving fuel is to select the right engine type, according to Kazutaka Shimada, manager, planning group, diesel design department at Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. In his presentation, Shimada said the Mitsui-MAN B&W G-Series engine is able to reap potential fuel savings of 4-7% through longer stroke, lower RPM and larger propeller, under the right operating conditions.

The newly developed ME-GI, or gas injection diesel engine, part of the G-Series, works by injecting fuel gas at the same timing as conventional oil burning engines, and its heat cycle is equivalent to the diesel cycle. It also allows seamless switching between burning fuel oil and natural gas, Shimada pointed out.

Another more complex way to achieve fuel savings is cargo heating management, as highlighted by Tang Hui, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. “Heating cargo oil consumes a lot of fuel. If the temperature is increased from 44 degrees Celsius to 66 degrees Celsius in 96 hours, there will be a need to consume two times the amount of fuel,” Tang said.

The university is currently developing the management software for cargo heating system that aims to provide optimal settings for boiler operational process, fuel consumption minimisation strategies, suggestions on waste heat management, and ease of handling by the ship's crew onboard. “There is no concrete number in mind as of now on the percentage of fuel reduction. Depending on who is operating the system, the consumption of cargo heating oil can be quite different,” Tang explained.

On the R&D and innovation fronts, Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI), an arm of the NYK Group, is working on a NYK Super Eco Ship for launch in 2030. The future concept 8,000 teu, 353-metre long containership is expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 69% compared to existing boxship models, according to Tomonori Ishii, head, Singapore representative office, MTI.

“Recent environmental regulations require technical and operational improvement of marine transportation. Sharing short term and long term visions are necessary for R&D,” Ishii said.

NYK has a short term target to reduce 10% emissions from its shipping fleet in 2013 compared to 2006. There is also a longer term goal to contribute to global efforts to cut GHG emissions by half in 2050, and to discover more innovations to work towards reducing 85% of CO2 emissions per tonne-mile, considering that marine transport is growing at 3% a year.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) offered another novel technology that seeks to reduce frictional drag on the under-surface of a vessel. Chiharu Kawakita, research manager, Nagasaki Research and Development Center, Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, MHI, said: “Between 50% to 70% of a ship's resistance is due to skin friction. Skin frictional drag is a longstanding problem for shipbuilding engineers.”

The MHI innovation known as MALS (Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System), which blows air to the bottom of the hull to create a layer of air bubbles, has been tested to help vessels reduce about 10% of fuel cost and CO2 emissions, Kawakita claimed.

ClassNK and Finland-based software solutions provider NAPA have also joined hands to launch the ClassNK-NAPA Green, a comprehensive eco-efficient solution for shipowners and operators to cut fuel usage and emissions, said Wang YF, manager at ClassNK Singapore Office.

The software solution uses an accurate dynamic performance model fine-tuned with analysis of measured operational data for owners to realise savings through voyage planning, weather routing, performance analysis, speed and trim optimisation, propulsion resistance management, and real-time monitoring, while not compromising safety, Wang highlighted.

The heightened focus on the environment and energy savings would also serve to help meet IMO's impending regulation on a global 0.50% cap on the sulphur content of bunker fuel by 2020 or 2025, subject to a review in 2018. Against the regulatory backdrop, the wider application of technological innovations and the use of fuel efficient ships would certainly become more pressing requirements for the industry.