LNG or nuclear long-term alternative fuels for shipping?

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As questions are raised about the environmental impact of very low sulphur fuels that comply with the IMO 2020 regulation some Greek shipping executives believe that LNG or even nuclear power would be a cleaner option for the future.

Panos Zachariadis, technical manager, Atlantic Bulk Carriers Management told the Naftemporiki Shipping Conference, in Athens last week that the IMO 2020 regulation for low sulphur is good for our health but bad for global warming. He cited an MIT study, which found the temperature of the planet will increase by 0.25%.

 “Alternative sources of energy is the solution and one of them could be nuclear technology,” said Zachariadis.

We don’t know about nuclear technology, but George Polychroniou, an executive with Greece’s Public Gas Corp declared, “the future is LNG”. He noted that in western Europe installations are already supplying LNG while central Europe is investing in the supply of LNG. He said passenger ships, container ships and cruise ships can easily use LNG as they have more or less standard itineraries.

“LNG is a long-term solution and later it will be substituted by a renewable form of LNG,” said Polychroniou.

President of Greece’s association for ferry and ro-pax ship owners, the Association of Passenger Shipping Companies, Michael Sakellis,  said studies regarding passenger ship newbuildings indicate the newbuilding should be able to use both LNG and low sulphur fuel.

TAGS: Regulation