EMEA News
ECAs Offer Innovation Opportunities for Bunker Saving Technology
The implementation of Emission Control Area (ECA) sulfur regulations next year is giving the shipping industry an added push towards innovation, reports Industrial News Service.
Imposing sulfur limits of 0.10 percent by weight in marine fuel used in ECAs has prompted many companies to make provisions for converting to marine gas oil (MGO), but that has also substantially raised fuel costs for shippers.
"By optimizing the performance of each vessel switching fuel, there's an extra 15-20% of additional savings to be made," said Thomas Franck, former chairman of the Finnish Shipowners' Association and board member of Finland's Nanol Technologies.
"To do this effectively we need to take into account all variables that will impact efficiency; from the propeller design to the texture of the paint on the hull ... Sometimes changing even the smallest factor can add up to big savings."
Nanol's signature product is currently a copper lubricant additive which will decrease friction and energy loss, in addition to reducing wear and tear of ship components.
"The shipping industry needs to be proactive about the future," said Henrik Dahl, CEO of Eniram, which specializes in energy management technology.
"Legislation won't end the cargo business because on a cost per unit basis, shipping is still the most energy efficient mean of transportation.
"But sometimes legislation needs to come first to encourage the industry to innovate."
Implementing ECAs has also induced innovation on the side of regulators, with Denmark having committed substantial funding to drone technology as sulfur compliance measures.
