SHIPPING: Technology and energy efficiency.

Byline: S.KAMAL HAYDER KAZMI

BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES

Many ballast water treatment systems are now available on the market and, with ratification of the IMO Convention awaiting, ship owners have an excellent opportunity to evaluate how these systems perform before the Convention enters into force. The careful selection of a treatment system is furthermore important in order to ensure that the system meets the ship-specific requirements, such as ballast water capacity, power limitations and the integration of control systems.

Another important advantage is the opportunity to gain insight into the manufacturer's commercial reliability, support network and quality of supply capabilities. The technology used will depend on the vessel type, trading pattern, vessel size and design. However, all ballast water management technologies involve a filtration process which separates particles from the water flow using membranes and hydro cyclones. The filtration measures are usually easy to install and maintain, and are often necessary to save sensitive components down the line.

SOX REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

The revised Annex VI to MARPOL 2008 regulates the SOx emissions from ships, mainly by setting a limit for the sulphur content of marine fuel oils. Within specified ECAs, the sulphur limit will be even stricter than MARPOL Annex VI. Based on a review of existing marine engine technology and expected technology developments, ship owners currently mainly have two choices if they wish to continue sailing in ECAs after 2015: install an exhaust gas scrubber or switch to low sulphur fuel including LNG.

An exhaust gas scrubber can be installed to remove sulphur from the engine exhaust gas using seawater or freshwater and/or chemicals which are pumped through the scrubber. Scrubbers can be retrofitted to ensure ECA compliance for existing ships, although there is still some uncertainty about the consequences of scaling up such installations for large diesel engines.

Low sulphur fuel options will realistically be either expensive distillates or LNG, the latter in practical terms being an option mostly for newbuildings. For newbuildings from 2016 onwards and operating in an ECA, the NOx requirements add another layer of complexity due to possible technical incompatibility between SOx and NOx solutions.

NOX REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

NOx emissions are regulated through the revised MARPOL Annex VI 2008, which puts a limit on the specific emission from...