As owners devise their decarbonisation strategy, some will need to modify their ship’s propulsion system for optimal performance at lower speeds or renew their fleets with low- and zero-emissions vessels.
Path Towards Decolonization
“Everyone has to get on a path to decarbonisation,” Berg Propulsion Pte Ltd general manager Michael Petersen tells Singapore Solutions. Container ships that were originally designed and built to operate at between 23 to 24 knots are slow steaming to save fuel and reduce emissions, he gives as an example. Mr Petersen points out that propellers for these vessels were designed for optimal performance at one fixed point. “Now we are operating at different operational profile speeds or even routes.” In such cases, he says, a European shipowner might discuss propulsion upgrades or modifications to their ships with Berg Propulsion’s ship energy efficiency group in Sweden.
Mr Petersen notes there is support from authorities in the form of reduced port fees and other incentives in Europe and the Western Hemisphere for shipowners that invest in and adopt green technologies. “This makes it viable for shipowners to invest in these technologies. In Asia, however, we do not really see that,” he says. One of the efforts he cites is an initiative by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore to replace the 1,600 conventionally diesel-powered harbor craft operating in the city-state’s port with electrically powered vessels.
OVS Building Spree Ahead
Turning to the offshore support vessel sector, Mr Petersen anticipates a “building spree” on the horizon because “OSVs in the southeast Asia fleet are aging.” He notes Berg Propulsion is working with Middle Eastern owners on a series of 12 anchor handlers in a power range of 80 to 100 tonnes of bollard pull. He says the vessels would be diesel-electric with “small battery packs on board.” He describes the project as a “new opportunity” and calls the owner, “the frontrunner of those companies that are renewing their fleets.”
To leverage emerging opportunities in the offshore vessel sector, Berg Propulsion inked a partnership with Evolution Concepts to provide propulsion solutions for the zero-emissions ZEVO OSV concept. By partnering to provide propulsion solutions for the ZEVO project, Mr Petersen says Berg has joined “a total entity that comes with design, the capability to engineer and even build for customers.”
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Source: Riveramm
