- Hapag-Lloyd highlighted bio- and e-methane as future marine fuel options to achieve its self-imposed target of net-zero GHG emissions for its entire fleet by 2045.
- Hapag-Lloyd has set an interim goal of a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity for its entire fleet of 266 vessels by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.
- It has started bunkering biofuels and LNG on some of its vessels and plans to incorporate bio- and e-methane into its future fuel mix.
Shipowner Hapag-Lloyd has reported that it reduced the absolute greenhouse gas emissions of its fleet by 0.8 million tonnes in 2023 compared to the previous year, and it also ‘significantly increased the amount of bunkered biofuel blend to more than 200,000 tonnes’, reports Engine.
Hapag-Lloyd burned more biofuels & LNG in 2023
In its new Sustainability Report 2023, Hapag-Llloyd noted that last year also saw the successful deployment of three of its 12 new dual-fuel vessels, which can run on LNG and ‘future alternative fuels’.
In addition, the company has also launched Ship Green, a biofuel-based solution for emissions-reduced ocean transportation that allows its customers to choose between three levels of CO2e reduction for their shipments.
In the Climate and Environmental Protection section of the publication, the company reported that its total bunker consumption for 2023 was 3,971, 755 metric tonnes (mt), which was down on the 2022 total of 4,139,762 mt.
The combined volume of low sulphur fuel oil and MDO consumed in 2023 was down quite substantially from 2022 – from 3,607,570 mt to 3,196,549 mt – whilst the volume of high sulphur fuel oil (the grade that can be used by scrubber-equipped ships was up from 527,611 mt to 752,437 mt. Meanwhile, there was also a more than fourfold increase in LNG – from 4,582 mt to 22,769 mt – as the new dual-fuel vessels came into operation.
While the company hailed the introduction of its LNG-fuelled vessels, it acknowledged that ‘methane slip’ is a subject of ‘critical debate’ and said that: ‘In order to minimise methane emissions on board, the main engine of the Brussels Express [its first LNG-powered vessel] was equipped with a high-pressure gas injection system. This has also been implemented on our new dual-fuel vessels.’
Hapag-Lloyd also noted that ‘several fuels are currently being considered as potential alternatives to fossil fuels’, but added that ‘it is not yet clear which fuels, if any, will emerge as suitable’.
The company gave an update on its progress, saying: ‘We are working in close cooperation with industry partners to investigate possible ways of using alternatives such as methanol as a more sustainable fuel source or indeed more sustainable propulsion technologies. A concept for a methanol ship was developed and presented in the reporting period, as well as a concept for a sail-assisted container vessel.’
Click here to access Hapag-Lloyd’s Sustainability Report 2023.
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Source: Engine
