According to a Seatrade Maritime News report, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has affirmed that LNG will not be a viable option for use as a bunker fuel, in response to the upcoming IMO 2020 global regulation requiring the use of 0.5% sulphur fuel.
Scrubbers the solution?
Bud Darr, MSC’s executive vice president of maritime policy and government affairs, said MSC will comply with IMO 2020 with a combination of compliant low-sulphur fuels and hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS).
According to analyst Alphaliner, MSC is the leader on scrubber installation with confirmed orders for equipping approximately 250 ships – nearly half the carrier’s 564-strong fleet.
Lack of LNG Bunkering
Darr, who recently spoke at the 2019 Hansa Forum in Hamburg, highlighted that LNG is not a viable option for MSC due to the limited LNG bunkering facilities available at ports.
How’s MSC Becoming Carbon Neutral?
“MSC’s fleet was greatly enhanced in recent years by a retrofitting programme. We have invested extensively in the latest low-carbon technologies, such as new energy-efficient propellers and bows to reduce fuel consumption and therefore improve our energy efficiency,” Darr said.
“In addition, we continuously monitor our environmental performance and have implemented a number of operational measures to further reduce our CO2 emissions to meet expected new regulations and goals set by the IMO,” he said.
Diverse Solutions The Way?
Darr pointed out that there is no one size fits all solution to decarbonise the shipping industry, but diverse range of solutions are required to enable the container shipping sector to meet low carbon emissions by 2050.
Innovative Solutions Required To Meet the 2020 Goal
The ambitious goal set by the IMO to half the carbon emissions by 2050 requires innovative solutions to meet the demand for alternative fuels, and to further develop low carbon technologies to enhance ship design, according to MSC.
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Source: Seatrade Maritime News
