The shipping industry is 'green' and is striving to become 'greener' which is certainly costing a lot of 'Green backs'.
So said Intertanko's technical director Dragos Rauta, addressing the Greener Shipping Summit 2017, in Athens, November 14. Though the industry is "facing a big green tsunami", Rauta said "shipping is resilient" but it is up to the industry to ensure the "regulations being imposed upon it are practical and will do their job". Though the industry's regulator, the Imo, seems to have won something of a victory with the European Parliament and European Union agreeing just before the Summit to revise the EUs Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to exclude shipping to allow Imo's CO2 reduction strategy to proceed, ship operators have to be more proactive in putting their view, if regulations "are to be more realistic and holistic" it was stressed throughout the day-long Summit. Indeed, speakers and delegates saw the EU's decision as a way of putting pressure on Imo. Rauta, Dimitrios Kostaras, gm, Pantheon Tankers Management, Bureau Veritas' vp technology and business development, John Kokarakis and Panos Zachariadis, technical director, Atlantic Bulk Carriers and regular member of Greece's Imo delegation, all saw the decision as a threat, warning Imo to take action or else. Whether this is the case or not, shipping is faced with challenges as the regulations continue to come and will have to be implemented at a considerable cost. As summit chairman, Kostaras stressed: "There is great uncertainty about what is required and the extent of the improvement that will be achieved. We all need accurate information and should never make implementation a last minute decision." Further he warned: "Be very careful about the choice being made when it comes to equipment, which is largely untest, so make sure the equipment meets your specific needs." Organised by Newsfront / Naftiliaki, under the auspice of the highly influential Hellenic Marine Technical Managers Association, (Martecma), the Summit some 530 delegates from 161 companies and 15 countries registered for the Summit held at the Eugenides Foundation. A great deal was heard about scrubbers and the SOx cap. On the cap, Kostas Vlachos, coo of CMM, said any changeover can not occur “overnight” without serious economical consequences. "All stakeholders, regulators, refineries, owners, associations, makers and states, have to play a very important and critical role for the effective, efficient and soft implementation." He noted there are various options available for implementation along with respective challenges and the pros and cons of each one of them must be considered carefully prior to the final decision taken. "On the other hand the refineries based on actual demand vs supply data shall decide for the proper investments timely so that compliant fuels to be available," he said. "Engine makers love them," declared Jesper Arvidsson of MAN Diesel & Turbo. "No engine modifications are usually needed, and if they are they are minor." Concerning the SOx cap, he said "fuel quality varies so much it causes problems for engines". But there is uncertainty about regulations and when it comes to scrubbers a big investment is required so the uptake has been slow, but, said Arvidsson: "We expect to see more financing solutions being offered to operators on the part of the makers and the fuel suppliers". Stavros Hatzigrigoris, md Maran Gas Maritime, and Martecma chairman, also talking about scrubbers and the financials involved noted oil majors are chartering VLCCs with scrubbers. Indeed, like Hatzigrigoris several speakers pointed out charterers are driving the move to implement regulations, by their choice of ship. The availability of low sulphur fuel was a major concern for many attending this week’s Greener Shipping Summit 2017. Imo's decision to reduce the bunker fuel specification to 0.5% from 1st January 2020 is clear, however "there remains a great deal of uncertainty around the regulatory framework, much of which may not become any clearer until 2019" said Sara Lawrence, global technical manager, Shell Marine. "What is clear is that this industry change could result in up to 300m barrels per day of HSFO being displaced by 0.5% sulphur fuel," she said. Lawrence maintained refineries are starting to prepare and will be ready. She said "in reality all fuel options will have a role to play in meeting the legislation". "It is our view that at least initially, a significant portion of this will be 0.5% fuel oils that are likely to differ from traditional fuel oils and therefore similar challenges to those seen for the 0.1% ECA fuel should be anticipated," she said. She was confident Shell will be able to supply across the fuel options, adding the lubricant choice is determined by the fuel choice, the engine type and the operation. "Changes in fuels and lubricants and the increased uncertainty re-emphasises the need for robust technical services, which can help to reduce risk and minimise costs," said Lawrence. Maria Kyratsoudi, FOBAS specialist Lloyd's Register, said as we head towards 2020 it will be costly and those that decide to wait and ignore what is coming will create serious commercial distortion. "Using distillate fuels and ultra low sulphur fuel oils, is the most possible scenario for compliance for the majority of the owners," she said. LR has "already experienced compatibility and cold flow property issues as well problems with the variation of the quality of these specific fuels in several key parameters. New ISO 8217:2017 addresses changing natures of the marine fuel products, with the future likely to see more synthetic and renewables blended into the predominantly hydrocarbon fuels. "It will be a gradual transition to a decreasingly conventional fuel mix to new types of fuels or means of compliance. Definitely there will certainly not be a single solution for everyone," said Kyratsoudi. Are ballast water treatment systems working, was another question being asked. ABS' vessel performance analyst Antony Vourdachas, noted there are currently six USCG Approved systems, some USCG AMS and 60-plus with Imo Resolution MEPC.174(58) 2008 G8 Type approval. "Despite this, there is a lack of feedback on the operational performance of the various treatment systems installed." He said a questionnaire inquiring about challenges and lessons learned regarding installed BWTS systems was sent to 27 shipowners, covering 220 vessels and eight technologies. "Analysing responses, only 14% of the systems installed are functioning satisfactorily. Another 14% are reported as totally inoperable," he said. Dividing the challenges into hardware, software failures, logs and manual, spares and maintenance "each technology type suffers from each problem to a varying degree". A set of best practices has been developed covering, Installation, commissioning, planning and execution, training, operations, maintenance and repair, and contingency measures to assist owners with the whole of the BWTS project. The session on 'soft skills' or the art of encouraging personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people, generated great interest. Panagiotis Koutris, md, Kristen Marine / Roxana Shipping and Intertanko committee member, outline a project by OCIMF and Intertanko to promote soft skills, while Stephen Bligh, senior principal consultant, DNV GL, addressed the need for soft skills when it come to inspections and audits. Data collection and analysis and the technology that is available to help shipping become more efficient, safer and greener, by meeting the demands of the regulators, was also widely discussed. Dimitris Theodossiou, the man behind Danaos Management Consultants noted data analytics has been always fundamental to capitalise on shipping investments. But, “big data has offered the industry very advanced tools to analyse current and historic information in order to streamline vessel operation for safety, efficiency and, of course, for the environment,” declared Theodossiou.