Get Singapore shipping lines to use cleaner fuel, like in HK

Straits Times 13 Sep 10;

I REFER to last Thursday's report ('Maersk turns to cleaner fuel in HK') which said that Danish shipping giant Maersk Line will switch to cleaner, low-sulphur fuel when its ships make port calls in Hong Kong - which is about 850 times a year.

This will cost the company an extra US$1 million (S$1.34 million) a year, but it is worth it - for the people of Hong Kong.

The article went on to explain that the bunker fuel widely used by the shipping industry 'has high nitrogen and sulphur content, making it significantly more noxious than other types of fuel'.

It sounds terrible, and indeed it is. Sulphuric emissions contain microscopic particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs. They are invisible and potentially more harmful than the large-particle haze we can see.

Since Jan 1 this year, Europe has required ships in its waters to use the cleaner fuel. The United States and Canada will do the same from 2012.

Asia has lagged behind.

It continues to allow dirty fuel and leaves it to the shippers to voluntarily switch to the cleaner variety. It is commendable that Maersk Line has done this in Hong Kong.

Now, how about us? Will Maersk and other shipping companies switch to cleaner fuel here too?

It all comes down to costs. A Maersk spokesman admitted: 'If we chose to switch to low-sulphur fuels all over the Asian region, it would give us a serious competitive disadvantage.'

Maersk said it was singling out Hong Kong partly because of calls for action from Civic Exchange, a public policy institution that is active on environmental issues, and also because of the proximity of the port to a densely populated city.

Singapore also should require all ships using our waterways and berthed in our port to use low-sulphur fuel. Are there plans to do so?

Perhaps the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the other relevant authorities can comment.

Larry Haverkamp

Singapore in forefront of steps to curb ship-linked pollution
Straits Times 20 Sep 10;

WE THANK Mr Larry Haverkamp for his letter ('Get shipping lines to use cleaner fuel, like in HK'; Sept 13), about using low-sulphur fuel. Singapore is one of the few Asian countries which is party to all the annexes of Marpol - the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) convention for the prevention of ship-source pollution, including air pollution.

Marpol signatories have agreed to a timetable for the progressive reduction of sulphur oxide emissions from ships. From January 2012, the global sulphur cap for marine fuel oil will be cut to 3.5 per cent from the current 4.5 per cent; and reduced progressively until it reaches 0.5 per cent from January 2020, subject to a feasibility review.

The timetable takes into account the complexities involved in changing the fuel type globally and the preparation needed by countries, shipping companies and marine fuel oil suppliers.

Beyond Marpol, harbour craft in Singapore's port waters already use marine distillate fuels such as marine gas oil, which have low sulphur content.

Ships at anchor or alongside berths also use low-sulphur fuel like diesel for their auxiliary engines.

We welcome shipping firms which are ready to take the lead in using low-sulphur fuel for their main engines in the approaches to the Singapore port.

We also actively support research and development in maritime environment protection and clean technologies under the $100 million Maritime Innovation and Technology Fund.

Together with the Nanyang Technological University, we have a maritime clean energy research programme that promotes green, carbon-neutral energy management solutions.

Capt M. Segar
Group Director (Hub Port)
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore


Maersk to Use Cleaner Fuel in Its Hong Kong Shipping
Bettina Wassener The New York Times 7 Sep 10;

HONG KONG — Aiming to reduce noxious fumes in one of the most densely populated parts of Asia, the Danish shipping giant Maersk Line said Tuesday that its ships would switch to low-sulfur fuel when at berth in Hong Kong — a move it hopes will help quicken regulation in Asia.

Maersk makes about 850 port calls a year to Hong Kong. The company estimated the voluntary switch from cheap, polluting bunker fuel to the cleaner fuel, which costs about $250 more a ton, would cost an extra $1 million a year.

“We feel this is a good investment to get the ball rolling,” Tim Smith, chief executive of Maersk Line’s North Asia operations, said in an interview. “The wheels of government turn very slowly here, and we hope that our initiative will help accelerate regulation and prompt others to follow suit.”

Bunker fuel, widely used by the shipping industry, has high nitrogen and sulfur content, making it significantly more noxious than other types of fuel.

Emission regulations require ships to use far cleaner fuel while they are in waters around much of Europe, including the North Sea and the English Channel, and a similar policy will come into force along the United States and Canadian coastlines in 2012.

No such regulations apply along Asian coastlines, however, in part because of the complex research and international liaison work that is needed to bring about a coherent framework for the industry.

Maersk said it was singling out Hong Kong for the move to cleaner fuel partly because of calls for action from Civic Exchange, a public policy institution that is active on environmental issues, and partly because of the proximity of the shipping industry to the densely populated city.

Shipping emissions are a major contributor to the poor air quality in Hong Kong and the wider Pearl River Delta, which carries heavy global shipping traffic. Pollution in Hong Kong regularly soars above levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization.

Maersk said the move would reduce its emissions of sulfur and particulate matter — tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the lung when inhaled — in Hong Kong by at least 80 percent.

Other shippers are expected to follow Maersk’s example under a voluntary industry charter that has been agreed to in principle by many leading companies and is expected to be officially announced next month.

Arthur Bowring, the managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, who helped push for the charter, said he was “very pleased” with Maersk’s move and the wider support that was signaled Tuesday at a meeting of industry representatives on the topic of cleaner fuels in Hong Kong.

“We see this as a first step that will hopefully lead to wider regulation,” he said. “We like regulation, because it creates a level playing field. It’s a very odd situation, under which the industry is pushing the government for action, rather than the other way round.”

A spokesman for Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department, Felix Leung, said by e-mail that the government welcomed the shipping companies’ initiative to switch to low-sulfur fuel.

Going green ahead of schedule
Progress on environmental issues can be made via cooperation, not just legislation
David Hughes Business Times 20 Sep 10;

SOMETIMES, it can seem that debates on environmental issues affecting shipping are really only the concern of the European countries, the US and a few others.

In fact, Singapore is very concerned with environmental issues and is investing significantly in this area. Moreover, as Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore group director (Hub Port) M Segar pointed out in a letter to The Straits Times this week, Singapore is one of the few Asian countries that is party to all the annexes of Marpol - the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention for the prevention of ship-source pollution.

Capt Segar was responding to a letter to the newspaper that had been prompted by the actions of major container shipping line Maersk.

At the start of this month, Maersk Line vessels began using low-sulphur fuel while at berth in Hong Kong. The company said that its move marked the first voluntary fuel-switch scheme in Asia and would cost it US$1 million a year. It said that based on experience in California, Houston and elsewhere, it was ready to act fast with other shipping lines when the Civic Exchange, a local business NGO, and Hong Kong's environmental authorities explored the possibility of a local fuel switch.

Air pollution has long been a concern in the Chinese territory, and the Hong Kong Shipowners' Association was notable in supporting Intertanko when it proposed that the whole commercial fleet switch to distillate fuel.

Sulphur reduction

This initiative prompted local letter writer Larry Haverkamp to suggest a similar initiative here.

Singapore is a strong supporter of IMO, and Capt Segar pointed out that Marpol signatories, including, of course, Singapore, have agreed to a timetable for the progressive reduction of sulphur emissions from ships. From January 2012, the global sulphur cap for marine fuel oil will be cut to 3.5 per cent from the current 4.5 per cent, and reduced progressively until it reaches 0.5 per cent from January 2020, subject to a feasibility review.

So sulphur levels will come down, and in fact, harbour craft in Singapore's port waters already use marine distillate fuels such as marine gas oil, which have a low sulphur content. Ships at anchor or alongside berths also use low-sulphur fuel such as diesel for their auxiliary engines.

But it looks like the door is open to voluntary initiatives to move faster. In an apparent nod to the Hong Kong approach, Capt Segar said: 'We welcome shipping firms that are ready to take the lead in using low-sulphur fuel for their main engines in the approaches to the Singapore port.'

The important thing here is that progress on environmental issues can be made through cooperation, rather than simply relying on legislation. And along these lines, several major industry players in London are joining forces with environmental groups to work together on issues including climate change, rising fuel costs, new patterns of global trade and other challenges.

Ambitious project

Maersk Line, Gearbulk, BP Shipping, Lloyd's Register and ABN Amro announced this week that they are working with Forum for the Future and WWF on an ambitious project that aims to chart a course to a sustainable future. Forum for the Future describes itself as the the UK's leading sustainable development NGO, while the WWF is an international organisation working on issues ranging from species and habitat survival to climate change.

According to its founding members, the new project - the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) - will examine the challenges and opportunities that face the industry over the next 30 years and what it needs to do to ensure that, by 2040, it is robust and profitable with a strong record of social and environmental responsibility.

'Shipping plays a vital role in global trade and affects the lives of billions of people around the world,' said Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future. 'Smart shipping companies can see the way the wind is blowing in terms of today's pressing sustainability issues, and leadership of this kind is crucial to the future success of the whole industry.'

Clearly, the idea is to make this project a global one. Given changing attitudes, in Asia now, as well as elsewhere, this does not sound as far-fetched as it would have just a few years ago.