Alternative Fuels
Joint study examines ecological impact of ammonia bunker fuel spills during bunkering and collisions
EDF, LR and Ricardo research found that estuaries, mangroves and wetlands are particularly sensitive to potential ammonia fuel spills compared to the polar regions and the deep sea.
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2 years agoon
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AdminA joint study released by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Lloyd’s Register (LR) and Ricardo PLC, examines the potential marine environmental impacts of ammonia spills during its use as a shipping fuel, according to LR on Monday (21 November).
The study, which used extensive modelling due to the scarcity of real-world data, focuses specifically on the impacts of large ammonia bunker fuel spill scenarios on marine habitats.
Potential effects on aquatic environments and associated ecological receptors were assessed in scenarios if a spill were to occur during bunkering, or in the case of a ship’s collision and sinking. In addition, possible mitigation measures and specific spill management practices for these scenarios were modelled and studied.
“The shipping industry must make a rapid energy transition to address the climate emergency. But it is also clear that we must proceed with caution. We owe it to future generations to ensure we are championing true climate solutions that will not negatively impact our rivers, our oceans or our health,” said Marie Hubatova, Director of Global Shipping for EDF's Global Transport team.
The study examined potential ammonia fuel spills during bunkering and collision scenarios, under a variety of conditions, including time of day, temperature, humidity and solar radiation. The outputs were tested across eight habitats (rivers, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, coral reefs, mangroves, polar regions and the deep sea) using multiple ecological receptors (bacteria, plankton, macrophytes, invertebrates, fish, birds, reptiles, and marine mammals).
The study found that estuaries, mangroves and wetlands are particularly sensitive to potential ammonia fuel spills compared to the polar regions and the deep sea. Within these habitats, it is typically fish which are most sensitive to an ammonia spill, with birds and mammals to a lesser degree.
Lauren Dawson, Senior Consultant, Water and Environment Practice, Ricardo, said: “Examining the impact of ammonia is a challenge because of the vast conditions a ship might face while at sea or even when bunkered. Critical factors to consider include the various ship and storage types, the underlying principles which determine the fate of ammonia in the environment, and the diversity of aquatic habitats and species that could be affected.”
“Ultimately, what we found is that ammonia is more threatening to fish species, and particularly to ecosystems with less saline water and higher temperatures. It is therefore important to study the impact of ammonia carefully for particular regions where these habitats intersect with major shipping channels and ports, such as the Strait of Malacca. The findings of the report provide an excellent step forward to delivering a baseline upon which future assessments can be refined.”
The results were then compared to previously studied habitat and species sensitivity to conventional oil-based fuels. Overall, an ammonia spill has a relatively smaller dispersion distance and lower persistence within the environment when compared to heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO).
Existing reports show that oil-based fuels have higher impacts on invertebrates and birds, compared with ammonia. Ammonia has a medium impact on all other ecological receptors, except bacteria, whereas oil-based fuels have medium impacts on plankton, fish, macrophytes, reptiles and marine mammals (see the Table summarising the environmental impact level in page 5 of our summary report).
While the maritime industry has prior experience with ammonia transported in gas carriers and used as refrigerant, the introduction of ammonia as a shipping fuel creates new challenges related to safe bunkering, storage, supply and consumption for different ship types. The potential toxicity of ammonia cannot be ignored; without mitigation measures and solid spill management practices, an ammonia fuel spill could have negative impacts on aquatic environments. Therefore, a robust regulatory framework must be developed for ammonia to be a viable, low carbon alternative for shipping.
“There are many questions around the use of ammonia as a shipping fuel. Studies like this support the industry’s understanding of the environmental impacts as well as the operational and safety challenges. Greater clarity about the risks posed to marine ecosystems will allow industry stakeholders to make better informed decisions on the multiple transition pathways under consideration,” said Andy Franks, Senior Risk Specialist, LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub.
Note: The full article can be found here while the full report Ammonia at sea: studying the potential impact of ammonia as a shipping fuel on marine ecosystems can be downloaded here.
Photo credit: Lloyd’s Register
Published: 22 November, 2022
Bunker Fuel
SIBCON 2024: EnterpriseSG to launch new Singapore standard for e-BDN
EnterpriseSG, through the Singapore Standards Council, will launch a new Singapore Standard 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation.
Published
17 hours agoon
October 10, 2024By
AdminEnterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC), will launch a new Singapore Standard (SS) 709 Specification for Digital Bunkering Supply Chain Documentation, according to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Wednesday (9 October).
MPA said the new standard will ensure data consistency and interoperability between digital systems and facilitate smoother transactions through trusted and verifiable digital bunkering documents.
This comes following Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Transport, announcing that from 1 April 2025, all bunker suppliers will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes (e-BDNs) as a default.
The move was decided following successful pilots conducted since 1 November 2023 with bunker suppliers, including the top 10 bunker players, in Singapore.
To further enhance transparency and transaction integrity in bunkering operations, MPA will also introduce a centralised e-BDN record verification facility. This enables key stakeholders to verify the e-BDN received against the information transmitted to MPA.
EnterpriseSG has also launched the revised Singapore Standard (SS) 648 Code of Practice for Bunker Mass Flow Metering to include data integrity and transmission requirements in line with this new digital standard.
In the first eight months of 2024, MPA said Singapore saw strong growth of approximately 7% in total bunker sales over the same period last year, reaching over 36 million tonnes. Biofuels and liquefied natural gas bunker sales surpassed 700,00 metric tonnes.
To support the operationalisation of a higher mix of low-carbon alternative fuels, both EnterpriseSG and MPA are developing the Singapore standards for methanol bunkering and ammonia bunkering by 2024 and 2025 respectively.
The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels.
MPA also announced that three major shipping lines — Hafnia, K-Line, and MOL — are in early discussions to join the Singapore - Port of Los Angeles (LA)- Port of Long Beach (LB) Green and Digital Shipping Corridor (GDSC) initiative.
Each partner would be expected to spearhead a project to advance the corridor’s decarbonisation and digitalisation goals, such as the adoption of net-zero fuels, Just-in-Time route optimisation, and energy efficiency technologies such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.
The addition of the new partners will significantly strengthen the GDSC’s capacity to drive innovation in sustainable shipping practices and accelerate the adoption of zero/near-zero emission fuels and green technologies along the corridor.
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Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 10 October, 2024
Alternative Fuels
SIBCON 2024: SGMF releases methanol and ammonia bunkering guidelines
SFMF published Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia; also revealed new brand to reflect four key future marine fuels.
Published
17 hours agoon
October 10, 2024By
AdminSGMF on Wednesday (9 October) announced the release of the Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia and Bunkering Guidelines for Methanol, as well as the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia.
During the 23rd Singapore International Bunkering Conference (SIBCON), SGMF also revealed its new brand reflecting the organisation’s current activities in the four key marine fuels for the future: LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.
SGMF is a membership-based organisation leading safe maritime decarbonisation with members across the full value chain of marine fuels, including suppliers, operators, owners, equipment manufacturers, class societies, port authorities, individuals and training organisations.
While the search for the perfect alternative fuel continues, SGMF said methanol and ammonia are two of the fuels that the global merchant fleet has identified and is looking to implement, emphasising the importance of these guidelines.
Methanol – With the first vessels already running on methanol, and many more on order, methanol is ahead of the curve in terms of adoption. It has also overtaken regulation, meaning that these early adopters are having to put forward safety solutions that have not yet been documented, and bunker suppliers using existing chemical carriers are trying to second guess what conversion and equipment may be needed to make their vessels physically compatible with the ships being produced. These methanol bunkering guidelines have been published as a first draft to highlight the key safety factors that need to be considered when designing and bunkering a vessel of any type with methanol.
Ammonia – Despite ammonia (NH3) not yet being commercially available as a marine fuel, this bunkering document provides guidance to all the stakeholders currently investigating and developing the bunkering of ships with fully refrigerated (-33°C) ammonia.
A range of potential hazards are expected with bunkering ammonia and to date there is very limited experience, with only one series of bunkering trials conducted as at March 2024.
As a result, Bunkering Guidelines for Ammonia draws primarily on the current experience of LNG bunkering, the wider ammonia marine transport industry and the shoreside ammonia production and transport industry experience.
“The overall aim of these guidelines is therefore to ensure that ammonia-fuelled ships are bunkered safely, reliably, efficiently and in an environmentally responsible way, targeting the avoidance of operational or fugitive emissions of ammonia,” SGMF added.
These publications have been compiled with extensive input from the SGMF membership, as well as with collaborative support from the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS).
Note: The bunkering guidelines are available in the shop on SGMF portal and the Emergency Response Guide for Ammonia can be downloaded through its free resources section.
Photo credit: SGMF
Published: 10 October, 2024
LNG Bunkering
Bunker One to launch physical LNG bunker fuel supply in January 2025
Firm has established Bunker One LNG BV, which will manage the physical LNG fuel portfolio, including last-mile delivery, and will be headed by Managing Director, Michael Behmerburg.
Published
17 hours agoon
October 10, 2024By
AdminBunker Holding’s physical supply division, Bunker One, on Wednesday (9 October) said it is set to launch LNG bunker supply in northwestern Europe as of January 2025.
Building on its existing successful activities supplying alternative fuels, Bunker One is expanding its current fuels portfolio by adding physical LNG and mass balanced LBM (Liquefied Biomethane). Bunker One expects to be ready to commence first physical LNG deliveries in January 2025.
Bunker One has established a new entity, Bunker One LNG BV, which will manage the physical LNG fuel portfolio including last-mile delivery and will be headed by Managing Director, Michael Behmerburg.
Peter Zachariassen, CEO of Bunker One, said: “We are extremely pleased to be welcoming Michael Behmerburg to steer our Bunker One LNG entity. Michael brings a wealth of experience that is important for us to navigate properly in the upcoming transition.”
Bunker One LNG BV has chartered the 10,000 cbm LNG Bunker Vessel, Coral Fraseri.
Michael Behmerburg, said: “We are working hand in hand with the vessel’s owner Anthony Veder to bring the vessel into operation. The vessel will undergo a regular class renewal at the end of 2024, during which several modifications will be carried out to enhance her capabilities as an LNG bunker vessel.”
The purpose of the modifications is to prepare the vessel for best-in-class service to the majority of seagoing vessels, including tankers, container ships, and car carriers. Bunker One LNG BV is currently in the process of securing bunker permits which will cover key ports in Northwest Europe.
Valerie Ahrens, Senior Director of New Fuels and Carbon Markets at Bunker Holding, said: “We are very excited about this move to include physical supply of LNG and LBM as part of Bunker Holding’s fuel offering, which builds on our successful activities supplying LNG through third parties.”
“Fossil LNG can offer up to 23% in greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions compared to conventional fuels and accompanies shipping’s transition to a multi-fuel future. Hence, we regard LNG as a stepping stone to bio-LNG and e-LNG, which will help the industry achieve the mid-century decarbonisation targets set by the IMO.”
Photo credit: Bunker Holding
Published: 10 October, 2024
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