Carbon reduction, carbon emissions, carbon dioxide, CO2, climate change, the environment have become increasingly important keywords in the vocabulary of transportation, with shipping transportation being no exception.
We all remember a time when it didn’t matter how much ‘black smoke’ a locomotive or ship created (it was highly popular with steam train photographers and frequently produced on demand). The old coal burners often laid down a pattern of smoke that could be followed for miles and even today certain ships of Russian lineage in the Indian Navy are well-known for the amount of smoke they produce, which can hardly assist the stealth intentions of their designers.
But today we live in an era where industry is expected to reduce, or even eliminate carbon footprints and again shipping is no exception. New rules and regulations are beginning to apply, all of them bringing new challenges of reducing costs.
It is believed that shipping, which carries a high proportion of global trade, might be responsible for producing an annual rate in the region of 1.26 million tons of carbon dioxide – roughly 3.9% of the global output and a much higher figure than that for aviation, which has long been challenged to get its act in order.
According to the IMO, the UN-based regulatory body for international shipping, the target has been set at 2.7%, but, as has been pointed out, this figure doesn’t take into account coastal shipping along national coastlines.
Now comes an initiative of the Carbon War Room, a not-for-profit organisation seeking to bring about market-driven solutions to climate change. The initiative has the backing of Sir Richard Branson and could hasten the introduction of new and tighter rules for the shipping industry. Operating with a website, www.ShippingEfficiency.org and launched this past week at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico, Carbon War Room sets out to rate 60,000 ships currently in service, including tankers, bulk carriers, cargo ships, cruise ships and ferries on their environmental worthiness.
The system works by means of colour-coding ships, with ‘A’ designating a ship in the most efficient category, down to ‘G’ which reflects the worst offender. It is hoped that importers and exporters will take note of this rating when it comes to agreeing on which shipping line, and ship, cargo will be carried on their behalf. Using a simple search engine, users including shippers can pull up an A to G efficiency rating for any one of the 60,000 ships. These include the majority of the world’s container vessels.
“The Carbon War Room has been advocating the need for business to play a leading role in the fight to reduce carbon emissions,” said Branson, Co-Founder of the Carbon War Room. “The data hub for shipping will help the key players in the industry and their customers make better decisions for their businesses and ultimately the planet.”
The website is publicly available, free of charge and is now live.
…And CMA CGM Also Takes On Climate Change
The French CMA CGM group, which operates the world’s third largest container fleet, is one company that has already faced up to the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint on the sea lanes of the world. In figures recently issued the group demonstrates its commitment to lowering the amount of pollution each of its ships produces for every kilo of freight per kilometre.
According to CMA CGM, in the last five years its CO2 emissions have been reduced by 35%, on both owned and chartered vessels, while the most recent vessels to enter service with CMA CGM employ the latest environmental technologies – electrically controlled engines, improved hydrodynamics, waste recycling among others – which means that these new ships discharge only 52 grams of CO2 per km/TEU.
“Since 2005, we have been steadily reducing our CO2 emissions down from 116 to 86 grams per km/TEU. In line with our environmental strategy, we aim to continue our efforts to reach 82 grams by the end of 2011,” explains Philippe Borel, Environment Director of the CMA CGM Group, emphasising that the switch to slow steaming has played a major part in the performance.
In other measures the group has introduced ecologically friendly containers and reefers and says it can offer a lead for an industry that is bound to be subjected to even more pressure from the Green Lobby in the future.
Expert Predicts Delay In Full Ratification Of Maritime Labour Convention
According to one observer, full ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is now likely to be delayed by a year until April 2012.
John Wade, technical services manager with Isle of Man-based Dominion Marine claims, “Although the required gross tonnage figure has been reached there is, however, some doubt as to whether the necessary number of countries will be achieved by the end of this year”.
His prediction comes after attending the Global Superyacht Forum 2010 in Amsterdam. The Convention, conceived by the International Labour Organisation, provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for more than 1.2 million seafarers. It updates more than 65 international labour standards relating to seafarers which have been introduced over the last 80 years.
Wade said the present intention is that the requirements of the MLC will be incorporated into a revised Chapter 21 of the Large Yacht Code, stipulating inter alia possible acceptable floor areas etc for crew accommodation in large commercial yachts.
“It had always been considered that pleasure vessels did not come under the requirements of the Convention but now the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency is suggesting that any vessel which has an employed crew on board may come under the Code requirements,” said Wade.
“It was stated that a legal interpretation had been put forward that vessels which are ‘commercially owned by a corporate body’ will have to comply with the requirements of the MLC, although the Marshall Islands have stated that their interpretation of this is different in respect of the definition of ‘ordinarily engaged in trade’.”
The Code, said Wade, states clearly that there should be a level playing field and there should be no more favourable treatment for any vessel, even for those whose country had not ratified the Convention.
Referring to the Passenger Yacht Code, which had been introduced for vessels with up to 36 guests and a maximum of 99 persons on board, Wade said it had been developed by the Cayman Islands with input from other members of the Red Ensign Group. The document had previously been circulated within the industry and some 40 per cent of the responses received had been incorporated into the final document.
“Although the Code can be applied to vessels greater than 24 metres, realistically it will apply more to larger size vessels,” said Wade. “Currently there are 11 vessels being built to the Code for Cayman Islands’ flags, with a further three in the process of design each being over 90 metres in length.”
SHIPTALK: A GLOSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS
VOYAGE CHARTER – A contract whereby the shipowner places the vessel at the disposal of the charterer for one or more voyages, the shipowner being responsible for the operation of the vessel.
WATCH – The day at sea is divided into six four-hour periods. Three groups of watchstanders are on duty for four hours and then off for eight, then back to duty. Seamen often work overtime during their off time.
WAYBILL – A non-negotiable document that acts as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage.
UNSEAWORTHINESS – The state or condition of a vessel when it is not in a proper state of maintenance, or if the loading equipment or crew, or in any other respect is not ready to encounter the ordinary perils of sea.
TOW – When one or more vessels are being towed; when a tug is towing (hauling) one or more
floating objects.
TOWAGE – Charges for the services of tugs assisting a ship or other vessels in ports or other locations; the act of towing a ship or other objects from one place to another.
TIME CHARTER – A form of charter party wherein owner lets or leases his vessel and crew to the charterer for a stipulated period of time. The charterer pays for the bunkers and port charges in addition to the charter hire.
SHIPPER – Individuals or businesses who tender goods or cargo for transportation – usually the cargo owners or their representatives and not to be confused with the party issuing the bills of lading or the ship’s operator who is the carrier.
RETURN CARGO – A cargo which enables a ship to return loaded to the port or area where her previous cargo was loaded.
P & I – Protection and indemnity insurance.
P & I Club – Protection and Indemnity Association, the carriers mutual liability assurer.
PALLET – A flat tray, generally made of wood but occasionally of steel, on which goods particularly those in boxes, cartons or bags, can be stacked. Its purpose is to facilitate the movement of such goods, mainly by the use of forklift trucks.
OBO SHIP – A multipurpose ship that can carry ore, heavy dry bulk goods and oil. Although more expensive to build, they ultimately are more economical because they can make return journeys with cargo instead of empty.
MANNING SCALES – The minimum number of officers and crewmembers that can be engaged on a ship to be considered as sufficient hands with practical ability to meet every possible eventuality at sea.
MARITIME LIEN – A claim attached to the res, i.e., the ship, freight, or cargo.
WEEKLY PIRACY REPORT
03.12.2010: 2355 LT: Posn: 12:02.0N – 077:12.0W, Callao anchorage, Peru.
Four robbers wearing diving suits armed with guns and knives boarded an anchored container ship. They threatened the forward duty crew and tied him up. They broke the forward store’s padlock and stole ship’ stores. On seeing another watchman approaching the robbers escaped with the ship stores and property and the duty crew’s personal belongings. Coast guard informed.
05.12.2010: 0942 UTC: Posn: 08:12N – 071:55E around 67nm west of Minicoy Island (Off Somalia).
A merchant vessel was reported hijacked by six armed pirates and 26 crewmembers were taken hostage. Further report awaited.
South Korea To Ban Single-Hull Tankers
South Korea plans to ban single-hulled oil tankers from its waters from 2011 in an effort to prevent oil spill incidents, government officials said on Sunday.
According to a statement by South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the government plans to reduce the ratio of port calls by single-hulled tankers to 15% in 2010 before imposing the ban in 2011.
The number of single-hull tankers making port calls in South Korea have fallen from 53% in 2007 to 36% in 2008 and 22% in 2009.
"The government will ban all single-hulled oil tankers from 2011 to prevent major oil spills off the nation’s coast," the ministry’s statement said.
It added that the move in is line with global efforts to prevent oil spill incidents.
"An international convention on prevention of pollution from shipping calls for the banning of single-hulled tankers starting in 2011 or 2016," the ministry said, referring to International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s MARPOL regulations.
MARPOL calls for the phase-out of the single-hulled tankers by 2010, but under provision known as the Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS), MARPOL regulations allow some single-hull tankers to continue operating until 2015.
Last month, Middle East’s leading bunker hub, the port of Fujairah, was reported to be preparing to ban single-hull tankers from its waters from the beginning of January but port officials later refuted the claim.
Passenger Vessel Captured Inside Tanzanian Waters
Reports from the Comoros Centre for Rescue Operations say that a Comoran passenger vessel was last week highjacked by Somali pirates inside Tanzanian territorial waters.
The 40m vessel named Aly Zulfecar was captured by pirates near the Tanzanian island of Mafia. The Centre said the pirates demanded fuel from the Tanzanian authorities but did not say whether the request had been granted or what the current situation with the vessel is.
Zaly Zulfecar has among its crew and passengers 13 Tanzanians, 12 Comorans and four Malagasy.
Somali pirates have recently become increasingly active in the area along the Tanzanian coast as far south as the Mozambique border. The South African yacht Choizil was seized in the southerly waters of Tanzania and forced to sail northwards past the Kenyan coast until running aground in Somalia.
….As Kenya Okays Formation Of Coast Guards
Kenya’s Minister of Fisheries Development, Japeth Ntiba has announced that the Kenyan cabinet has approved the formation of a coast guard to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Kenya’s waters.
Included in the formation of the Coast Guard is the training in Europe of technical assistants from the Fisheries ministry.
Kenya believes its fishing stocks are becoming depleted as a result of illegal fishing of its coastline, involving fishing vessels from Kenya and from other countries. Minister Ntibi said the government was aware of the problem and would take steps to deal with the illegal fishing. Use would be made of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation which has identified strategies to deal with illegal fishing activities.
In the past 12 months the navies of Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa have undertaken joint patrols along the Tanzanian coast to deter illegal fishing, during which a number of illegal fishermen were caught. These were taken before the Tanzanian courts to face prosecution.
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