This report is only available in English.
We have studied the possibility to introduce biobased fuels as marine fuels. A business model in which low carbon marine freight is offered to shippers is analysed. The model is in many ways similar to existing schemes in the energy sector (“green electricity”, biogas and district heating). A fundamental principle of the model is that the cost increase in transportation when biobased fuels are used can be transferred to the end consumer. Technical aspects, fuel supply issues, economic implications, and freight market aspects are all considered from a perspective of using liquid biobased fuel on ships. We find that both HVO and FAME/RME are suitable options to blend in fossil marine fuelsIn a continuation of this work, a project with real life tests is aimed for. In a workshop we therefore gathered stakeholders that have key roles in the proposed business model. A number of shippers that joined the workshop showed an interest in trying this model in cooperation with ship owners that provide their transports.
The background is the decision to establish a NOX Emission Control Area (NECA) in the region requiring ships to follow Tier III NOX emission regulations from 2021. To achieve further and more rapid reductions of NOX emissions than what is expected from the NECA, additional policy instruments have been discussed. The policy instruments analysed in this study are assumed to be additional to the NECA requirements. Our study describes changes of emissions and costs for existing ships with Tier II engines when upgrading for lower NOX emissions. Of the many existing technological alternatives to accomplish NOX reduction, this study focuses on liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for after treatment of exhaust gas. Emissions of NOX in 2030 are modeled for scenarios in which different policy instruments are assumed. The use of LNG and abatement equipment is modeled with the assumption that ship-owners choose the most advantageous option from a cost perspective. The most effective policy instrument found in this study is the refundable emission payment (REP) scheme. The reduction of emissions depends on the fee and subsidy rate applied. For example, a subsidy rate of 60% and a fee of 1 €/kg NOX is modelled to reduce the yearly emissions of NOX from shipping in the Baltic Sea in 2030 by about 53 ktonnes. A NOX tax will also have a significant effect on the NOX emissions, but in this case the costs for ship-owners are significantly higher. Applying a CO2 tax or environmentally differentiated port dues in the model are found to have less impact on the NOX emissions. Introducing slow steaming has a potential to reduce NOX emissions In another scenario the effects on emissions from a financial investments support for abatement technology or LNG engines are modeled. At an interest rate of 0 % emissions are reduced significantly. According to our model, an extended NECA, where also other sea areas than the Baltic and North Seas become NECAs, has no further impact on the NOX emissions in the Baltic Sea. However, since the abatement equipment is used for more hours in a global NECA it will reduce the abatement cost per kg NOX.
The transport of both goods and passengers are important parts of our society. Several different modes of transport are available, such as rail, sea, air, and road transports. These transport modes have different properties and transport performance. For example, the different modes have different accessibility and distribution range, different energy use, different environmental performance and different transport speed and time. Transport is a very big business worldwide. This makes it important to ensure that the transport systems work optimally and that correct mode of transport is used for the right purpose. This requires knowledge of the properties for the various modes of transport and their real performance and a strategic transport planning in the community and among the different market participants. A transport needs not only a transport carrier transporting goods from one place to another but also a transport infrastructure. Thus, a transport should be viewed from a system perspective where all the system's various parts are taken into account. This means, for example, that roads, railways, airports and ports, etc. should be included in the assessment models. This study covers a system analysis of different port infrastructures using a Life Cycle Assessment methodology (LCA).
There are incentive schemes in Swedish ports that offer lower port dues for ships with high environmental performance, but there is currently no similar scheme for trucks. However, larger environmental and city development problems related to road transports have resulted in increased pressure on ports to suggest and implement mitigating actions to reduce environmental impacts caused by road traffic to and from the port. Four port-related incentives are analysed in this report: a port due discount for ships with reduced speed in the fairway channel; a port due discount for ships with very low NOX emissions from auxiliary engines; an entrance fee for trucks passing through the port gate during peak hours; and a differentiated entrance fee for trucks based on the truck’s environmental performance. The national cost-minimizing freight transport model Samgods was used to simulate the impacts of the gate fees. From a legal perspective, some issues related to implementation have been identified but depend on the detailed design of the proposed charging. The main criterion for EU is that the fee or tax cannot have discriminatory effects or hinder the free movement of goods or services. This project also gives an overview of environmental policy measures to explore the possibility to implement the port dues. Introduction of environmentally differentiated port dues globally, or at least in the EU, would include greater incentives for shipping companies, ship owners and road haulers to invest in emission abatement technologies or use alternative fuels.
Emissions of GHG from the transport sector and how to reduce them are major challenges for policy makers. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships while in port based on annual data from Port of Gothenburg, Port of Long Beach, Port of Osaka and Sydney Ports. Port call statistics including IMO number, ship name, berth number and time spent at berth for each ship call, were provided by each participating port. The IMO numbers were used to match each port call to ship specifications from the IHS database Sea-web. All data were analysed with a model developed by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute for the purpose of quantifying GHG emissions (as CO2-equivalent) from ships in the port area. Emissions from five operational modes are summed in order to account for ship operations in the different traffic areas. The model estimates total GHG emissions of 150,000, 240,000, 97,000, and 95,000 tonnes CO2 equivalents per year for Gothenburg, Long Beach, Osaka, and Sydney, respectively. Four important emission-reduction measures are discussed: reduced speed in fairway channels, on-shore power supply, reduced turnaround time at berth and alternative fuels. It is argued that the potential to reduce emissions in a port area depends on how often a ship revisits a port: there it in general is easier to implement measures for high-frequent liners. Ships that call 10 times or less contribute significantly to emissions in all ports.
Sjöfarten står inför en enorm utmaning med krav på 40-50 procent minskning av koldioxidutsläpp till 2050 jämfört med 2005 års utsläpp, samtidigt som det finns en politisk vilja att öka andelen sjötransporter. Kraftigt ökad energieffektivisering kommer att vara avgörande för att möta utsläppskraven. Dock visar projektioner att det globalt kommer att vara svårt att minska sjöfartens utsläpp via åtgärder som är kända idag. Den här studien pekar på vikten av en snabbare implmentering av kända åtgärder och fortsatt utveckling av nya energireducerande tekniker, verktyg och metoder. Ökad energieffektivitet inom sjöfarten kan ske genom oeprativa. logistiska, tekniska, avtals- och markndsrelaterade och kommunikativa åtgärder. Åtgärder kopplade till varandra och bör med fördel betraktas ut ett systemperspektiv.
There is an increase in installations of exhaust gas scrubbers on ships following international regulations on sulphur content in marine fuel from 2020. We have conducted emission measurements on a four-stroke marine engine using low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) at different steady state engine loads. For the HFO the exhaust was probed upstream and downstream of an exhaust gas scrubber. While sulphur dioxide was removed with high efficiency in the scrubber, the measurements of particle emissions indicate lower emissions at the use of LSFO than downstream of the scrubber. The scrubber removes between 32% and 43% of the particle mass from the exhaust at the HFO tests upstream and downstream of the scrubber, but levels equivalent to those in LSFO exhaust are not reached. Decreases in the emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH-16) and particulate matter as black carbon, organic carbon and elemental carbon, over the scrubber were observed for a majority of the trials, although emissions at LSFO use were consistently lower at comparable engine power.
An SO2 scrubber is fitted in the exhaust channel in order to reduce SO2 emissions to levels corresponding to the combustion of 0.1% sulphur fuel or lower, as described by the MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 on sulphur content in marine fuels used for operations in a SECA. This report covers two emission measurement campaigns. One set of trials contains benchmark measurements for emissions from operations on low sulphur fuel oil. The second set of trials is conducted after the fitting of an exhaust gas cleaning system on the ship. We compare emissions from LSFO combustion with HFO combustion downstream a scrubber. Both are alternatives that can be used to comply with the existing regulations in the area. We also analyse emission reductions over the scrubber, as measurements were conducted both upstream and downstream the installation. Our results show that the emissions of sulphur dioxide to air are lower when using high sulphur fuel together with a closed loop scrubber than when a low sulphur fuel oil is used. However, the study also concludes that other important air emissions, apart from sulphur dioxide, are at higher levels than emissions from a low sulphur fuel.
Well-maintained fairway channels are necessities for a functioning marine transport system. In this report environmental aspects of construction and operation of fairway channels are described and analysed. Life cycle inventory data on energy use during dredging, maintenance of navigational aids, pilotage and ice breaking are presented. Impacts on the marine environment have not been included in the study. All data have been acquired from the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Port of Gothenburg. The study is part of a greater project covering environmental life cycle aspects of a larger part of the transport infrastructure system, including ports. The data have therefore been modelled to fit in a life cycle assessment model, developed for the same project. The aim is to present generic data for Swedish fairway channels. However, port specifics can cause large variations in the need for the fairway channel maintenance, piloting and ice breaking. Care should be taken before applying and using the presented data in a wider context. All the activities described in this report are for this reason accompanied with a brief recommendation on further use. For use in LCA models with wider scopes, it is recommended that impacts from pilotage and ice breaking are related to models on ship operations, and that dredging, and maintenance of navigational aids are related to models on ports. A summary of the most important emissions to air from fairway activities are presented in the Table below. The results for Sweden are summarised both as a total including all activities in the inventory, and with pilotage and ice breaking subtracted. The latter values are intended for further use in LCA models on ports. The results show that the main contributing activity to energy use and CO2 emissions from a national perspective is dredging. For a single port, other activities may have greater influence. In the case study of Gothenburg, pilots contributed the most to CO2 emission. However, the impacts from infrastructure activities in the fairway channel are minor in relation to the impacts from a transport chain as a whole.
This is a summary and a joint analysis of four studies on environmental aspects of the use of exhaust gas SO2 -scrubbers on ships. Based on measurements and analyses of emissions and effluents from scrubber systems on ferries in Stena Line’s fleet we draw conclusions on environmental effects of the installations. The studies are part of the EU-funded project “Scrubbers: Closing the loop”. The use of exhaust gas scrubbers on ships is an alternative to the use of low sulphur fuels from a legal perspective. Both options fulfil existing international standards on sulphur emissions from ships in the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) implemented by the IMO. The environmental effects of a wide spread use of exhaust gas scrubbers are relevant topics for discussion as the limit for sulphur in marine fuel will be reduced globally 2020 and a large increase in the use of scrubbers is likely to follow. Our environmental analyses indicate that the use of a low sulphur fuel oil as marine fuel is favourable compared to the use of heavy fuel oil in combination with an exhaust gas scrubber, from an environmental risk perspective.
The calculation of the total fuel consumption of Swedish shipping in 2014 resulted in approximately 1 500 000 tonnes of fuel. Significantly more fuel is used at sea than in the port areas. In Sweden, the high-frequency shipping services contribute to a significant amount of the total fuel consumption: the ships that call more than 100 times/year stand for about 19 percent of the total consumption while ships with less than 10 calls contributed to 38 percent. Fuel consumption and CO2-equivalent emissions for ships in three Swedish ports and three foreign ports are presented and discussed, see table below. Comparisons between the ports can be made only in a context of ship traffic characteristics, e.g. ship types, ship sizes and call frequency. Further, the geographical boundaries of the inventory affect the result. The average CO2- equivalents per port call reveal great differences between the ports. Port of Long Beach and Port of Sydney have a high ratio of large ships, which partly explain the high average values. Large ships have larger installed main engines and auxiliary engines, and stay a longer time at berth for the loading and unloading of cargo. More than half of the emissions from ships in ports originate from the time at berth. International shipping contributes to approximately 2.4 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and its share is expected to increase in the future. This stands in contrast to ambitions to reduce the use of fossil fuels. In order to reach sustainability objectives international steps towards more strict policies and regulations are necessary for the shipping sector. National efforts are in many ways limited to voluntary incentive schemes, and local port initiatives cannot significantly influence overall energy needs and emission levels. However, it is argued that an individual port can still facilitate a transfer to more energy efficient shipping and a reduction of emissions from ships in the port areas. For example, ports can implement environmentally differentiated port dues and give rebates to ship owners that perform well, manage and administer the supply of alternative fuels and on-shore power connections, and work for a reduction of ship speed in the fairway channel. The call frequency of individual ships to the same port is of high relevance to the improvement potential. The diverse conditions between ports suggest that emission abatement measures need to be customer-tailored for specific ports.
This report presents the results of a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of ship operations on HFO together with open-loop and closed-loop scrubbers, compared to low sulphur fuel oil (LSFO). An increasing number of ships are expected to be equipped with SO2 exhaust gas cleaning, so called scrubber technology, in response to stricter global regulations on sulphur emissions from ships in 2020. The compliance strategy for ship owners is either to use a low sulphur fuel, or to continue operations on HFO and install exhaust gas SO2 scrubbers on board their ships. The resulting external costs of environmental and health damage associated with air and water emissions are higher for the scrubber scenarios than in the case of low-sulphur fuel use. The external costs were to a large extent influenced by the fuel needed to run the scrubbers. The fuel penalty associated with the use of scrubbers causes more emission than the low sulphur fuel oil option, followed by higher external costs. From an environmental and health perspective and in line with the precautionary principle, operations on low sulphur fuels therefore seem to be more preferable than operations on HFO together with an exhaust gas scrubber.
Emissions of air pollutants from shipping (NOx, SOx, and PM2.5) make a significant contribution to the total emissions in Europe and world-wide. According to the analysis by Brandt et al. (2013), shipping emissions cause about 50 thousand premature deaths per year in Europe. Significant share of the sulphur and nitrogen deposition that causes acidification and eutrophication emanates from ship emissions. NOx emissions contribute to formation of secondary particles and ozone, resulting in increased number of respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases among the population, especially in coastal states. NOx emissions from anthropogenic sources reported by the 28 member countries of the European Union to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) amounted to ∼7820 ktonnes in 2014 (CEIP, 2017) whereas emissions from international shipping in the European seas for the same year are estimated at 3186 ktonnes (EMEP, 2016). As more stringent NOx emission control is gradually enforced for stationary and mobile sources on land, the share of NOx emission reduction potential attributable to international shipping is expected to increase in the future. One instrument is a NOx emission control area (NECA) in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea; the other is a combination of NECA and a NOx levy with revenues going back to shipping companies as subsidy for NOx abatement uptake. Both instruments are assumed to be in force in 2021. In the analysis, we operate with three main scenarios: • Baseline (no additional policy instruments) • NECA • NECA+Levy&fund In the NECA scenario we assume that no extra use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is introduced and that the Tier III requirements for marine gasoil (MGO) fuelled vessels are fulfilled by installing selective catalytic reduction (SCR). In the NECA+Levy&fund scenario it is further assumed that Tier 0 vessels will not install SCR but pay levy instead, and that 75 per cent of Tier I and Tier II vessels will take up retrofit SCR, given that it is more profitable than paying the levy. Total abatement costs have been assessed from the socio-economic perspective, implying low interest rate and long investment lifetime at investment costs’ annualization. Health benefits have been estimated with the GAINS and the Alpha-RiskPoll models. The method for estimating health benefits is the same as applied in cost-benefit analyses supporting the European Commission’s work on the air pollution abatement strategies and the work of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution.
Air pollution is the largest health risk from environmental causes, mainly driven by human exposure to fine particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5). Emissions from combustion engines (including ship engines) contribute to PM2.5 in ambient air both with primary particles (black carbon), organic carbon, and other particles) and with secondary particles formed from exhaust gases – mainly nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOX). NOx and SOx react with ammonia (NH3) in the atmosphere to form secondary inorganic aerosols, which have been shown to constitute ∼30–50% of PM2.5 levels in ambient air in northern and central European countries. We analyse the potential for emission reduction, emission control costs, and monetised benefits following the introduction of a NECA. Costs and benefits are compared for 2030. We compile new data on emission control costs for shipping, use the GAINS model for calculations of emission dispersion, and the Alpha-RiskPoll model for estimating monetary values of health impacts. The model results show that costs to conform to the NOX regulations of a NECA in the Baltic Sea, North Sea or both sea regions would be 111 (100–123), 181 (157–209), and 230 (195–273) million € per year, respectively. Corresponding benefits from reduced emissions are estimated to be 139 (56–294), 869 (335–1882), and 1007 (392–2177) million € per year, respectively. Calculated benefits surpass costs for most scenarios, but less convincingly for a Baltic Sea NECA. Conforming to the NECA regulations by using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) propulsion engines is estimated to give the highest net benefits but also the largest variation (costs: 153 (88–238), benefits: 1556 (49–3795) million €/year). The variations are mainly due to uncertainties in the valuation of avoided fatalities and climate impacts. It is concluded that the NECAs for the Baltic and North Seas can be justified using CBA under all but extreme assumptions.