Germanischer Lloyd Meets in Athens
22 / 10 / 2008
Under the chairmanship of Capt. Vassilis Constantakopoulos, senior owner of Costamare, 30 representatives of the Greek maritime community met to discuss market trends, operational challenges and new technologies to save fuel.
“In the last two years, shipowners have seen bunker prices increase by roughly 140 %”, said Dr Klein, “Additionally considering upcoming environmental regulations, shipowners pay [...]
Under the chairmanship of Capt. Vassilis Constantakopoulos, senior owner of Costamare, 30 representatives of the Greek maritime community met to discuss market trends, operational challenges and new technologies to save fuel.
“In the last two years, shipowners have seen bunker prices increase by roughly 140 %”, said Dr Klein, “Additionally considering upcoming environmental regulations, shipowners pay more attention to an economical and environmental friendly way of transport.” Germanischer Lloyd devotes considerable resources to its research and development efforts in the area of ship efficiency. Key objectives are cost savings, compliance with strict environmental standards, and technical safety for the maritime industry.
Germanischer Lloyd’s Senior Vice President Strategic Research, Dr Pierre Sames, gave the Committee an overview of the holistic approach to cut costs and spare the environment from unnecessary emissions. While SOx and NOx emissions are a major concern for coastal regions, CO2 emissions are a challenge of global dimensions. Given the continued growth of the world fleet, reducing exhaust gas emissions is a high priority for the shipping industry.
“The GL approach to reducing fuel costs starts with the CO2 index, a tool used to determine fuel consumption. It makes it possible to compare the consumption values of individual ships of a given fleet with each other,” said Dr Pierre C. Sames, Germanischer Lloyd’s Senior Vice President Strategic Research. This function in particular is expected to trigger a learning effect: the availability of data for each vessel and voyage segment reveals differences in fuel consumption and makes ship operation parameters transparent.
Ships with a good (low) index will be deployed more extensively, transport more cargo and improve their index even further. GL has launched a CO2-index for shipping, based on MEPC/Circ.471. Five large container vessels of Greek ship owner Costamare already use this index. This innovative index is available for certification for all ships. CO2 emissions will be assessed based on the quantity of fuel consumed and the amount of cargo transported. Computed index values can be compared with those of other ships and be used to minimize emissions caused by transport.
With a “CO2-Index Data Analysis” and an “Operational Fuel Consumption Analysis” which help shipowners and ship managers to understand fuel consumption patterns and to identify technical and operational measures to reduce fuel costs. The experience of key crew members and the fleet management is integrated into the interactive analysis of actual fuel consumption and ranking of improvement measures. “The resulting report summarizes practical advice on how to improve the ship’s efficiency as a function of fuel price”, said Dr Sames. In addition, GL offers individual reviews and analyses for hull, machinery and the ship’s operation to examine in more detail identified efficiency improving measures and their cost benefits ratios.
The Committee also discussed the on-going trend to impose strict emission limits on shipping and the potential of alternative energy. GL’s Chief Operating Officer Torsten Schramm gave the committee an overview of the implication of the new Maritime Labor Convention. This convention will probably come into force by 2011. “A large number of surveys will be necessary to make the convention work which is directed to improving the life of seafarers”, said Schramm. The latest trends in the Greek shipping market and Germanischer Lloyd’s service to the Greek fleet were highlighted by Athanasios Reisopoulos, GL’s Area Manager Mediterranean / South Africa. Michael Pane, Managing Director Maritime Strategies International, gave a presentation on the forecast of shipping and the shipbuilding market.
Monday, Oct 13, 2008 | Source: Germanischer Lloyd
22 / 10 / 2008 | |
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