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Displaying items by tag: Reduced CO2 Emissions

#CO2reduced - Strategic efforts to reduce its environmental footprint at Stena Line is well on course according to a recent company report. Last year the ferry operator cut emissions of sulphur by 53%.

Stena AB’s Sustainability Report for 2015, which was recently published, shows reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions for the shipping companies within the shipping group.  Stena Line has exceeded its targets for reduction of emissions of both sulphur and CO2.

One of the largest changes to affect the shipping industry was introduced in 2015 with tough new regulations on sulphur emissions being laid down for ferry operators in Northern Europe. This regulation means that the permitted emission levels of sulphur from vessels has been reduced from a maximum 1 per cent to 0.1 per cent within the SECA area from January 1st 2015.

For Stena’s shipping companies, with 93 vessels operating all over the world, the new rules have resulted in a reduction of over 4,000 tonnes of sulphur from 2014 to 2015, which represents an impressive 15 per cent reduction. For Stena Line’s 34 vessels operating in Europe, 24 of which operate within the SECA area, the total emission of sulphur has been reduced by 53 per cent.

Carl-Johan Hagman, CEO at Stena Line, said: “Focusing on sustainability is not only a priority for Stena Line, but for the entire industry which needs long term sustainable fuel options to maintain its competiveness. We are currently conducting several initiatives looking at alternative fuels within Stena. Our Methanol Project on Stena Germanica is one example. We are also looking at battery powered vessels, which is now starting to become an interesting option for shipping.

“Since 2015 Stena’s shipping companies have been delivering a dedicated program called the Energy Saving Programme (ESP), to reduce fuel consumption. The target is a reduction of 2.5 per cent annually and the result for 2015 was a reduction of 2.8 per cent. For Stena Line the efforts led to a reduction of fuel consumption of 4 per cent per nautical mile and a reduction of CO2 emissions of 2.5 per cent per nautical mile,” concluded Carl-Johan.

Erik Lewenhaupt, Head of Sustainability, Stena Line, said: “We have a broad scope and are currently driving several different initiatives in a bid to reduce our fuel consumption within ESP. It covers everything from changing bulbs and propellers to enabling our ferries to sail with reduced water resistance. Other initiatives include using digital solutions such as our Fuel Management System, where we collect a huge amount of data from the systems onboard our 34 ferries which is them analysed and used to optimise our day to day operations. We have set an ambitious target of trying to reduce CO2 emissions by 35% per nautical mile by 2030.”

Published in Ferry

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations