By
Susan Parker |
The cruise industry has been proactive on the subject of the environment for many years but has become more vocal about its initiatives of late. With the cost of fuel playing such a major part in operational costs, the two go hand in hand in driving development. Regulations coming into play are also forcing the pace, at times unrealistically.
For example, when it comes to Emissions Control Areas (ECAs), the manufacturers have as yet been unable to come up with proven technology to address the regulation through the widespread use of scrubbers, the systems being far from production-ready.
While Holland America Line (HAL) was the first cruise line to test the use of a seawater scrubber to eliminate sulphur dioxide emissions and particulate matter from the engine, it is Royal Caribbean International that is now at the forefront of testing this technology which, if successful, will play a vital role in compliance.
Having said that, Norwegian Cruise Line is the first cruise company to go live with scrubbers, installing four on Pride of America during a US$30m refit at BAE Systems Ship Repair Hawaii in April. Sailing entirely within the North American ECA, Norwegian has won a waiver from the United States Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency to burn less expensive heavy fuel oil (HFO), due to the installation.
Across Carnival’s cruise brands, pilot projects for various technologies are in place on different lines. If successful, they are then replicated across the entire fleet, hence negating unnecessary extra expense. Elaine Heldewier, director, Sustainability Programs at Carnival, comments on the HAL scrubber project which ran from 2007 to 2012 on Zaandam: “There were a lot of challenges but a lot of good lessons learned. We found a hundred ways of not doing one thing. Even though it was not successful, at the end a lot was learned that we can take forward.”
Over at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), scrubbers are high on the agenda. The company has ECA exemptions for two different systems being tested, Green Tech on Liberty of the Seas and Ecospec on Independence of the Seas, explains Rich Pruitt, associate vice president, Safety & Environmental Stewardship.
Pruitt says the two systems are both currently employed on a test basis: “We don’t have any system on order at this point. We need to have a scrubber that we can industrialise and install on many ships and in a large variety of layouts for the ports we will operate in.” He adds: “With Green Tech, we think the proof of concept was successful but there is a lot more to do. It is promising but it was not perfect the way we wanted it.” The Green Tech system is now being tested with a new, very high corrosion-resistant alloy being used for the tower in order to withstand maritime conditions.
Heldewier concurs regarding the difficulties of taking systems to sea. “Even though there is a lot of technology off-shelf that works shoreside, when on a ship you have to go through a learning curve. It is a major challenge for equipment on moving ships as it has to withstand that movement.”
What Pruitt is sure of is that not every engine needs to be fitted with a scrubber but more importantly: “No-one believes that this can be done by 2015. In spite of what the regulators and non-governmental organisations say, this will not be ready.”
The industry is already seeing the possible effects of the 0.1 per cent sulphur limit coming into force in ECAs in 2015, with Carnival Cruise Lines repositioning Carnival Pride and Carnival Glory from Baltimore to Tampa in late 2014 and from New York/Norfolk to Miami, beginning November 2013 respectively. There will still be periodic Atlantic Canada voyages on Carnival Splendor from New York.
In a statement Carnival has commented on this strategy: “The 2015 North America ECA requirements would significantly impact our fuel costs for operating cruises from Baltimore and Norfolk as well as many other ports around North America.” The company says that, although it fully supports the environmental objectives of the ECA and is developing new technology to mitigate some of the fuel cost impact: “Unfortunately, itinerary changes were required in the short term to allow us more time to fully evaluate our mitigation options.”
Meanwhile excitement is building about the air lubrication systems being installed for the first time on cruise ships. One such system is expected to reduce fuel consumption on each of the vessels under construction at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for AIDA Cruises by 7 per cent, according to parent Carnival Corporation & plc. The air carpet created by small air bubbles being blown out from the underside of the vessel will reduce friction between the hull and seawater during navigation.
Pruitt comments: “The industry is waiting very patiently to see how it comes out. If it meets the numbers it says it can, it will be substantial.”
Shorepower technology allows ships to connect to land-based power supplies while in port, receiving electricity from the local grid. Depending on whether this is generated from clean energy sources such as hydro-electric power in Alaska or, for example, coal, this approach begs the question – certainly in the latter case – of whether the emissions are not just being transferred from the port to the power plant.
In any event there are few ports worldwide to have made the major investment necessary to provide shorepower to visiting ships and there are only 19 out of 102 ships in the Carnival fleet equipped with plug-in connections. Princess Cruises was the pioneer of onshore power systems (OPS) in the industry in Juneau in 2001 with its standard now accepted worldwide. By next year 14 out of its 16 ships will be retrofitted at a cost of about US$1.5m per ship. Work is ongoing with Brooklyn and Halifax to be OPS-ready by 2014.
Both Carnival and RCL have made huge investments in energy-saving efforts on board. These include using a dynamic trimming assistant; designing more fuel efficient itineraries; installing more efficient pods; improving hull design; maximising recycling to reduce landfill; minimising garbage; increasing energy use awareness through education and training of passengers and crew; and optimising diesel generator use at sea and in port. Other advances include evaporator management, LED lighting, enhanced HVAC systems, hull coatings, more frequent propeller and hull cleaning and increased use of waste heat from engine exhaust for freshwater production and steam generation.
Heldewier comments: “When you add all of these things together you get a dramatic drop in fuel consumption but it is not ‘one solution fits all’. The combination is the key.” While Pruitt says: “It is a little bit and all adding up to improvements. I don’t think anybody sees a huge silver bullet or 25-30 per cent improvement out there.”
This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read the full article, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.