The preliminary findings of the first ever study on the feasibility of speed limits for ships, suggest that a global speed limit agreed at the IMO can be enforced by States as a condition of entry into ports so long as the measure is not discriminatory as far as the ship flag is concerned. The speed limit study- carried out by CE Delft, the University of Southampton and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and commissioned by T&E and Seas at Risk - recommended that an international agreement on a global measure would be the best way of implementing speed limits for shipping. Such an agreement would minimise the risk of retaliation by individual countries (possible with a regional limit) and would be better for navigation safety and environmental protection.
The purpose of mandatory speed limits would be two-fold: to generate massive reductions in CO2 emissions from shipping and to help tackle air pollution from ships in coastal and port areas. Moreover ship speed limits in the Arctic could have important climate benefits by reducing black carbon deposition.Final results of the study will be published in mid- November, and will include a cost-benefit analysis.
At the seminar Jasper Faber (CE Delft) outlined the legal basis for implementing ship speed limits and described how such policies could be constructed. Galen Hon (ICCT) reviewed a survey of industry reactions. Jan De Kat, senior technical advisor at industry leader Maersk, indicated that according to Maersk experience “slow steaming is here to stay” since it can be achieved safely and without technical problems for the ship engine. De Kat listed all the potential technical, operational and safety concerns that had been associated with super slow steaming and indicated that extensive tests by Maersk had dismissed each and every one of them as not an issue. Aside from the lower fuel bills for ship owners and subsequent reductions in CO2 and other emissions, slow steaming also resulted in fewer ship maintenance hours and less out-of- service costs.
Other speakers outlined additional benefits related to slow steaming. James Corbett, University of Delaware, looked at CO2 reduction scenarios as a function of ship speed and fuel price and set out the issues concerning ship BC emissions in the Arctic. Daniel Lack from NOAA described the switch to low sulphur combined with slow steaming as a “no regrets” measure for reducing PM and BC emissions and provided data from a recent study of a ship entering a Californian port. Bruce Anderson, Starcrest Consulting, reviewed the success of Voluntary Speed Reduction programs in Californian ports in reducing emissions across the board and how these programs were now spreading around the USA. Martin Koepke, Germanischer Lloyd, cited trends in ship design and ship speed including moves towards designing ultra slow ships. Per Brinchmann, Wilh. Wilhemsen, predicted that ship speed would fall with or without speed limits as a function of rising fuel prices.
Speaker presentations:
- Why ship speed reduction is the key to meeting IMO/EU emissions reduction targets: Jos Dings, Director T&E
- The Maersk experience: Jan de Kat, Senior Technical Advisor, A.P. Moller Maersk
- Slow steaming economics & black carbon in the Arctic: Professor James Corbett, University of Delaware
- Practical issues and Ultraslow ships: Martin Koepke, Strategic Research & Development, Germanischer Lloyd
- Air quality and BC gains from slow steaming near Californian ports: Daniel Lack, Research Scientist, NOAA
- Slow steaming is practiced at many US ports: Bruce Anderson, Starcrest Consulting Group LLC
- Speed reduction policies, costs and benefits: Jasper Faber, CE Delft
- Emissions benefits and industry reaction: Galen Hon, The ICCT
- An industry view on mandatory speed limits”:
Per Brinchmann, Vice President Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA