According to a press release in the Journal of Commerce, Japanese
container carrier, NYK Line has released an initial design for its NYK Super
Eco Ship 2030, an energy-efficient ship expected to emit far fewer CO2
emissions than current vessel design.
The design was created by Monohakobi Technology Institute
Co., Ltd. (MTI), a wholly owned NYK subsidiary focused on technological advances
in shipping and logistics, together with Garroni Progetti s.r.l, an Italian
designer of ships, and Elomatic Marine, a Finnish marine-technology consultant.
The Japanese word "Monohakobi" means the carriage of goods.
The press release, well timed for Earth Day, advises that:
NYK Super Eco Ship 2030 will make use of progressive
technologies that have the potential of being realized by 2030. The power
needed to propel the ship can be lessened by decreasing the weight of the hull
and reducing water friction. Propulsion power can be increased through use of
LNG-based fuel cells, solar cells, and wind power, all of which will lead to a
reduction of CO2 by 69 percent per container carried.
Comparison of NYK Super Eco-ship 2030 with a conventional
8,000 TEU container vessel is provided below.
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| | Conventional Vessel | NYK Super Eco-ship 2030 |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| Length Overall | 338 meters | 353 meters |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| Breadth | 45.8 meters | 54.6 meters |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| Draft | 13.0 meters | 11.5 meters |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| Main power|Diesel Engine (C heavy oil) | Battery (LNG) |
| (Fuel) | 64 megawatts | 40 megawatts |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| Natural power | None | Solar: 1–2 megawatts |
| | | Wind: 1–3 megawatts |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
| CO2 emissions* | 195 g/TEU-miles | 62 g/TEU-miles |
|-----------------+----------------------------+----------------------------|
*TEU-mile: Unit for the carriage of one TEU a distance of
one mile
MTI is working on many other significant projects including R&D
projects for new lashing and twist-lock systems and development of a ballast
water treatment system.
NYK’s design is the latest in a move by shipping companies
to promote their commitment to environmental protection. Other examples include the E/S
Orcelle and CMA CGM’s Eco Containers.
The E/S Orcelle is auto carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s visionary concept car carrier with a
"zero emissions" capability which carries no ballast water on board. The E/S Orcelle, unveiled in 2005 was
promoted as viable by 2025 and uses only renewable energy sources, including
the sun, wind and waves as well as fuel cell technology, to meet all its
propulsion and onboard power requirements.
French container carrier CMA CGM, has developed a fleet of
environmentally sensitive shipping containers dubbed Eco-Containers which
include bamboo flooring, reducing the use of rare tropical wood species, while
improving technical performance. CMA CGM
has also deployed low energy reefer container (specialized containers for
perishable goods, requiring energy and refrigerant gases), to reduce fuel
consumption and Light Steel containers, manufactured from an extremely strong high
tensile steel which reduces the weight of these containers by 1200 pounds and
thus consumes less fuel, further reducing emissions.
These are all very worthwhile projects and hopefully we will see more development coming from some of the other shipping lines around the world.
