Chemical tanker shoreside study

Stolt Tankers is joining forces with Vopak Botlek and the port authority to conduct the trial which will enable tankers at Vopak Botlek’s terminal to switch off their diesel generators and connect to mains power, potentially from renewable sources.

“The availability of shore-based power for our ships has the potential to greatly reduce the use of onboard diesel generators while ships are in port, resulting in a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Stolt Tankers president, Lucas Vos.

“This supports Stolt Tankers’ ambition to reduce its GHG emissions intensity by at least 50 per cent by 2030 compared to 2008 levels – well ahead of the IMO’s target of 40%,” he added.

As chemical tankers are required to comply with higher safety standards than many other types of vessel, the results of this study will be important for the whole chemical tanker industry.

The installation of shore-based power for chemical tankers will only be a viable solution if the industry can agree a single standard. The aim of the feasibility study is therefore to determine an effective way of delivering shoreside power that can be used to form the basis of an agreed international standard.