The towage sector operates as a vital link in the shipping industry, ensuring the safe, efficient and cost-effective transport of vessels and their cargoes at the point where they arrive in and leave port.<\/p>\n
As much as towage is important for the success of the shipping industry\u2019s supply chain, it also has a role to play in delivering a successful transition to a decarbonised maritime industry. Despite being a central link in shipping, the towage sector is overlooked by the IMO\u2019s revised GHG strategy set out in 2023, which applies only to ocean-going vessels.<\/p>\n
This exclusion is realised in places such as the European Union\u2019s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which has recently come in to force for vessels greater than 5000GT making port calls in European ports as part of their voyages.<\/p>\n
The towage industry is subject to localised regulations and emissions control areas require operators in many areas to act to reduce local emissions such as NOx, SOx and particulate matter. But the broader stimulus to reduce greenhouse gases, provided by the actions of an international regulator setting out a strategy for tackling GHGs, is still missing for the sector. This means that the sector needs leaders to take action to develop projects that will support decarbonisation.<\/p>\n
The complexity of bringing these projects to market means that the industry will need to work in partnership with experts up and down the value chain every step of the way \u2013 from naval architects, marine engineers and shipbuilders, to fuel suppliers, ports and the sector\u2019s vessel owning and operating customers.<\/p>\n
Pioneering methanol design<\/strong><\/p>\n Since first announcing a project to explore the development of a methanol hydrogen fuel cell tug, Svitzer, along with Maersk and the naval architect Robert Allan Ltd, has conducted a review of technology to identify a combination of methanol fuel cells, batteries, storage\/handling systems, electric drives and propulsion units. Combined, these technologies could operate as a carbon neutral alternative to the conventional fossil fuelled propulsion train of a tug.<\/p>\n The studies aimed at confirming the real-world feasibility of operating a tug using a combination of methanol fuel cells and batteries. It was essential to understand how a methanol hybrid fuel cell (MHFC) power train would perform specifically when delivering the power required by a tug to deliver an 80 tons bollard pull and the peak power often required in towage operations, without compromising safety or efficiency.<\/p>\n One of the key reasons for considering a hybrid drivetrain over pure battery power was the flexibility offered by methanol fuel cells with greater efficiency relative to traditional engines. The hybrid power unit will also deliver a self-sustained tug with longer endurance.<\/p>\n Throughout the project, Svitzer has focused on developing the valuable knowledge and experience that are essential to realising its ambition to lead the decarbonisation of towage and make an important contribution to the wider efforts to develop and deliver a more sustainable maritime industry.<\/p>\n Satisfied with the feasibility of an MHFC-powered tug, Svitzer and Robert Allan Ltd moved on to the design phase of the vessel, completing a General Arrangement and sourcing potential suppliers for onboard equipment necessary to build the vessel. This second phase of the project concluded that whilst technically possible, the maturity of integrated methanol fuel cell systems, or modular fuel cell and methanol reformer systems, were insufficient to meet the operational requirements of the vessel.<\/p>\n Such systems are still considered to be a year or two out from meeting Svitzer\u2019s demanding operational requirements. With a commitment made to client to provide a vessel in 2025, this triggered a redesign \u2013 which involved increasing the size of the battery and generator sets on board to replace the fuel cell, whilst keeping to the methanol hybrid design philosophy. \u202f<\/p>\n Svitzer is currently looking for partners to help finalise the selection of onboard equipment, particularly batteries and methanol generators. Svitzer will soon go to market to identify partners to support with vessel construction.<\/p>\n Once in service, the emission reductions of the hybrid tug, fuelled by green methanol, are expected to exceed 1300 tonnes of CO2 annually, compared with similarly-sized conventionally-fuelled tugs that Svitzer currently deploys in its global fleet. The Methanol Hybrid project will use Svitzer\u2019s TRAnsverse tug design as the basis for the vessel.<\/p>\n The TRAnsverse tug design, created in collaboration with Robert Allan Ltd, sets a new standard in tug efficiency, power and manoeuvrability. The new design is an essential element of delivering more sustainable towage services to our clients and in turn supporting a more sustainable sector. It will be more fuel efficient, delivering an estimated 10-15% reduction in fuel use across its operations. The new tug design has an omnidirectional hull form and a unique towing staple and propulsion system that provides superior towage capabilities. It maximises the forces necessary for braking and steerage during towage to ensure steady manoeuvrability, while maintaining the highest levels of safety \u2013 even at full speed.<\/p>\n Together, Svitzer and Robert Allan designed the TRAnsverse tug to operate in any harbour or terminal towage environment. In these complex environments, the tug design helps to reduce overall time taken for tug jobs and provides greater availability even in poor weather conditions.<\/p>\n Fuelling the change<\/strong><\/p>\n Shipping is committed to an energy transition that is going to mean significant changes in the way the industry operates. It is recognised that alternative fuels such as green methanol are more expensive than traditional fuel oil. To mitigate this rise in costs, it is essential then that we invest in more <\/p>\n Investing in efficient technology, such as the TRAnsverse tug, Svitzer will continue to deliver safe marine services to its clients, in a sustainable way \u2013 meaning not only reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but delivering cost effective towage services. The vessel design becomes as important as the fuel choice because the right vessel design means lower fuel consumption and lower overall fuel costs.<\/p>\n Svitzer expects to launch its Methanol Hybrid powered tug in the second half of next year \u2013 crucially, because the vessel will use a methanol power train, access to the fuel will be essential. To maximise the benefits of this system, a reliable supply of methanol is essential to effective operation and at this early point in the development of a low-carbon fleet of tugs for Svitzer, availability of fuel supply has strongly dictated the location of the operations for our first methanol-fuelled tug.<\/p>\n The Port of Gothenburg has adopted a position as a leading supplier of green methanol as part of its ambitions to reduce shipping emissions in the vicinity of the port area by 70% by 2030. The Port Authority has taken a leading role in developing operating regulations for methanol bunkering, meaning it is ready to accept vessels looking to bunker green methanol.<\/p>\n On an ongoing basis, the supply and demand sides of the market need to work in partnership to develop the infrastructure to support the supply, storage and bunkering of green methanol. From Svitzer\u2019s perspective, as a vessel operator with a daily requirement for green methanol bunkering, this will mean being an anchor client to the supplier of green methanol as a marine fuel.<\/p>\n The security of supply will be important for the success of our vessel, and by working in partnership with green methanol suppliers, we expect to be able to provide a level of demand that supports the development and expansion of green methanol bunkering in the Port of Gothenburg.<\/p>\n As the shipping industry looks to accelerate its push to net-zero and the demand for low-carbon towage increases, we anticipate a growing fleet of methanol-fuelled tugs will be able to support methanol bunkering in more and more ports. Embracing our role as a leader in the sector, we have a responsibility to deliver the technology, products and services that mean we can continue to deliver safe towage services sustainably and with fewer carbon emissions.<\/p>\n Our goal is to reduce the carbon intensity of our global fleet by 50% by 2030. Some of this will be delivered through methanol powered tugs, while we have also converted 70 tugs to operate on biofuels, which helps to significantly cut our GHG emissions. On top of technology investment, we have driven behavioural change among our tug masters, which encourages mobilisation at 8 knots to save fuel consumption and reduce emissions.<\/p>\n Svitzer will be floated as an independent business on the Copenhagen stock exchange at the end of April 2024, separate from Maersk, our owner for the past 45 years. Yet, as we approach independence, Svitzer has experienced strong growth of 6% per year over the last five years and margins of around 30%.<\/p>\n This shows we are in a good position to continue to invest in and develop our strategy to deliver a low-carbon towage sector to sit alongside, and continue to support, the wider shipping industry as it strives for net-zero operations in 2050.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gareth Prowse, head of decarbonisation at Svitzer, talks about developing a methanol powered tug, collaborating with ports and being an anchor client for suppliers in the port community<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1376,22],"tags":[40,47,256,254,11],"sponsor":[],"class_list":["post-4174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative-fuels-greenport","category-greenport-exclusive","category-products-services-greenport","tag-alternative-fuels","tag-methanol","tag-svitzer","tag-towage","tag-tugs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4176,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174\/revisions\/4176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4174"},{"taxonomy":"sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/greenport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsor?post=4174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}