With the approaching of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) sulfur limitation order, major shipowners will have to take measures in advance.
Sulphur limitation order means that the IMO stipulates that the sulfur content of ship fuel must be less than 0.5% since 2020. At present, the main measures to reduce sulfur emissions from ships are to use low-sulfur fuel, install desulfurization devices and use clean energy such as liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, compared with the use of LNG, the other methods can make sulfur emissions up to the standard, but the oil pollution, nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides and particulate matter produced by LNG will still cause greater pollution to the atmosphere and water body. At present, the reporter learned from the Institute of Water Transport Science of the Ministry of Communications that the total number of ships in China is about 150,000, and a large number of ship emissions have become one of the main sources of air pollution. LNG, as a clean energy source, has no sulfide emissions and can significantly reduce the above-mentioned pollutant emissions. It is considered to be an important fuel to fundamentally reduce ship pollution.
As early as 2009, China began to develop LNG powered ships in inland rivers, but in recent years, the development of LNG powered ships has been tepid, and the number of ships is far below expectations. It is understood that at present, there are less than 300 LNG power vessels in China, accounting for less than 0.2%.
Why are LNG powered ships developing so slowly? What are the main constraints? Where will they go in the future?
< strong > stagnation of development
LNG power vessel has been the key project of air pollution prevention and control in China because of its obvious environmental protection advantages. The Ministry of Communications has included LNG fuel application in the key work of transportation pollution prevention and control in the Implementation Plan of Special Action for Port Pollution Prevention and Control (2015-2020) and the 13th Five-Year Development Plan for Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection of Transportation.
The first batch of LNG power demonstration ships put into use were tested by the Institute of Water Transport Science of the Ministry of Transport. The results show that the emission data of LNG power vessel are significantly lower than that of diesel power vessel of the same power under different operating conditions. Taking the normal operation of the ship (about 50% rated power) as an example, the emissions of nitrogen oxides 22.05g/KWh, carbon oxides 45.66g/KWh, solid particulates 7.88g/KWh from diesel powered ships can be reduced by 87%, 92% and 98% respectively, and the corresponding emission targets of LNG powered ships are 2.78g/KWh, 3.58g/KWh and 0.16g/KWh.
In addition, the reporter learned in the interview that the use of LNG fuel instead of diesel can greatly improve the living environment of shipowners. "The overall appearance and cabin environment of LNG powered ships are cleaner, and engine noise is significantly reduced. More than 90% of shipowners are satisfied with this." Yang Haibing, deputy director of the Water Law Enforcement Bureau of Jiangsu Transportation Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Supervision Bureau, told reporters.
However, the development of LNG power ships in China is not smooth. It is understood that the LNG power ships in China are mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Nanjing and Shanghai in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Among them, Jiangsu Province was listed as the first pilot of LNG Ship Demonstration Zone by the state in 2013. At present, the number of LNG power ships in operation ranks first in the country, with a total of 92, while the total number of ships in Jiangsu Province is as high as 40,000.
"We originally planned to add 300 LNG powered vessels by 2016, but the owner''s willingness to build and renovate LNG powered vessels was not strong because of the shelving of supporting facilities and economic problems." Yang Haibing said, "In terms of the current proportion, we can only say that the initial results, but it is far from the target of the Ministry of Communications to reach 10% of inland waterway transport vessels by 2020."