Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has revealed plans to further explore the viability of hydrogen and fuels derived from it as a possible fuel source for the future for container shipping, and is increasingly pioneering the use of biofuels within its existing fleet.
Speaking at the inaugural Maritime Transport Efficiency Conference in Geneva, MSC Group’s Bud Darr said there was no single solution to decarbonise shipping. “We need a range of alternative fuels at scale and we need them urgently.” Darr, who is executive vice president, maritime policy & government affairs at MSC Group, said the future of shipping and decarbonisation would rely on strong partnerships from both the perspective of technology collaboration and procurement.
In support of the UN International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) policy goals to decarbonise shipping, MSC was actively exploring and trialling a range of alternative fuels and technologies and was already actively bunkering biofuels at scale, he said. “Fossil-sourced LNG remains a transitional option, while carbon capture and storage, if perfected for marine use, could be useful.
“Industry partnerships could help accelerate the development of clean hydrogen for the benefit of the entire container shipping industry,” he said. And despite some significant challenges to overcome - mainly related to density, volume and safe handling - MSC was in favour of further R&D efforts to produce it in a greenhouse gas neutral way and to develop it at scale, along with other fuels that might derive from it, Darr added.
MSC is also pioneering the large-scale usage of biofuel blends for container ships and is already bunkering responsibly sourced, up to 30% biofuel blends on a routine basis in Rotterdam. In addition, the world’s largest class of container ships, MSC’s Gülsün Class, was fitted at delivery in 2019-20 with the option to convert in future to liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a potential bridging fuel as part of the industry’s transition towards a zero-carbon future.
MSC believes there must be a massive injection of energy and capital into R&D efforts to bring alternative fuels and alternative propulsion technologies to the marketplace to deploy and decarbonise in the longer term. The line is therefore engaging with potential vendors to investigate new solutions that will help to minimise - and one day eradicate - CO2 and other GHG emissions from shipping fleets.
The conference gathered together a variety of shipping companies, fuel providers, academics, policy makers and representatives of the UN and Geneva government.
