Enhancing Environmental Performance – Representative Projects

Vessel Emissions and Carbon/GHG FootPRint

· Conducted fuel consumption and ship operational history data analysis to determine the actual GHG emissions over time for ships and fleets in service. Also, evaluated the benefits of changing fuels from HFO to MGO and LNG.

· Worked with several companies to evaluate their projected EEXI and CII performance across the fleet and develop a pathway to compliance with IMO requirements and corporate environmental goals in the near and long term.  These GHG pathways to compliance included actions and timelines for changing vessel deployments and/or speed, converting to lower GHG emitting fuels, and building new/retiring older ships.

·  Studied the relative carbon footprint of cargo transiting from Asia to the US East Coast and Midwest via the Port of Seattle and other West Coast ports using double-stack trains for transcontinental leg vs. all water transit via the Panama Canal.

· Provided data and tools for projecting vessel emissions for future ships to the US Army Corps

·  Extensively studied the EEDI Baselines and their impact on ship designs, and prepared/presented findings to IMO/MEPC with ABS.

· Created a bulk carrier GHG emission calculation tool for evaluating different propulsion and fuel choices at early-stage design. 

· Studied the EEDI Reference Line and Phase 3 values for Tankers, ROROs, and ROPaxs to assess the feasibility of these targets being achieved. 

· Lead an industry group working to develop a ConRo EEDI baseline at MEPC

Zero Carbon Solutions

· Studied feasibility and prepared concept designs of zero-carbon solutions for ships using future fuels including hydrogen, methanol, fuel cells, batteries, and ammonia. These were long-haul, large commercial ships and included containerships, tankers, and bulkers.  Many of the results and designs are presented in the ABS Zero Carbon Shipping guides produced from 2018 to 2022. 

· Reviewed the installation of sail propulsion on a chemical tanker to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed conversion and to provide sufficient design definition for shipyards to prepare budgetary pricing bids.

· Performed a review and verification of the installation of rotor sails on a Kamsarmax bulk carrier to ensure there were no adverse impacts on ship operations and systems. A full plan review was completed and a site inspection was provided. 

LNG Fuel

· Proof of concept design of small footprint LNG Bunker barge using membrane containment

· LNG fuel conversion evaluations considering the scope of shipyard work and cost estimate

· Full contract design for retrofit of LNG fueled the main engine on containerships. In some cases, this included a full replacement of the SSD main engine.

· LNG fuel conversion engineering support for diesel-electric RORO

· LNG fuel conversion studies to assess true LNG & Pilot Fuel Consumption and emission changes on specific routes

Scrubbers

· Prepared the ABS Advisory on Scrubbers

· Prepared a study of the North American Scrubber Market for an OEM

· Performed scrubber retrofit feasibility studies for Eagle Bulk, Ridgebury Tankers, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carriers (AMR), Tufton Oceanic, TT (Ferry) Line Company Pty

· Supervised Scrubber Manufacturing in China and performed an engineering design review

· Performed 3D scanning for scrubber retrofits

· Prepared full detailed scrubber retrofit installation design including 3D modeling

Ballast Water Treatment, Invasive Species

· Prepared the ABS Ballast Water Treatment Advisory

· Provided technical advisory services to IMO/MEPC and CARB regarding shipboard realities and the challenges with ballast water management 

· Prepared full detailed BWTS retrofit installation design for car carriers, containerships, ConRos, tankers, ATBs (barge and tug), and mega-yachts

· Performed 3D scanning for our own and 3rd party installation design and modeling

· Advised several OEMs on the suitability of their BWTS equipment for use onboard the ship and in a realistic marine environment where water quality and characteristics vary widely

Shore Power (AMP), In-Port Emission Reduction

· Assisted with Shore Power Upgrades for containerships and MPS Vessels

· Provided technical review and oversight of Exhaust Gas Capture Barge

· Studied electrification of cargo pumps for in-port use that could not rely on the main engine or shore power

Energy Efficiency

· Prepared ABS Ship Energy Efficiency Advisory Booklet

· Created and applied a hull efficiency index that assessed vessels for relative performance against best-in-class. 

Oil Outflow and Pollution

· Maritime High Consequence Risk Assessment Spill Volumes for major oil transporting shipping company

· Numerous oil outflow and traffic risk assessments considering groundings and collision probabilities for new tanker LNG terminals and routes

ENVIRONMENTAL

Ballast Water – from early days with basic education on ballast practices, through rules for exchange and local/national/IMO rule development for treatment. Provided research and publications for USCG and ABS and participated extensively in working groups at IMO with the US Delegation. Also prepared a study and regulatory analysis of the economic impacts of proposed ballast water standards for USCG.

Tanker double hull and probabilistic outflow regulations in MARPOL – Research papers, submissions, and working group participation at IMO. This included work on hydrostatic balanced loading for tankers as an intermediate alternative to double hulling. HEC later wrote the INTERTANKO guide on HBL. 

Bunker tank outflow regulations – Research papers, submissions, and working group lead at IMO, including a bunker oil outflow study for the USCG.  Note, the work was to show that a risk-based approach could provide environmental protection while allowing flexibility of ship design – rather than a strict double-hull requirement. The work resulted in the probabilistic protective location of bunker tanks, as an alternative to double skin fuel tanks.

Pollution Prevention and Control – EU research project on the risks of pollution from Aframax tankers and development of pollution prevention approaches. Developed an integrated methodology for calibrating historical data in order to predict the risk of accidental oil outflow. Project summary and documents can be found here.

EEDI – evaluation of baselines for tankers, container ships, and LNG carriers, the influence of design parameters on EEDI, and whether the rule formulation would distort ship design in ways that might improve the EEDI but actually result in lower overall shipping efficiency.  Several papers were published with ABS and SNAME and submitted as INF docs via IMarEst.  These led to an early recalibration of some of the baselines and pointed out the difficulty some ship types/sizes would have meeting the EEDI. From this work, one could infer how speed/power reductions would have to be used to meet EEDI.  HEC also assisted INTERFERRY with the revision of the RoRo and Ropax EEDI requirements presented at MEPC 69, 70, and 71, providing technical analysis and member engagement for data collection.

Environmental Impact – Studied LNG carrier intake and discharge at a proposed terminal in order to determine the environmental impact on the local river ecosystem.

Emissions – Organised industry forum on marine vessel emission regulations and their potential impact on owners/operators.

RISK

Ship Casualty – Performed peer review of State of Alaska Aleutian Island Study of the risk of ship casualty. Other risk work may be found here.

STRUCTURES

IMO Goal-Based Standards for ship structures and Class Societies – Work with INTERTANKO and BIMCO as their representative on the External Advisory group for evaluation of IACS Common Structural Rules (CSR) harmonization process.

MISCELLANEOUS

Open Top Containership rules – Work with various technical Sub-committees on the development of the open-top containership rules (loadline exemptions, stability, bilge dewatering requirements, damage stability, fire detection, fire protection, and hazardous cargo stowage).

Container securing – Developed Container Securing Guide for Class use.

Advisories – Prepared Ballast water treatment and Fuel Switching advisories for class society ABS.