Hamburg Süd, Electrolux Aim to Cut SO2 Emissions in Ports
during its layovers in Manzanillo (Mexico), Callao (Peru), Iquique and Puerto Angamos (Chile) between March 11 and 24, the 7,114 TEU Santa Catarina voluntarily used cleaner marine gas oil (MGO) instead of standard heavy fuel oil (HFO) to operate its auxiliary engines and boilers. As explained, both of these must be running in port to supply the ship with electricity and heat.
According to MANA international group, Hamburg Süd, part of Maersk, and Electrolux already carried out a fuel upgrade in the past. Due to the significantly lower sulfur content of MGO, the sulfur dioxide emissions for the Electrolux cargo in question is expected to decrease by over 95 percent.
The project is being financed by both companies. While Electrolux is bearing the additional costs for the MGO, Hamburg Süd is assuming the extra operative expenses related to planning and switching fuels.
“When it comes to sustainability, reducing emissions in the interest of environmental protection plays an important role for Hamburg Süd,” Arnt Vespermann, CEO of Hamburg Süd, said.
This joint sustainability project was already launched with a pilot phase in the spring of 2017. In the four abovementioned ports – unlike those in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, and unlike the North American Emission Control Areas (ECAs) – switching fuel from HFO to MGO is not mandatory.
“Sulfur dioxide emissions are a major environmental issue in some of the communities around port cities where we ship our products. With this partnership, we are showing how the industry can move faster than legislation to improve the air quality in ports, and we hope more companies will get on board,” Bjorn Vang Jensen, Vice President, Global Logistics at Electrolux, commented.
“This will support our ambition to improve the environmental footprint in the transportation chain, which is one of the goals in Electrolux sustainability strategy For the Better,” he added.