Ship owners and operators have saved $3 billion of fuel and 32 million tons of CO2 by using AkzoNobel’s biocide-free marine coatings, according to the paints and coatings company.
AkzoNobel says these combined total savings, achieved since the Intersleek technology was first introduced 21 years ago, were calculated by comparing the fuel saving performance of Intersleek to each vessels’ previous hull coating system. They estimate fuel cost at $300 per ton.
More than 5,500 vessels have been coated with Intersleek products over the past two decades.
In 2014, AkzoNobel launched a carbon-credits system — the shipping industry’s first — that financially rewards ship owners and operators for generating less CO2 emissions by using biocide-free hull coating such as Intersleek. The program awards ship owners one carbon credit for each ton of CO2 saved.
As of February 2016, the company had issued more than 126,000 carbon credits worth more than $500,000 to ship owners under its carbon credits program. AkzoNobel says this effectively rewards owners twice for choosing sustainable coatings: both through a reduction in fuel costs and the financial benefits of the credits awarded.
AkzoNobel’s announcement comes as major shipping companies are taking steps to reduce their emissions and make their ships more efficient, which can also help save millions on fuel.
While it is far more carbon-efficient than road or air transport — shipping makes up around 2.4 percent of global CO2 emissions compared to 16.8 percent from road transportation — the UN’s International Maritime Organization projects CO2 emissions from vessels will rise between 50 percent and 250 percent by 2050 in its “business as usual” case.
To help major corporations reducing shipping fuel costs and emissions, Shell, Maersk Tankers, Norsepower and the Energy Technologies Institute last week announced a project to test wind-powered technology on a product tanker vessel.
Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival are among the companies investing in LNG-powered ships and fuel cell technology to reduce emissions. Other cruise liners are testing battery power, in the form of hybrid ships, and wind power.
Two years ago five global companies via the BICEPS Network launched a rating system to help shippers choose more sustainable ocean freight carriers.
The BICEPS Network — it stands for Boosting Initiatives for Collaborative Emission-reduction with the Power of Shippers — is a joint initiative of AB InBev, AkzoNobel, DSM, FrieslandCampina and Huntsman.
The five companies committed to use the new BICEPS Rating System in their global procurement processes of ocean freight container carriers. The Rating System ranks the carriers from A to F based on their scores from a questionnaire that covers performance in five areas including emission scores and targets.
