Can you believe that we are almost at the end of the first month of the 2nd Quarter of 2019 already and the rest of the year seems to be hurtling towards the 1st of January 2020..

1st Jan 2010 which is 251 days away, is the deadline date set by the IMO for the implementation of its revised MARPOL Annex VI under which the current global limit for sulphur content of marine fuels is required to be reduced from 3.50% to 0.50%..

This regulation colloquially known as IMO2020 is being taken quite seriously by all in the shipping industry, as it should be..

Many ship owners and operators are scurrying to find out the best method they can use out of the several methods suggested by the IMO through which ships can meet lower sulphur emission standards..

Using low-sulphur compliant fuel oil;Using gas as a fuel as when ignited it leads to negligible sulphur oxide emissions;Using methanol as an alternative fuel as being used on some short sea services;Using exhaust gas cleaning systems or “scrubbers”, which “clean” the emissions before they are released into the atmosphere.

As of today, there are around 6,113 container ships carrying 22 million TEUs around the world..

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Hapag-Lloyd is currently the 5th largest container line in the world operating 227 vessels, transporting approximately 12 million containers per year on 120 liner services worldwide connecting more than 600 ports on all the continents..

Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of approximately 2.6 million TEUs including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers operated and is also one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades..

As per Hapag-Lloyd, their container shipping makes a significant contribution to a well-functioning global trade and as such bears a special responsibility for the environment, its customers and shareholders, and its employees..

In line with this, they have released their current sustainability report, titled “Gathering Pace Together”, which gives an insight into the broad spectrum of Hapag-Lloyd’s sustainability-related activities, which deals with topics such as combating corruption, employee training and data protection..

As per the Hapag-Lloyd, this sustainability report comprises the key results of their sustainability management in 2018:

Specific CO2 emissions were once again reducedHapag-Lloyd is prepared for the IMO2020 guidelineThe report incorporates the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for the first time

This report also presents its environmental sustainability management and formulates ambitious targets for the years ahead and as per Jörg Erdmann, Senior Director Sustainability Management, “In 2018, we were once again able to reduce the fuel consumption of our global fleet through efficiency measures. We have also lowered our specific emissions. This puts us on track to achieve our target of a 20 percent reduction by 2020”..

Talking about the IMO2020 regulation, Erdmann added “The new regulation is an important step on the way to lower-emission shipping. Even though the switch to low-sulphur fuels will entail significant costs, we are convinced that this directive is necessary.

And we are prepared, as our fleet will operate using compliant fuels by 1 January 2020. In addition, we are testing other options, and Hapag-Lloyd will be the first shipping company to convert a large container ship to climate-friendly liquefied natural gas”..

Taking guidance from the UN’s sustainability goals, in their 2018 sustainability report, Hapag-Lloyd has incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations for the first time..

The SDGs consider all three dimensions of sustainability – the economy, the environment and social commitment – and help companies to design their business processes to be sustainable over the long term..

Hapag-Lloyd’s activities contribute to 6 of the 17 overall goals including measures aimed at optimising the structure of the fleet which have contributed to lower fuel consumption and thereby contributed to the goal of climate protection..

Source Link | Shipping and Freight Resource