It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Developer of Alaska’s Pebble mine raises ongoing concerns
Reuters | May 15, 2023 | The Pebble project (Image courtesy of Northern Dynasty Minerals)
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd on Monday raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern if the company is unable to raise the necessary capital for the Pebble copper and gold mining project in Alaska.
Northern added that it is in process of exploring and evaluating the Pebble project and has not yet determined whether the project contains mineral reserves that are economically recoverable.
The project has been through a roller coaster of regulations for the past 15 years. Former US President Barack Obama opposed the project, and his successor Donald Trump ultimately did, too, after deciding it was too risky.
To continue operations, Northern is entirely dependent upon the existence of these economically recoverable mineral reserves and its ability to obtain financing to complete the exploration and development of the project.
As of March 31, Northern and its units had C$9.4 million ($7 million) in cash and cash equivalents for its operating requirements and working capital of C$8.1 million.
The company would require additional financing in order to progress any material expenditures at the Pebble project and for working capital requirements.
In January the US Environmental Protection Agency said it plans to take steps to block the proposed project by preventing Northern Dynasty from storing mine waste in the state’s vast watershed.
($1 = 1.3372 Canadian dollars)
(By Arunima Kumar; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Varun H K)
EXCLUSIVE: Chile mines minister clarifies controversial new lithium strategy Cecilia Jamasmie | May 16, 2023 | Chile’s Minister of Mining Marcela Hernando. (Image from the Government of Chile)
A decision by Chile, the world’s no. 2 lithium producer, to tighten control over the key battery metal sector has triggered speculation on what the announced state-led public-private model will look like and how it may affect the global industry.
To address market rumours and clarify aspects of the strategy described by some as “vague”, MINING.COM spoke with Chile’s mining minister Marcela Hernando, who noted the country had announced a strategy, rather than a policy.
“It will become a public policy when it has legitimacy and it is supported by all the political forces of the country,” Hernando said.
Reaching the point of public policy, which includes the creation of a national lithium company (Enal), could take years.
President Gabriel Boric has, in the interim, enlisted two other state-owned companies — Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, and state miner Enami — to determine how the private-public partnerships will operate.
Codelco will be initially in charge of negotiating for the state a stake in Albemarle’s and SQM’s operations. Enami, in turn, will sign up partners for new contracts. Their roles will be eventually undertaken by a national lithium company.
The government also launched on Tuesday a “Lithium and Salt Flats” committee to coordinate the various ministries and other public entities as well as regional governments taking part in the lithium development process.
The group would also act as a technical advisory body, the development office — Corfo — said in the statement.
The Chilean state has always played a major role in the mining industry. A 1979 law declared lithium to be a strategic resource, stipulating that its development was the exclusive prerogative of the nation.
Only SQM and Albemarle are currently licensed to produce lithium in the country, and in only one salt flat — the Atacama. The government wants to expand production both in Atacama and in any or all of the other 18 salt flats that have been identified. “Selective” participation
The minister explained that the government will only seek control of the operation — via different mechanisms, not just majority participation — in projects that are considered strategic.
Currently, the only strategic lithium area is the Atacama salt flat, Hernando said. In the others, each company will negotiate with representatives of either Enami or Codelco. The result of such negotiations will be presented to a committee integrated by the ministers of mining, finance, economy and environment, the vice presidency of Corfo and the country’s President.
Hernando said the new lithium strategy contemplates three options of public-private partnership.
Brine pools and processing areas at SQM’s lithium mine on the Atacama salt flat. (Image courtesy of SQM.)
In the first one, Codelco or Enami would conduct prospecting and then negotiate the terms of development with interested parties.
The second modality will see the state partnering with a private company for the exploration stage and will negotiate the next phase with that particular company.
The last option is for the government to grant exploration licences directly to private companies and evaluate results they present.
“Our strategy seeks to help the country create an ecosystem in which more value is added to its lithium industry, especially around issues [such] as technology transfer and worker training,” Hernando said. China, Canada interested
According to official figures, around 50 interested parties, including companies and countries, have already approached Chilean authorities to express their interest in participating in the lithium business — including China and Canada.
The country’s Minister of Economy, Nicolás Grau, told MINING.COM that Chile’s lithium policy does not give preference to any country. Rather, it opens the possibility of exploring new salt flats to any interested company.
“The conversations we have had in recent weeks make us think that when the exploration permits begin to be tendered, offers will come from companies from a variety of countries. We want to promote that diversity,” Grau said.
The minister noted that potential partners have applauded the government’s initiative as its sets up a mechanism for their entry into the Chilean lithium market, which did not exist until the policy announcement in late April.
“Something that has been highlighted is that the environmental requirements the government is putting in place are in line with the growing demands of buyers and society in general,” Grau said.
“This will give projects developed in Chile better prospects in terms of social license and acceptance of their production in international markets,” he noted.
The government will create a public research institute to develop new refining technologies, and institute lithium waste and battery recycling.
While Boric’s plan relies on the wide scale deployment of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies, both ministers said the state will not impose technological choices on private companies.
“Rather, we will regulate to achieve desired outcomes having into account the surrounding biodiversity,” Hernando said.
The long-term plan is to consolidate areas of oversight currently held by different public institutions, with some authorizing sales quotas and water use, under the mandates of a state-run lithium company. Not missing the boat
While some experts reacted negatively to Chile’s new strategy, the majority of those interviewed said the announcement brings an end to a long period of uncertainty for the sector.
Strategic lawyer and business advisor at Canada’s McCarthy Tétrault, Shawn Doyle, considers the policy a rather positive turn of events for private capital keen to invest in the battery metal.
“It must be remembered that, as a result of policy paralysis, Chile has been effectively closed to new private investment in lithium for decades,” Doyle said.
Source: Reuters
Analysts from Fastmarkets believe that, if Chile fails to capitalize on the lithium boom, it would fall from the world’s second-largest lithium producer last year to fourth in 2030 after China, Australia and Argentina. They forecast the country’s share of production would shrink from almost a third to 12%.
Global demand for lithium, according to the government’s projections, will quadruple by 2030, reaching 1.8 million tonnes. Available supply by then is expected to sit at 1.5 million tonnes.
The country’s strategic Atacama region, which is also home to vast copper mines, supplies nearly one-quarter of the globe’s lithium.
World output of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) was 737,000 tonnes in 2022. It is estimated to reach 964,000 tonnes this year and 1,167,000 tonnes in 2024, according to the Resources and Energy Quarterly Report by the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources in March.
U.S. Coast Guard May Try "Part-Time" Option to Boost Recruitment
Traditional recruiting options might not be the right fit for some who would otherwise consider a Coast Guard career (USCG file image)
To help fill a persistent recruiting gap, the U.S. Coast Guard wants to create a new category for "part-time" service, according to Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan. It's one of the many changes and initiatives that the USCG is undertaking to make the service a more attractive option to join and work.
When Adm. Fagan took up the post as commandant, the Coast Guard was 2,000 junior enlisteds short of its end strength target, and that number has only grown with time. At present, the service is about 4,800 people short of its goals. "We are not onboarding the full number of people that we need each week into Cape May," Fagan said at a forum at Brookings last week.
The composition of the pool has also changed. Many of the new enlisted recruits have already been in the workforce and have completed some form of higher education or credentialing program - meaning that they have skills that could be valuable to the USCG. In years past, recruiting was geared to 18-year-old high school grads with no prior work experience or college education, and there was no system for credential recognition for new arrivals. Experienced professionals would have to start from the bottom with everyone else.
To make better use of these skills, the Coast Guard has looked at lateral entry. "For example, say you're an aircraft mechanic and you're fully certified in the civilian community. You find you have a calling to serve and you'd like to come serve with us. We'd bring you in on a contract as an E-5 or E-6 for four years, maybe you stay, maybe you go back [to civilian life]" at the end, she explained.
In addition, Fagan's HR team is contemplating a new, extra category for service. Right now, the Coast Guard offers active duty, reserve and civilian job opportunities. "Might there be room for some other category - I'm going to use the term 'part time' - where you've got some level of benefit but you're working three days a week instead of the 24/7/365 contract that comes now," she proposed - adding the caveat that the service is "not there yet" on this novel concept.
Advertising to nontraditional labor markets and recruiting from a diverse pool is part of the solution too. This year, 45 percent of the cadets at the Coast Guard Academy are women, but across the rest of the organization, "we have work to do to continue to ensure that we reflect the society that we serve," said Fagan. Her goal is to ensure a high-performing, diverse workforce, in part by reducing barriers to entry and retention. A big part of this is in retooling the Coast Guard's HR system and policies, which have been more or less the same since the end of World War II.
"The mantra that I've given to the workforce team is 'eliminate barriers,'" she said.
Florida Man Sets New Record for Days Underwater at Pressure
A professor from University of South Florida has set a new record for time spent living underwater at ambient pressure, without the benefit of a submarine's pressure hull.
As of Monday, USF Associate Professor Joseph Dituri has spent 74 days under water, breaking a previous record of 73 days. His record and the previous one were both set in the same facility, the Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo.
Dituri is not done, however. His long-duration stay in the undersea habitat has a broader scientific purpose. Dituri, a biomedical engineering researcher, hopes to understand more about the effects of a high-oxygen, high-pressure environment on bloodflow in the brain, in hopes of finding new treatments for traumatic brain injury.
The research could also be useful for astronauts on long-term missions - for example, a 200-day voyage to Mars. “Our astronauts will have to travel in an environment similar to the one I’m in now – the confined area will limit their options for food, how far they can see and how they can exercise. They will experience muscle loss, bone loss and vision problems. This research could help us better prepare our astronauts to ensure they arrive healthy and strong enough to explore the planet," he said.
Dituri has been able to dive outside the habitat, but has not been to the surface since March (USF / Joseph Dituri)
At the same time, Dituri is using remote-learning technology to keep up with his teaching schedule at USF, including (appropriately) a course on hyperbaric medicine. “I’m teaching a course about being under pressure while I am under pressure," he said.
Dituri plans to stay in the habitat until June 9, the 100-day mark, recording his physiological response to the pressurized environment along the way.
While Dituri holds the new record for time at depth and pressure, the all-time record for time submerged goes to the crew of the Royal Navy submarine HMS Warspite. In 1982-3, Warspite spent 111 days submerged off the coast of the Falkland Islands and Argentina. That duration has yet to be surpassed (at least in the unclassified record).
Watch Officer From Lost Norwegian Frigate Sentenced to Probation
The watch officer aboard the frigate Helge Ingstad on the fateful night of her collision with a tanker has been sentenced to 60 days probation after a civilian criminal trial - a rarity for a military officer acting in the line of duty.
The Ingstad collided head-on with the tanker Sola TS off the Sture oil terminal in Norway's Hjeltefjord on November 8, 2018. Despite attempts to keep her afloat, she gradually sank on a rocky, sloping seabed near the terminal. All crew safely escaped, and no major injuries were reported, but the ship had to be scrapped.
A report from Norway's Accident Investigation Board found that a significant share of the fault for the collision lay with the Ingstad's bridge team, which believed that the oncoming tanker was a fixed object. Despite extensive attempts at communication between the tanker, the VTS center and the Ingstad, the frigate's bridge team did not attempt to alter course until it was too late.
Norwegian prosecutors brought several cases in connection with the casualty, but all were dropped save one: a criminal charge of negligence levied against the officer of the watch aboard Helge Ingstad, a relatively inexperienced young officer with just eight months of training.
"The defendant could and should have acted differently to prevent the collision," prosecutor Magne Kvamme Sylta told NRK at the outset of the trial.
The prosecution sought a 120-day jail sentence and two years of probation for the officer. The court decided to convict him, but handed down a lighter sentence of 60 days of probation.
The officer's defense team - and outside critics of the case - have argued that he should never have been allowed to run a navigational watch given his limited training. “This collision would never have occurred if a more experienced duty chief had been on the bridge that night,” former training officer Cato Rasmussen told NRK.
The civilian charges would not likely have occurred in other nations. Most militaries maintain legal jurisdiction over their own personnel for errors and omissions occuring on duty, and guard this prerogative closely. For the U.S. military, maintaining legal jurisdiction over U.S. servicemembers is so important that it is written into visiting-forces agreements with foreign nations.
The new precedent of a civilian prosecutorial intervention into a military justice case has strained civil-military relations in Norway; the head of the Norwegian Navy, Rune Andersen, said during the trial that his branch of the armed forces will have to think carefully about how much it will cooperate with the Norwegian police going forward.
"When the trial is over, we have to ask ourselves whether in the future we can be so open and self-examining if it ends with punishment," he told the court.
Maersk’s APM Terminals to Invest $1B in Expanding Operations in Brazil
APM Terminals will expand in Brazil with a priority on the operations in Santos
Maersk’s terminal operator, APM Terminals, is pledging to invest at least $1 billion in port expansion and modernization across Brazil. The investments were announced during a Dutch trade delegation visit to Brazil and would be made over the next three years in ports including Santos in southern Brazil as well as Suape in the north, three additional ports, and the company’s inland container depots in the northeast and southeast.
The company highlights that approximately a third of its investment, $320 million, will be going to Phase One developments of a new terminal in Suape. It is the largest port in Northeast Brazil and one of the five largest in the country as well as serving as an important link to serving Latin America. APM said they are in the final stages of the acquisition and will rejuvenate the infrastructure at the port to increase competition in the port. The total investment is expected to reach $524 million for the port of Saupe.
The largest focus, however, is on the renovation of the terminal in the Port of Santos. It is operated in partnership with MSC’s Terminal Investment Limited (TIL). According to the companies, the terminal is operating at 92 percent of capacity, far above the optimal efficiency achieved at 80 percent capacity.
The previous government in Brazil had been moving aggressively to privatize port operations, but Maersk and MSC encountered opposition to their plans for expansion of the Santos terminal shared by the two companies. Concerns had been raised over the potential for dominance by Maersk and MSC.
APM Terminals’ CEO Keith Svendsen said that experience in other countries shows that the concern is unfounded. “Our primary focus is increasing capacity and modernization. There is now an urgent need for investment in the Port of Santos, both to ensure the deepening of the access channel - which will allow the entry of new, larger, and more efficient ships - and to expand the capacity of the port complex, which is close to the limit.”
Currently, they are in negotiations with the federal government to extend the concession agreement, which expires in 2027, for another 20 years. In exchange, the partners would modernize and double the current 1.5 million TEU capacity of the terminal. They are allocating $310 million for the planned expansion of the operations of Brasil Terminal Portuário in Santo while saying the investment could reach nearly $450 million over the next five years
As well as expanding BTP, APM Terminals and TIL have expressed joint interest in a new container terminal at the Port of Santos, which would be located in an area adjacent to its existing terminal. The new government, however, has not yet defined the future of the project, which has been put on hold for reassessment.
In addition to the efforts in Saupe and planned for Santos, APM Terminals is committed to investing over $400 million in the company’s three other terminals and inland depots. The company plans to multiply storage capacity fivefold at its inland container depots in the Northeast and Southeast of the country.
Ammonia-Fueled Bulkers Could Start Australia's Green Corridor by 2028
Pilbara Ports handled 279 vessels and has the potential to be a first mover in ammonia-fueled vessels (pilbara Ports Authority)
A feasibility study on the potential for the Australia-East Asia Iron Ore Green Corridor concludes that the components are in place to see the first ammonia-fueled bulkers deployed by as early as 2028 followed by a rapid uptake in the shipping industry. While they believe there are favorable conditions to support early adoption and to make the corridor a first mover in the industry, they also outline important conditions including the need to develop an appropriate commercial framework.
The study indicates that the core elements for the implementation of a West Australia-East Asia green corridor – including deployment of ammonia-powered ships, access to clean ammonia (as the most likely zero-emission fuel to power the corridor), and the availability of the bunkering infrastructure – are within reach, provided that the safety case for the use of ammonia as a marine fuel is validated and accepted.
Their timeline scenario highlights the potential to introduce the first ammonia-powered vessels on the corridor in 2028 and by 2030 to already have 23 ships in service. It would grow exponentially to 81 ships by 2035, and roughly 360 vessels to meet the scenario. To make this possible, they point to the need to have the design and investment case in place by 2025. Newbuilds they believe would lead the adoption to the mid-2030s before retrofits would also begin to emerge.
The study points to several contributing factors that they believe position this route to become a first mover. They point to plans for abundant green ammonia production with electronic hydrogen as well as blue ammonia with conventional ammonia in Australia. The potential exists to further supplement the supplies with imports if Australian production did not keep up with demand. The analysis also shows that the Pilbara region of Australia is a viable option for bunkering on the route, avoiding costly deviations from the trade route, while Singapore remains well-positioned to serve as a bunkering hub.
They however also caution that the development of suitable engines, technologies, and regulations also need to remain on track to achieve the early deployment of ammonia as a marine fuel. They expect Singapore and Pilbara will be ready to become bunkering hubs by 2027 while pointing out the need to also have IMO safety regulations and standards in place. They also highlight the critical need for crew upskilling to ensure seafarers are trained to operate ammonia-fueled vessels.
The Pilbara region is home to Australia’s largest iron ore mines and exports. In March 2023, the Pilbara Ports Authority reported a throughput of 62.1 million tonnes with the Port of Port Hedland handling three-quarters of the volume. The port had 279 vessels arrive during March and nearly 90 percent of its iron ore exports (40.4 million tonnes) were bound for China. Japan was third in volume just slight behind South Korea, with nearly 2 million tonnes going to each country.
To continue the efforts to develop the green corridor between Western Australia, China, and Japan, they are also announcing the establishment of an Australia-East Asia Iron Ore Corridor Task Force to act as a collaborator within the industry. They are calling for policy support with efforts to unlock investments highlighting the excepted cost gap between ammonia and traditional marine fuels and said that collaboration and coordination will be required to make the corridor a reality.
The collation to form the green corridor was launched in April 2022. Major charterers, BHP and Rio Tinto, joined with shipping companies, Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers, to work jointly to develop an operational green corridor for the ore industry shipments. The Global Maritime Forum is supporting and coordinating the efforts.
(Article originally published in Mar/Apr 2023 edition.)
Bulk carriers, boxships, cruise vessels and workboats all have one thing in common: They require reliable propulsion to get from port to port. Regardless of what they’re transporting, towing or pushing, every conventional vessel needs a smooth-running engine with the right engine lubricants and fuels to make the voyage.
A thin layer of lubricant – often less than a thousandth of an inch thick - is all that keeps engine components from rubbing together. Any shortcomings in lubricant performance will show up later in the form of accelerated engine wear and increased maintenance costs.
The lubricant’s additive package has to be just right to do this job well. Lubricity has to be high enough to keep down wear. The base number has to match the fuel’s sulfur content, and the formula has to have enough detergency to clean out the inevitable soot from burnt residual fuel oil.
The industry solved this trifecta of challenges for high-sulfur heavy fuel oil many decades ago. Higher base number (BN) lubricants have extra additives to neutralize the acids produced by burning sulfurous fuel in a two-stroke engine. As a happy coincidence, these additives also provide superb detergency, solving two problems in one step.
Transition
This formula served maritime commerce well from the 1950s up through 2020 when the IMO began to require the use of Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO). The transition forced vessel operators to switch to lower base number lubricants to match the new low sulfur content fuel – but with a catch. These lubricants also had less detergency, and shipowners quickly found that this translated into heavy carbon deposits and excessive wear in modern high-pressure two-strokes – specifically, the popular MAN Mark 9 and 10 platforms.
“This will have implications for cylinder oil selection in the future, as detergency becomes more important than acid neuralization capability,” explains Milind Phadke, Vice President of Energy at lubricants consultancy Kline Group.
In mid-2022, after two years of R&D and testing in the field, most major lubricant suppliers debuted new 40 BN oils that decouple detergency from base number. Gulf Oil’s GulfSea Cylcare XP 5040X, Shell’s Alexia 40 XC, Chevron’s Taro Ultra Advanced 40 and ExxonMobil’s MobilGard 540 AC all rival BN 100 oils in maintaining cleanliness in modern, high-efficiency two-strokes – while also providing the low 40 BN base number needed for VLSFO.
The decoupling of detergency and base number may also give these new lubricants a leg up on the green transition: Many of them are also dual-rated for use with other low-sulfur fuels like LNG and methanol, which will play a starring role in the industry’s decarbonization.
Methanol is the green fuel of choice for Maersk Line, which has ordered 19 container ships with dual-fuel methanol engines including six ultra large container vessels with a capacity of 17,000 TEU each. Just like any other vessel with a two-stroke diesel, these ships will need proper lubrication, and low BN oils are ready and available to provide it.
Lube Oil Monitoring
With all of these changes in the fuel market, lube oil monitoring is more important than ever, and the lubricants industry is responding with sophisticated digital solutions.
ExxonMobil took a step ahead of the pack last year through a partnership with Palantir, an analytics provider for big-name customers like IBM, HD Hyundai and the U.S. Navy. Exxon is adding the capabilities of Palantir’s Foundry digital platform to its Mobil Serv Cylinder Condition Monitoring service, which enables onboard scrape-down oil analysis for rapid identification of lubrication issues.
The objective is to use Palantir’s advanced analytics to protect engines from premature wear by spotting problems early. Ship managers will also be able to compare their vessels’ performance to (fully anonymized) data from other vessels in ExxonMobil’s database. At the same time, the data tools will help ExxonMobil’s R&D efforts by yielding hidden clues about lubricant performance.
“We can now fully leverage the big data we have gathered in our experience to develop and deploy even more powerful data-based insights when and where they’re needed,” explains Ioannis Chatzakis, Global Marine Technology Program Manager, ExxonMobil. “Vessel operators will be able to use this data for their own analysis within the platform and connect to existing vessel management platforms.”
Shell’s LubeMonitor condition monitoring service has also gone digital with an app-based one-stop shop for lubrication data. The LubeMonitor app allows engineers and ship managers to store all kinds of relevant information including photos and measurements from engine inspections, lab test results and technical advice from advisors in Shell’s LubeAnalyst service.
This reduces the user workload of shifting back and forth between different systems for each function and report. It allows operators to easily compare their vessels against benchmarks – from the fleet level all the way down to individual engine cylinders. To maximize ease of access, the app is available via the Internet, on the Apple iOS and Android operating systems, as well as offline logbook formats.
Chevron takes a traditional approach to lubrication monitoring with its FAST (Fluid Analysis Service and Trending) program laboratory analysis network. Chevron uses well-equipped, ISO-certified labs in Antwerp and Shanghai to quickly analyze marine lubricant samples and provide tailored insights to its customers. The turnaround is fast, as the name suggests, and the resulting reports are posted in an online portal for ship managers to access at their convenience.
For vessel operators who wish to get even faster, up-to-the-minute information on the health of their engines and lubricants, the Chevron FAST OnBoard test kit allows engineers to perform DIY tests in the field. This identifies changes at the earliest possible stage, allows engineers to make changes and interventions immediately and encourages a hands-on monitoring culture in the engine room.
Unburned Fuel
Modern marine diesel engines are highly efficient, but even the best engines leave some fuel unburned.
At low-load conditions when the engine is below its designed operating temperature, incomplete combustion can account for upwards of two percent of fuel injected, according to emissions monitoring company SailPlan. This represents a cost to the operator in the form of wasted fuel and increased wear. Stack emissions of half-burned fuel (PM and PAH) also pose a health hazard to coastal populations.
Fuel additives can help by improving fuel combustion properties, reducing carcinogenic emissions and potentially saving opex at the same time. After all, fuel costs money, and unburned fuel is money escaping up the stack.
U.K.-based SulNOx Group specializes in fuel additives that promote complete combustion. Its LR-certified SulNOxEco fuel conditioner is a bio-based additive for diesel and MGO, and it improves both lubricity and fuel efficiency. The additives – designed by the specialty chemical giant Nouryon – create an emulsion that allows water in the fuel oil to completely mix, increasing the fuel’s overall oxygen content.
This improves combustion efficiency and decreases combustion temperature, which helps reduce NOx formation. It can also reduce particulate matter emissions by up to 60 percent while offering eight-to-ten percent fuel savings. This is a straightforward way for shipowners to improve their Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating, according to SulNOx.
“Many shipowners are talking of having to reduce vessel speeds to become compliant [with CII], which obviously comes at great commercial cost,” says SulNOx CEO Ben Richardson. “However, with the proven improvements in fuel efficiency, power and torque from using SulNOx in fuels, we offer immediate, green solutions.”
Current users trialing SulNOx products include OSV operator Caspian Marine Services (CMS) and Norwegian shipowner Myklebusthaug Management, among others. Myklebusthaug is particularly interested in SulNOx’s ability to reduce NOx emissions, which are taxed in Norwegian waters. Norway’s $2.30 per kilo NOx tax is based on a combination of fuel consumption and engine performance measurements, and it’s high enough to incentivize operators to institute controls.
Mykelbusthaug will be testing SulNOx fuel additives aboard two ships and evaluating the effects.
U.K.-based supplier FAST (no relation to Chevron) has a long history in over-the-road fuel additives and is seeing increasing interest in its marine formulations as well. Its Exocet brand of fuel additives is designed to solve a range of common fuel problems like microbial growth in fuel tanks and water in fuel contamination.
FAST's Exocet Marine Fuel Conditioner is a multi-functional additive for inland and coastal marine diesel engines running on distillate fuel. According to FAST, it inhibits fuel tank sludge formation, prevents microbial growth, promotes a clean fuel system and inhibits injector fouling. One gallon of conditioner treats about 2,000 gallons of fuel, and a version formulated for heavy fuel oil is available.
The company also offers a specific formulation designed to restore diesel engine power by cleaning injectors as well as an all-purpose antimicrobial treatment to treat or prevent "bug" growth in fuel tanks.
Saving Money
These additives help vessel operators solve a wide range of operational and compliance challenges – from exhaust pollutants to fuel incompatibility, sludging, coking and tank deposits. In many cases, this is cheaper than attempting to make the same changes by altering vessel speed or engine configuration.
Solving specific issues with an additive treatment can get a vessel back into service without extended downtime – and a routine conditioner regimen may be able to prevent problems from ever occurring in the first place.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
Wind Power Becomes the Largest Source of Electricity in Britain
For the first time, Britain’s wind farms generated more electricity than gas-fired power stations in the first three months of this year. These findings were released last week ahead of the quarterly Drax Electric Insights report. The publication is an independent report by academics from Imperial College London commissioned by the UK renewable power producer Drax Group.
During the first quarter of 2023, almost a third (32.4 percent) of UK’s electricity was supplied from wind power, outpacing gas, which delivered 31.7 percent. This is the first time that wind has provided the largest share of power in any quarter in the history of the country’s electricity grid.
Across the three months, Britain’s turbines generated 24 TWh of electricity. This wind output was three percent higher than during the same quarter last year, while gas was down by five percent.
Further, almost 42 percent of Britain’s electricity came from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass and hydro) during the quarter under review. Fossil fuels supplied 33 percent, with the rest coming from imports from abroad and the country’s shrinking nuclear fleet.
“In the space of a decade the UK has almost completely cut out coal, after relying on the most polluting fossil fuel for over a century to power our country. There are still many hurdles to reaching a completely fossil-free grid, but wind out-supplying gas for the first time is a genuine milestone event,” said Dr.Iain Staffell of Imperial College London, and lead author of the Drax Electric Insights report series.
These findings come several months after wind-generated electricity reached over 20 GW in November 2022, according to data by UK’s National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO).
In the same year, the proportion of wind-generated electricity was estimated at 26 percent, behind gas at 38.5 percent.
Partly, the rise of wind-generated electricity in the UK stems from the country’s bet on offshore wind, which it has identified as a critical technology in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Currently, UK is one of the leading offshore wind power markets with an installed capacity of over 13 GW spread across 44 wind farms. The ambition is to secure 50 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, of which 5 GW will use floating technology.
Study: Fishing Subsidies Support Unregulated Distant-Water Fishing
In a new study, researchers at University of British Columbia (UBC) have lifted the lid on the impacts of fisheries subsidies, the majority of which are being granted by governments in Europe, North America and Asia. These subsidies are fueling unregulated fishing, particularly in South American, Latin America and African waters, with harmful impacts.
The researchers found that fisheries subsidies are leading to more fishing vessels chasing fewer fish stocks, leading to adverse environmental and societal impacts.
In essence, the subsidies which are any direct or indirect financial contribution by governments to the commercial fishing industry that aid in increasing revenues or lowering the costs of fishing, have played a central role in encouraging vessels to venture into waters far off from their jurisdictions. Between 20 percent and 37 percent of subsidies are supporting fishing in areas outside of the jurisdiction of the original subsidizing nation, and another three to seven percent support fishing on the high seas.
These government support policies include fuel subsidies, tax exemptions, support for vessel construction, and investment in marketing and processing infrastructure. They alter the economics of fishing in ways that have consequences, according to the researchers.
The study shows that in 2018, an estimated $22.2 billion in fisheries subsidies were provided to the world’s fishing fleets, mainly by governments in the developed world. Of this, some $5.3 billion was likely paid out to support fishing in foreign waters and within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of foreign nations, and another $1 billion supported fishing in the high seas. The remaining $15.9 billion supported domestic fishing within the EEZs of the subsidizing nations.
The researchers contend that the numbers mean that the benefits, and the resulting environmental and societal costs, of subsidies are not equally distributed across the places the fishing vessels go.
“What we’re finding out is that harmful fishing subsidies create more inequities in places where the coastal communities are already marginalized. You have coastal communities that are already disadvantaged over the big industrial fisheries because the government doesn’t really pay too much attention to them,” said Anna Schuhbauer, author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
She added that the harmful subsidies enable fishing fleets to go out fishing even if the fishing isn’t profitable, meaning the vessels can go wherever they want, including to other countries.
In June last year, the WTO struck a deal that partially banned provision of fisheries subsidies. However, the deal only covered illegal fishing and fishing on overfished stocks. Another WTO meeting is slated for February 2025 to negotiate the parts of the deal that were not included, including the prohibition of all harmful subsidies.
South Atlantic and African waters are some of the jurisdictions that have come under siege from foreign vessels carrying out unregulated fishing activities, with fleets from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Spain (among others) venturing into far-off waters.
Argentina, for instance, has been forced to deploy offshore patrol vessels to monitor international fishing fleets traveling close to its EEZ en route to the South Atlantic waters where overfishing and illegal practices are depleting stocks, particularly of squid and hake species.
UN Food and Agriculture Organization data show that fish stocks risk collapsing in many parts of the world due to overexploitation. Currently, it is estimated that 34 percent of global reserves are overfished compared with 10 percent in 1974. Today, a tenth of fish stocks globally are now on the brink of collapse, reduced to just 10 percent of their original size.
The UBC study shows that Asia, Europe and North America provide more harmful subsidies to their fishing fleets than their respective regional ecosystems are affected by, making them the net subsidy-sources. Conversely, marine ecosystems within Africa and Oceania are significant net subsidy-sinks, meaning that fishing in their waters is supported by more harmful subsidies than are provided by the nations within those regions.
For developing nations, the impacts of fishing subsidies are damaging in that local fishing suffers when big boats, harmfully subsidized, take all the fish and livelihood opportunities away from local fishers. The ripple effect is rising food insecurity, especially for communities which are heavily reliant on day-to-day subsistence fishing.
The researchers contend that harmful subsidies provided to fishing fleets operating outside of the source-nations’ EEZs should be prioritized for removal, particularly when they operate in the high seas or the EEZs of low-income nations.
