Maersk hits back at 'misleading' and 'outdated' ETS rip-off claims
Maersk has denied claims it is ripping off shippers by overcharging on EU ETS surcharges ...
CMA CGM is committing to running at least seven of its new ships on bio-gas, a low embodied-carbon alternative to LNG, which it claims can reduce CO2 emissions by 67%.
The four 7,300 teu vessels and three 7,900 teu vessels are not, as has been widely reported, new orders but form part of CMA CGM’s existing LNG dual-fuel orderbook of 24 ships.
However, as part of last week’s announcement, CMA CGM did commit to run the seven vessels on bio-gas.
The vessel portfolio, due for delivery between 2023 and 2025, includes three on charter from Eastern Pacific Shipping, 16-owned ships, to be built at Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho HI, and five non-LNG vessels in the 6,000-7,000 teu range.
It is expected that seven of these will be like-for-like replacements for seven ships on the French carrier’s Medcaribe loop, which connects the western Mediterranean with the Caribbean and South America.
LNG has suffered a fall from grace recently after claims of its decarbonisation potential were contradicted by research showing that methane slip, which occurs in all LNG engines, eats into its touted 20% CO2 emissions reductions. Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, but eventually degrades to CO2 in the atmosphere.
However, “bio-gas” – a term often used interchangeably with bio-methane – describes methane generated as a result of natural processes, namely anaerobic digestion, and subsequently harnessed as fuel.
LNG supporters point to bio-gas as a ‘pathway’ to emissions reductions with LNG-capable ships.
Last week, interest group SEA-LNG hit out at a study criticising LNG vessels as “stranded assets”, saying that it was erroneous to assume “that the decarbonisation pathway offered by LNG via bio-LNG in the medium term to synthetic, or e-LNG, in the long term, will be less ‘competitive’ than ammonia or other electro-fuels”.
Tom Strang, SVP of maritime affairs at cruise line Carnival, told The Loadstar: “People say LNG has no benefit whatsoever when it comes to greenhouse gas reductions, but we don’t believe that. We’ve got our targets… [and] we believe LNG has a significant role to play there; we see pathways.”
There is evidence to suggest CMA CGM also subscribes to this view, having jointly invested in a project with EveRé, Elengy and TotalEnergies to produce bio-gas and bio-LNG from biodegradable household waste close to the French port of Marseille, a key port of call on the Medcaribe route.
Comment on this article