Page 31: of Marine News Magazine (February 2011)

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Teo said that with LNG, “green house gases are reduced by around 20%, NOx is reduced by about 80%, and SOx (sulfur) is completely eliminated, and so is particulate matter. So you get very clean air coming out.”

As a result of regulations calling for more low-sulfur fuel, the low-sulfur diesel supply is being squeezed. As a further consequence, Hatley said, “natural gas is a bargain compared to diesel. Because of its abundance of supply and a lack of market demand the prices are soft and will remain so for quite a long time.” “The shale gas paradigm shift brings an abundance of natural gas to the U.S markets. Some experts say we have more than a couple centuries of supply.” What’s more,

Hatley said, the areas where this natural resource is found, “are along the internal corridors right where a lot of our river traffic exists today.”

Teo agreed, saying “we found that LNG as a fuel is actu- ally more suited for short sea shipping, which is inland waterways and coastal vessels, because of the availability of the fuel in the U.S.” “There are nine terminals all over the U.S. coast from

Alaska to the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. … On top of that, there are more than 100 peak shaving plants all over the U.S. continent.” Peak shaving plants convert natural gas to LNG and typically sell the fuel during winter to cater to the high point of the demand cycle.

While presenting their LNG towboat concept design to the industry, Comer said he received feedback from oil companies who reported that setting up LNG refueling stations along the inland waterways would not present a problem. The fuel is truckable and small storage could be established on land or on barges up and down the rivers.

Hatley, Wärtsilä “A new millennium class of river towboats will certainly give very strong consideration to adopting natural gas because the emissions reductions and operating cost savings represent a true win-win.”

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