Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2020)

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Roger Holm

Marine President, Wärtsilä

The environmental hurdles in maritime will require a comprehensive, multi-faceted solution set.

Roger Holm lends his perspective.

ast year saw a quite considerable change in how envi- ronmental aspects are discussed within the maritime community,” said Holm. “Shipping is involved in a “

L huge amount of trade and is already the most envi- ronmentally friendly way of moving goods. But there is the opportunity to do even better.” Tangible change is happen- ing, as evidenced by a recent proposal to establish a research trust funded by a $2-per-ton levy on ship fuel. Earlier in 2019 several banks developed ‘The Poseidon Principles,’ a set of criteria for ? nancing green ship investments. Signi? cantly,

Source: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä is among 74 companies in an international coopera- tion, the Getting to Zero coalition, to develop a zero-emission fuel ef? ciencies as well as emissions bene? ts, there is clear deep-sea merchant ship by 2030. advantage in being an early adopter.

Continuing the conversation will be critical. Central to “Looking at data in different segments is where the big op-

Wärtsilä’s approach is the view that shipping’s environmen- portunity lies to reduce fuel consumption, but it also requires tal challenges must be solved collectively rather than by each taking down silos in the maritime world and that will be one individual company. The vision is of a ‘smart marine eco- of the hurdles. To get it to work on a global scale requires system’, whereby shipping stakeholders work together using quite a lot but that doesn’t prevent us from starting to use technologies to drive inef? ciency from the entire logistics these concepts in corners of the maritime world.” chain. “It’s about much more than the fuel,” said Holm, “it’s An excellent example is a deal signed with ship manager about how you connect and collaborate with the whole eco- Anglo Eastern, an agreement to roll out Wärtsilä’s voyage system and make it more ef? cient by getting data moving in planning and execution, engine performance and fuel ef? - a different way.” ciency monitoring systems across the ? eet of 600 ships. The

The concept of ‘just-in-time’ sailing highlights this ap- Fleet Operations Solution (FOS) integrates otherwise sepa- proach. Cargo ships traditionally sail faster than necessary rate processes to optimize planning, weather routing, fuel in order not to miss valuable port berthing slots or to avoid consumption, and speed; functionality that is a pre-requisite contractual penalties, but often end up having to wait at an- of just-in-time sailing. But shipowners cannot maximize the chor for slots regardless. There is a huge environmental and ef? ciency of shipping on their own. As just-in-time sailing ef? ciency bene? t in cutting waiting time. illustrates, ports must also play a role.

Just-in-time sailing relies on both connectivity and voyage Using data and an ecosystem approach to optimize opera- planning technologies to facilitate the exchange of accurate tions will help ships use only the fuel they need. But that arrival times between ports and ships. Wärtsilä is working is just part of the solution to shipping’s environmental chal- with ship operators to enable just-in-time sailing through its lenges. The other element, which has arguably taken a bigger existing technologies. Holm said that applying the concept share of the industry discussion, is which fuel ships should globally today is a challenge due to lack of connectivity as use to eliminate emissions. At a time when no carbon-free fu- well as varying approaches to data and communications, but els are available for shipping, there is much discussion about he expects the industry to move in this direction. And with which fuels may emerge. With is engine portfolio Wärtsilä is 30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • February 2020

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