The challenge
The challenge of decarbonising the global shipping fleet is huge. Lloyd’s Register was the first to show that for shipping to do its fair share in the challenge of limiting climate change to 2 degrees Celsius this century, set out in the UN Paris Agreement of 2016, then commercially viable, zero-carbon, deep-sea vessels would need to be in use by 2030.
The solution
Collaboration would be key to getting a zero-carbon emitting deep-sea vessel built. Lloyd’s Register was a founding member of the Global Maritime Forum, and the first classification society to sign up to its ‘Getting to Zero Coalition’ in October 2019, involving 70 leaders from across the maritime sector. Conversations at that launch event led directly to the decision to move forward on a collaborative effort to work on producing a zero-carbon emitting deep-sea tanker, powered by ammonia, involving Lloyd’s Register, MISC Berhad, Samsung Heavy Industries and MAN Energy Solutions.
The result
In January 2020, the four participants in the project publicly announced their intention to work together on a Joint Development Project (JDP) to produce an ammonia-fuelled, zero-carbon emitting tanker. They issued a statement saying they hoped their collaboration would spur others in the maritime industry to join forces on addressing the global decarbonisation challenge. Ammonia is just one of the pathways towards zero-carbon emitting vessels, and the participants in the project recognised that the shipping industry will need to explore multiple decarbonisation solutions in the future.
Yee Yang Chien, President & Group CEO MISC Berhad:
“At MISC, we believe the global maritime industry needs to be more collaborative in defining our future together, rather than being confrontational and fragmented in our efforts. We need more shining examples of partnerships and collaborations in our industry and it is my hope that this will encourage our peers in the industry to also join hands with others to advance the zero-carbon agenda.”
Joon Ou Nam, President & CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries:
“We are very delighted to be a key member of this meaningful industry collaboration together with competent partners. We all know that the industry–wide movement is vital, and new zero-carbon fuel technologies, such as ammonia fuel, are to be brought on the table, in order to take action proactively on maritime GHG emissions in accordance with the IMO’s ambitious road map. We hope SHI’s experience and expertise in novel ship design development will effectively contribute to this joint development project and all JDP partners could get better insight into the feasible and sustainable zero-carbon fuel vessel design solutions.”
Bjarne Foldager Jensen, Senior Vice President, Head of Two Stroke Business at MAN:
“Low-speed diesel engines are the most efficient propulsion system for trans-oceanic shipping and already run on a sizable number of emission-friendly fuels. We look forward to adding ammonia to the list and welcome the opportunity to work with industry partners in this venture.”
Nick Brown, Marine & Offshore Director, Lloyd’s Register :
“As we start the 2020s, we are proud to be among a four-party team to make Deepsea Zero-Emission Vessels (ZEVs) a reality within this decade. The IMO’s 2050 GHG ambitions, require substantial and collaborative input from all maritime stakeholders and we are confident the lead taken by this partnership will encourage others to work collectively to address the challenge. These are exciting times as we commence the industry’s fourth Propulsion Revolution as during LR’s history we have supported the transition from wind to coal to oil and now look forward to safely decarbonising.”