Study on future fuels for cargo vessels in the Baltic Sea

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School of Engineering | Master's thesis
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Date

2013

Department

Sovelletun mekaniikan laitos

Major/Subject

Laivanrakennusoppi

Mcode

Kul-24

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

vii + 64 s. + liitt.

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Abstract

Medium-to-large cargo ships have traditionally been designed to operate with heavy fuel oil (HFO), which is cheaper than other available energy for a ship's propulsion. In addition, marine diesel oil (MDO) has mainly been used to power the auxiliary machinery of cargo vessels, and main engines in a few cases. However, the global energy crisis has driven the price of these fossil fuels much higher in recent years. Moreover, much stricter environmental regulations on exhaust emissions will be imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) for commercial shipping in the near future, which cannot be fulfilled by HFO and MDO. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis is to investigate four alternative fuel options for cargo vessels in the BSR: liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. The performance of these fuels in terms of the IMO regulations is compared using an Air Emission Assessment Model (AEAM). Environmental performance of these fuels is analysed based on the AEAM for a bulk carrier MS Eira from ESL Shipping Ltd. as a case study. Furthermore, the net present value (NPV) of the ship is calculated with the help of ShipMaC program, developed within Wärtsilä. Corporation, assuming the ship has a life-cycle of 20 years. Results from AEAM are treated as one of the variables for the NPV calculations. The investigation based on the AEAM indicates that, in the near future, LNG would be the best fuel option for cargo ships in the BSR. Furthermore, the other three fuels show efficient performance than HFO in terms of fulfilling air emission regulations imposed by the IMO. Similar results are found from NPV calculations, showing that LNG would be the best option. Furthermore, LPG and bio-ethanol present more suitable results than HFO based on NPV calculations.

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Supervisor

Kujala, Pentti

Thesis advisor

Rytkölä, Ilkka

Keywords

ship, bulk carrier, IMO, alternative fuels, air emission, NPV

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-2020122859763

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[dipl] Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu / ENG