Clean across the globe

With COP 15 only a few days away, it was interesting to be in the host city shortly before the big event. With climate change posters in the airport, large advertising hoardings in the city centre and locals wondering how their seasonal shopping is going to be affected - there can be no doubt what's coming to Copenhagen before Christmas this year.

We were in Copenhagen holding a press briefing with technology innovator NanoNord A/S and Danish shipowners J.Lauritzen to talk about Lab-on-a-Ship™ (LOAS), an innovation in fuel management and measurement for the shipping industry. We brought two of the leading marine technical journalists, Craig Eason of Lloyd's List and Duncan Payne of Marine Propulsion and Machinery, to hear about the LOAS system - which has been on board two of Lauritzen's bulk carriers for the last year.
They were joined by the Danish media including marine journalists from Soefart and The Shipping Gazette at Lauritzen's impressive waterfront offices in central Copenhagen.

Lloyd's List reported immediately after the briefing that the system offers huge potential to ensure vessels are compliant, according to Lauritzen Bulkers senior vice president Ejner Bonderup. “There are so many issues we as owners want to be in control of, and bunker quality has been a big issue where we have been in the dark,” he said. “Now we can be more upfront with the suppliers when they come to fuel our ships he said.”

Lauritzen are positive that Lab-On-A-Ship™ will enable them to optimise their ships’ operations thus reducing both their environmental impact and operating costs. LOAS's benefits go beyond measuring fuel quality - the next steps will be recording emissions and providing full transparency over engine performance allowing better management onboard and regulatory compliance. The Lab-On-A-Ship™ project is providing proven benefits and is proof that the shipping industry is able to benefit from technology - and is willing and able to use it. There is some way to go but we are heading in the right direction.
This week we are pretty excited at LR about yesterday's agreement with Chinese ship designer's Bestway, one of many environmental initiatives we have underway, to develop a new fuel-efficient bulk carrier. Without bulk carriers, world trade stops and we hope to address key issues such as ballast water management in the design work we will be undertaking.
We will soon see what the implications of COP 15 will be for shipping, but certainly last Friday in Copenhagen, and yesterday, firm insight and an indication of commitment was provided as to how shipping will manage the technical challenges - whatever is decided by the delegates in the next few weeks.

The three partners, J.Lauritzen, LR and NanoNord will be present in Copenhagen at the Bright Green Expo, 12-13 December under the banner of Danish organisation Green Ship's, 'Green Ship of the Future' project.