Environment
98% of the world trade volume is transported by ships, of which 98% are operated with diesel fuel. The heavy fuel oil ("residual oil") used by commercial ships is a highly toxic refinery waste product. Its combustion affects the environment significantly. Cargo shipping is considered among one of the main causes of climate damaging emissions. According to a study of the University of Delaware, Newark USA, cargo shipping uses approx. 289 million tons of fuel oil per year. This is more than twice the amount of the whole consumption of Germany (approx. 125 million tons per year).
Cargo ship emissions have been identified as one of the world’s main polluter of climate-damaging gases, as they operate with cheap and extremely sulphurous heavy fuel oil. Quoting the German journal "Bild der Wissenschaft 1/2006", commercial shipping is the 3rd largest source of climate-effecting toxic substances after road traffic and industrial production.
Experts from Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, London, estimate that shipping traffic is responsible for about 7% of the world wide sulphur dioxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
As a result of this, national and international standards for maritime environment protection have been and continue to be tightened. The "International Maritime Organisation" (IMO), a sub-organisation of the UN, is responsible for ship safety and the prevention of pollution caused by ships on an international level.
In order to reduce air pollution caused by ships the IMO enacted laws on 19th May 2005 (MARPOL 73/78, Annex VI) regulating threshold values for the emission of sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) and controlling the emission of ozone-reducing substances by ships. These laws include the global stipulation of a maximum sulphur level of 4.5% in heavy oil, and a maximum sulphur level of 1.5% in "SOx Emission Control Areas" (SECAS).
The English Channel is already a SOx Emission Control Area. In late 2006 and 2007 the Baltic Sea and the North Sea will become SECAS. The regulation stipulates that ships can either be fitted with an exit flue able to clean waste gases or with an arbitrary technology which reduces SOx emissions.
Additionally the IMO is preparing the implementation of a CO2-indexing-scheme in order to reduce CO2-emissions of ships. Ships with low CO2-emission shall be favoured with regards to emissions-dependent charges.
According to a study by Berenberg Bank and the HWWI (Hamburg Institute of International Economics) from the year 2005 the oil price could rise up to 120 dollar per barrel by the year 2030 according to conservative calculations. Other studies expect even higher oil prices. This results in extreme cost pressure on shipping companies which will even rise through the introduction of tax levies for cargo shipping depending on the emissions rate.
Through this development shipping companies will be willing to optimize their propulsion technologies. The best option to face increasing fuel costs in the shipping industry is the utilisation of wind. Conventional sailing systems however do not fulfil the requirements of modern shipping any more.
The aim of the SkySails towing kite system is to enable the modern shipping industry to reduce fuel consumption significantly by using environmentally friendly wind energy. The benefit - ecological and economical targets - can be reached at the same time.
Through consistent worldwide usage of the SkySails technology, it would be possible to support the global efforts to protect and conserve the environment substantially.
