Samenvatting

This research has been executed on behalf of the shipping company Hartman Seatrade. This research has been done due to the new rules of the IMO (International Maritime Organisation), according the sulphur emissions of ships. In 2008 is decided that from the year 2020, sulphur emissions for ships are not allowed to exceed 0,5% worldwide. In the SECA area’s this sulphur limit is unchanged at 0,1%. These new rules will have major consequences for the shipping industry. Today, many ships use the cheap fuel HFO(Heavy Fuel Oil). HFO has a sulphur content of 3.5%, which is prohibited from the year 2020. To comply with the new rules of the IMO, a change to a more expensive low-sulphur fuel (like gasoil) should be made. The second option is to clean the exhaust gasses by an exhaust gas cleaning system.
This research is done for the ship ‘Mv. Deo Volente’ from the shipping company Hartman Seatrade. The purpose was to find the cheapest way to transport the cargo and at the same time to comply with the new rules. To get the best results, the following main question has been asked:
Is it economical profitable to purchase and retrofit an exhaust gas scrubber on board of the ‘Mv. Deo Volente’ to comply with the new rules for sulphur emissions?
To find the best answers on the main question, the research is divided in 3 parts. In the first part it is investigated which scrubber type is the most suitable one for the Deo Volente. Seen on the results, an inline open-loop scrubber is the cheapest solution to comply with the new rules. This type of scrubber takes the smallest space and has the lowest purchase and maintenace costs.
The best place on board of the ship for fitting the exhaust gas scrubber is investigated in the second part of the research. The results have shown that the best position for the scrubber is on portside aft on the ship, in the funnel. With some adjustments to the funnel, it fits inside the funnel in place of the damper. The other auxiliary systems that are required for the good operation of the scrubber are the wash water pumps, some seawater filters and a hydrocyclone. This equipment can be placed portside aft in the engine room, as seen in appendix 8. There is enough space available to fit the 3 centrifugal pumps, the hydrocylone and the other equipment. The gasoil tank 5, nowadays used as storage for gasoil, can be converted to storage tank for the chemical alkali additives and another part can be used as residence tank.
The economical profit of a scrubber is investigated in the last part of the research. With the current sailing time of 17% in a SECA area, the purchase of an exhaust gas scrubber is not profitable. The return of investment time is far above the 20 years. Nevertheless, using various calculations, the research has shown that, when the IMO will apply the new rules in 2020, the installation of an exhaust gas scrubber is the best and cheapest solution. Depending on the price difference between HFO and Gasoil and the sailing area, the payback time of a scrubber is about 3 to 8 years.
After finishing this research, it has been concluded that it is economical profitable to retrofit an exhaust gas scrubber on board of the Deo Volente. The space for fitting a scrubber is available and the return of investment time is within an acceptable time period.