Hong Kong fuel switch for Maersk
Maersk Line is taking the initiative by switching to low sulphur fuel while calling at Hong Kong
A particulate and sulphur oxide reduction of “at least 80%” will result from Maersk Line’s recent move to switch its container ships to low-sulphur fuel while at berth in Hong Kong, claims the company.
Maersk Line makes around 850 port calls in Hong Kong every year and it says this move kicks off the first voluntary fuel switch scheme in Asia: the Hong Kong initiative alone will cost the company US$1m a year to implement.
When asked why the voluntary scheme was worth the money, Jacob Sterling, head of Climate and Environment at Maersk Line told GreenPort: “We are not expecting a premium on our services as a result of our environmental achievements, but we do expect that customers will choose us because of our environmental efforts, at least in the long run.”
The Civic Exchange and the Government of Hong Kong recently proposed that shipping lines calling at Hong Kong engage in a voluntary fuel switch – so there was an element of getting ahead of the game.
Mr Sterling went on to say that reducing sulphur emissions takes industry wide action, and that part of Maersk’s reasoning was to show that a switch over can be down without technical difficulties, and so help to “raise the regulatory bar” – a bar that will probably come down in favour of those companies who show willing.
Maersk is not the first to take the low-sulphur route in Hong Kong. Air pollution has long been a concern in the Chinese territory and the Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association was notable in supporting Intertanko when it proposed that its whole commercial fleet should switch to distillate fuel.
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