Carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the vessels’ fuel consumption. In order to continuously reduce emissions, great emphasis is placed on efficient operation and ongoing technical improvements on vessels.
Improved emission efficiency
Within the framework of commercial and technical operation, a large-scale fuel efficiency program has been in progress since 2012. Activities and measures include more frequent and detailed monitoring of vessels’ energy consumption and implementation of advanced systems and routines that enable speed and route optimisation based on weather conditions, demurrage, bunker costs and customer needs.
In 2020, more tonne-miles (increased transport work) for Concordia Maritime’s fleet of owned vessels and vessels on long-term contracts meant that emission efficiency (grams of CO2 emissions per tonne-mile) improved compared with the previous year, even though the amount of bunker oil consumed and emissions to air were higher than in 2019.
Technical development and maintenance
In addition to work on route planning, optimisation of speed and energy management, the Company also conducts extensive and continuous technical development and maintenance of the vessels. Various measures to reduce fouling on the hull, propellers and gears have a large effect on fuel consumption. Fouling has the effect of significantly increasing fuel consumption and it may also have an adverse effect on handling, and therefore safety.
Great effort has also been put into further technical development of the propellers, including the installation of hub vortex absorbing fins behind the propellers. The fins break the vortex that would otherwise be created behind the propellers.
To reduce emissions into the air, VTA (Variable Output Turbine Area) turbines have been installed on four of the vessels in the fleet. The main advantage is that by angling the blades in the turbine, the turbine’s thermal efficiency can be adapted to the vessel’s speed, which reduces fuel consumption.
