Future-proof Shipping through Training

Empowering Maritime Professionals with the Skills and Knowledge for a Sustainable Future

Researcher, author, experienced teacher and MOL SYN training centre Assistant Technical Manager Dr Sairam K outlines how Synergy tackles the training that is so vital for transition from fossil to emerging alternative fuels.

“Without training, they lacked knowledge. Without knowledge, they lacked confidence. Without confidence, they lacked victory” (Julius Caesar).

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela).

Introduction

As technology advances and shipping increasingly considers how it can most effectively decarbonize, we hear much about “future-proofing” our industry. But to attain that we first need to understand the current knowledge and forward needs of today’s seafarers and shore-based staff, so we can properly invest in them, and in the next generation. A training intervention is a run of programs aimed at delivering knowledge and skills over a set period of time, as part of teaching, informing or educating people so they may become qualified to do their job and perform in positions of greater difficulty and responsibility, but in our present era of flux we must first identify the key changes, establish what people know and need to know, and then tackle how they are to be given the tools they need.    

Itself a product of technology, simulator-based training is a major advantage. It rapidly enhances the skills, capabilities and knowledge of seafarers for doing a particular job. It plays a vital role in moulding thinking on safe, incident-free operations and ensures that training is not confined to rote learning of theoretical concepts. It also provides an opportunity to apply textbook wisdom and gain experience in skills and procedures and develops confidence in managing real-life scenarios. And confidence is directly linked to competence and according to at least one famous leader, to victory.

Setting the scene – emissions, energy saving, legislation, VLSFO and fuel alternatives

It is important to keep in mind the core context of much of today’s training.

Ambitious emission targets

The DNV Energy Transition Outlook has estimated that seaborne trade between 2008 and 2050 will grow by approximately 40%, and in 2018 the IMO adopted a climate change strategy calling for the shipping industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be reduced by 50% by 2050, compared to 2008. To achieve that the emissions from any ship will have to be less than 30% of its current average, so the IMO drive on decarbonization rightly pushes the industry towards new strategies in energy sources and savings and their related requirements, and the opportunities offered by digitalization. 

Energy saving

The world needs more energy than ever before, and this growing demand means that we need a more sustainable supply and generation system, while also addressing GHGs and energy generation’s overall impact on the environment.  

The source of the energy that a vessel needs must be carried as fuel. Energy requirements can be lowered to some extent by operational measures, such as reducing speed or optimizing routes, and by energy-saving technologies in waste heat recovery – for example by an Exhaust Gas Turbocharger, Exhaust Gas Boiler or Exhaust Gas Superheater. Also, vessel design can be improved in various ways, such as hull hydrodynamic optimization and air lubrication, and by devices that enhance propulsion efficiency – such as the Mewis Duct and the Propeller Boss Cap Fin – and wind-assisted propulsion technologies are gaining ground in reducing both consumption and emissions. 

However, these measures alone cannot achieve the reductions required to meet the 2050 target, and the industry must therefore continue to get to grips with what we have been calling future fuels – those with reduced carbon intensity – such as ammonia, biofuels and hydrogen. These and other cleaner fuels are discussed below, and they form part of the matrix with which today’s seafarer must grapple, and in which, therefore, he and she must be thoroughly trained. 

Tighter legislation

In October 2016 the IMO confirmed a global limit for sulphur in vessel fuel oil of 0.50% m/m (mass by mass), which became effective on 1 January 2020, and the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)’s 73rd session in October that year confirmed a ban on carrying non-compliant Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) unless the vessel was fitted with appropriate scrubber technology. 

Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) had arrived, and with it another suite of issues for seafarers to address.

Possible problems with VLSFO

1. Variability

There is wide variability in the formulation of very low sulphur fuels, from light distillates through to heavier residual blends, and the fuel characteristics depend on the petroleum crude source from which they are derived and the availability of refinery processing and blending components. 

So VLSFO characteristics vary considerably, especially for the residual fuel grades, and it is recognized that fuels bunkered at different geographical locations, or even those obtained from different suppliers at the same location, can have different characteristics. Therefore crew will need to be aware of the characteristics of the fuel being delivered, so the correct procedural requirements can be identified and implemented with respect to storage, handling and operation.

2. Compatibility

Residual fuel i.e. that which remains in the bunker tanks before taking on more, can be considered as a dispersion of asphaltenes which is uniformly distributed throughout an oily medium as a ‘continuous phase’. In stable residual fuel there is an equilibrium between the asphaltenes and the continuous phase, so the asphaltenes will remain in stable dispersion. However, changes to the chemical characteristics of the asphaltenes (for example by exposure to high temperatures in some refining processes) or to the continuous phase (for example by blending two different fuel oils together or blending a cutter stock into the residual fuel) can upset the equilibrium. Particles agglomerate i.e. they come together to form a mass, and the larger agglomerated particles are referred to as sludge. So any intended fresh intake of bunkers must be tested for compatibility with the residual fuel.

3. Cold flow 

Keeping a fuel above its pour point ensures that it remains pumpable and is the key guide to storage temperature, especially with residual fuel. If fuels are held at temperatures close to, or below, the pour point, the fuel may be difficult to pump, and separated wax (wax crystal formation starts at a fuel’s cloud point temperature) may block filters and create deposits on heat exchangers. In severe cases, manual cleaning of tanks may be the only solution.

4. Viscosity

Due to the changes in the way that very low sulphur fuels will be manufactured, there may also be a wide variation in the viscosity (and density) of fuels received on board ships. This in turn will affect the combustion and performance of the main and auxiliary engines.

5. Ignition quality

Ignition and combustion are vital aspects of engine operation, but reliably determining the ignition and combustion characteristics of residual fuel is near impossible. The Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index (CCAI) is an indicator of the ignition performance of residual fuels in diesel engine applications, and is calculated from measured density and viscosity, and the higher the CCAI value the worse the ignition quality. CCAI values are typically between 820 and 870, but in very low sulphur fuels they can have a wider range.

6. Catalyst fines

Also known as cat fines, these originate from fuel blending components in a refinery’s catalytic cracking unit. Excessive levels of cat fines can cause accelerated abrasive wear of fuel pumps, injectors, piston rings and cylinder liners, and they are more common in very low sulphur fuels.

Some alternatives to fossil fuels

Biofuels, or biofuel blends, are another pathway towards lessening GHG emissions, and MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 18 applies to fuels derived from petroleum refining and to those from other production methods i.e. biodiesels, which include the following:

Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, or FAME, are produced from vegetable oils, animal fats or used cooking oil by a process called transesterification, where triglycerides are converted to methyl esters. Road tankers that collect used cooking oil are an increasingly common sight, and FAME is the most widely available type of biodiesel in the industry and is often blended with regular marine diesel.

Biomass to liquid, or BTL, is a synthetic fuel produced by thermo-chemical conversion. Complying with International Standards EN 16709 and EN 15940, it is chemically different from conventional fuels like gasoline or diesel, but can nevertheless be used in diesel engines.

There is also hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD), which are a product of fats or vegetable oils, either alone or blended with petroleum that has been refined by fatty acids-to-hydrocarbon hydrotreatment. Diesel produced in this way is often called renewable diesel, to differentiate it from FAME biodiesel.

Technical challenges

The four main difficulties that seafarers might face are:

1. Microbial growth i.e. bacteria and fungi can thrive if condensed water accumulates in biodiesel, leading to excessive formation of sludge and clogged filters and piping;

2. Progressive oxygen degradation, hence contamination by polymers and other insoluble compounds, leading to deposits in piping and compromising performance. In advanced stages this can also mean increased fuel acidity and thus corrosion in the fuel system and accumulation of deposits in pumps and injectors;

3. Low temperatures – depending on the feedstock, biodiesel at higher concentration usually has a higher cloud point than conventional diesel – leading to poor flow properties and clogging of filters;

4. Corrosion can also occur, especially with biodiesel at higher concentrations like B80-B100, causing degradation of hoses and gaskets, leading to loss of integrity and fuel interaction with contaminating metals such as copper, brass, lead, tin and zinc, and also increased formation of deposits.

Other alternative fuels

Ammonia is often considered as very much the future of zero-carbon fuel, but it has its own difficulties – and also, in combustion, what might be called side effects – and these include high ignition temperature and energy, low flame velocity, low chemical kinetics, increased NOx production and of course toxicity.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and could play a key part in tomorrow’s energy mix – on board ships and in generating domestic electricity and powering industry – and has the potential to deliver lower-carbon, efficient and affordable energy at scale. Currently, though, most industrial hydrogen is derived from natural gas (methane) and is mainly used for fertilizers, as well as in the iron, steel and space industries, and its extraction presently creates about 10 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of hydrogen, so we are still a long way from making it much less carbon-intensive and a commercially workable energy source.

LNG 

LNG is a readily available intermediate fuel and is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel form, with few alternatives that can match its emissions profile and cost efficiency. It emits almost zero sulphur and particulate matter and achieves approximately 85% NOx and 27% CO₂ emission reduction compared to fuels currently used. It is a safe, mature and wholly viable marine fuel offering significant GHG reduction benefits and a potential pathway to a zero-emissions shipping industry. 

Furthermore, unlike HFO, LNG cannot be adulterated, so LNG-fuelled ships can operate in Emission Control Areas without switching fuels, whereas conventionally-fuelled ships would need to switch to VLSFO.  

Training nowadays

To attract the next generation of seafarers, shipping would be well advised to redouble efforts to collaborate with educational institutes so that training and career development paths reflect today’s priorities, with particular focus on ever-increasing energy saving and the use of alternative fuels. 

Synergy’s training methods

Simulators

All who need it have extensive training on an LNG-fuelled engine and LNG bunkering simulator (including simulating ME GI engines), with schooling in the very latest MARPOL requirements, and will soon have other engine-specific simulator training. This type of tutoring provides an opportunity to apply theory and gain experience in skills and procedures, and our first LNG bunkering course was conducted on 22 and 23 January 2021 for the takeover crew for the MT “PACIFIC EMERALD”. We also have a full mission LNG simulator, and all Officers and Engineers will complete the Basic Course and obtain the Certificate of Proficiency, in addition to the STCW mandated course. Since the start of our LNG Bunkering Course we have to date trained 125 officers and 107 ratings.

Engine-specific training

Electronically-controlled engines now dominate the market, with the MAN ME-B and ME-C being the most common on newbuilds since 2010. As well as, obviously, thoroughly covering starting, reversing and remote Bridge control, the present course also includes fine-tuning of the engine for fuel consumption optimization and meeting stringent NOx emission norms such as EEDI Tiers II and III.

A proper understanding of the system and its functions is critical to safe and efficient ME operation, maintenance and troubleshooting. There is detailed explanation as part of direct one-on-one interaction by the instructors, in order to build the trainee’s ability and confidence in being able to operate the system (while fully understanding its functions, capabilities and limitations) and adjust and troubleshoot using a cloud Main Operating Panel simulator. There is also detailed coverage of for example the electronic Multipurpose Controllers, the hydraulic and pneumatic systems and the Alpha lubricator system.

Presentations

Engine-specific training is presently conducted as a classroom course and our PPT slide presentations are comprehensive, with content precisely matching the onboard panels and systems, and encompass the Engine Control System, Bridge Control Panel, Engine Control Room telegraph system, Cylinder Control Units, Hydraulic Cylinder Units, Safety System Panel, Local Control Panel and Uninterruptible Power Supply, and address common troubles and their solutions in order to build confidence in tackling problems. 

MARPOL Annex VI

The IMO target outlined above means that very large emission reductions must be achieved very soon, and also suggests that, as we move towards 2050, newbuilds must emit progressively less GHG in order to offset vessels with higher emissions that are still in operation.

There are two absolute essentials: minimize the energy required to operate the ship, and reduce carbon emission from energy generation, and amendments to MARPOL Annex VI – MEPC. 328(76) – provide for two approaches to be adopted: Method 1 – Technical Approach – EEXI, and Method 2 – Operational Approach – CII, and these mean specific training modules. 

Conclusion

As a high-density energy source in our industry, fossil fuels were (and remain) comparatively easy to obtain, store, handle, transport and use, and we have had decades to tweak what has long been a very familiar system. But, just like the regulations, people’s priorities and attitudes are rightly and rapidly changing, and as a leading ship manager we must maintain our position at the frontier in non-fossil, zero-emission and sustainable energy. 

Just as, traditionally, good quality training is crucial for safe operations and a vital element in ever more skilled seafaring, so it must evolve so as to keep ahead of the myriad scientific, technical and operational novelties that have and will continue to come from banishing carbon-heavy fuels and using new and still developing ones instead. This is essential for future-proofing, and any ad hoc training event, scheduled intervention or long-term strategy must start out from these facts.