The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the parties is currently taking place in Glasgow. The COP26 summit is a conference where world leaders are able to discuss climate change and plan to implement changes that will help to reduce the impact of climate change. We thought we would highlight some measures that the maritime sector has introduced to help reduce the affect of ferry travel on the environment.

Stena Line

In collaboration with Frederikshavn Municipality and the Port of Frederikshavn, Stena Line have signed an agreement to share responsibility for making Gothenburg-Frederikshavn a fossil fuel free ferry route. The aim being to introduce two battery powered Stena Elektra vessels by 2030. The goal of this agreement is to reduce carbon emissions at the port of Gothenburg (the largest port in the Nordic region) by 70% by 2030. Stena Line are making a lot of moves to reduce their carbon footprint and are aiming to reduce their own total emissions by 30% by 2030, something that is expected to be progressed by the Stena Elektra electric ferries.

Portsmouth International Port

The University of Portsmouth has been awarded £1.5 million to develop and demonstrate their SHAPE (Shipping, Hydrogen and Port Ecosystems) UK project at Portsmouth international port. The SHAPE UK project was one of the winning projects in the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. This project aims to assist the UK's aim for zero emission vessels to be commercially operational by the year 2025. As part of the UK’s goal to be world leaders in clean maritime, it will also help Portsmouth International Port in its target of being carbon neutral by the year 2030 and having zero emissions by 2050.

The SHAPE UK project will identify barriers, infrastructure and regulatory considerations to enable the installation of a “Green Hydrogen” generator and storage system within the port. The project will also provide a working, green hydrogen powered vessel to the port authority. Green hydrogen is a source of energy that is created using existing, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar- powering the electrolysis of water and creating hydrogen. Once hydrogen is exposed to oxygen it produces water, providing clean emissions that will help protect the planet, rather than destroy it.

DFDS

In partnership with Copenhagen Malmö Port, DFDS have inaugurated Copenhagen’s first shore power facility, which allows ferries to connect to shore power in both Copenhagen and Oslo. This will make it possible for ferries to switch their power generators off, reducing the amount of air pollutants and particles that they release into the air.

Scandlines

Scandlines used technical data and the experiences of other companies to decide to make use of a rotor sail on their hybrid ferry M/V Copenhagen back in 2019. After closely monitoring the ferry over the past couple of years, they noted that the CO2 emissions were reduced by 4-5% as expected. Due to the positive impact of the rotor sail, Scandlines decided to install one on the M/V Berlin. As the rotor sail needs to be placed in a direction that is perpendicular to the wind, the M/V Berlin travels in a prime location to take full advantage of the benefits of this system. This enables Scandlines to continue to reduce their carbon footprint.

Scandlines are also building a zero-emission freight ferry for their Puttgarden-Rødby route in 2024. This is part of their movement towards a more sustainable future and supports other work that they are doing to further protect the environment from carbon emissions released from their ferries.

As the maritime industry progresses, we are seeing more environmental advancements that are aimed at protecting the future and preventing the impending climate disaster.