Less than six months until engine emissions enforcement

From January 2021, IMO Tier III regulations for commercial vessels with diesel engines will come into force. This imposes rules on the emissions from diesel engines on vessels with a total power of more than 130 kW, and with their keel laying date after 1 January 2021.

Vessels built after this date will need cleaner diesel engines and after treatment systems to minimise nitrogen, sulphur oxide and particulate matter emissions.

This could lead to a rush to order new tugs and workboats before that date if owners want to miss this restricting ruling. It is already in the minds of some tug and workboat builders as they produce vessels that can be retrofitted with emissions abatement technology.

Builders and naval architects have developed designs with additional space in their enginerooms to install selective catalytic reduction (SCR) equipment for removing NOx and particulates from diesel emissions, ready for IMO Tier III requirements.

Neptune Marine has worked with engine manufacturers to develop its portfolio to comply with the upcoming environmental regulations.

Damen Shipyards is already producing tugs for its clients that are designed with space for future retrofits and Robert Allan designs can also be used to build tugs to IMO Tier III requirements.

US tug owners are ahead of the curve with more vessels built in their nation’s shipyards to US Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emissions requirements, which are similar to IMO Tier III.

Some owners in Europe have tugs on order that will comply with IMO Tier III requirements when they are delivered.

P&O Reyser has ordered a harbour tug to comply with IMO Tier III to support container ships berthing at Barcelona, Spain. P&O Maritime Logistics chief executive Martin Helweg said this tug is under construction at DP World’s Drydocks World in Dubai for delivery in Q4 2020. “We have developed an innovative tug concept for our operations in Spain,” he said.

This eco-silent tractor tug will have a pair of diesel engines with SCR exhaust-gas emissions after-treatment systems to comply with IMO Tier III. This is an asymmetric tractor tug ATT 2020 designed by Cintranaval Ship Design.

Engine manufacturers are ready with SCR additions to their diesel main engines. But one manufacturer has developed engine technology that does not require SCR to comply with IMO Tier III.

Wabtec subsidiary GE Transportation has developed an alternative approach to reduce NOx emissions for compliance with IMO Tier III and EPA Tier 4.

It uses exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and two-stage turbochargers on its medium-speed engines to reduce NOx without compromising on fuel efficiency. These engines have already been installed on tugs operated by Foss Maritime, Shaver Towing, Reinauer Transportation and Ingram Marine.

GE Transportation director global sales Sander Jacobs will explain this engine technology in the next issue of Tug Technology & Business. As will a full and exclusive interview with Martin Helweg.

Technologies for complying with future emissions regulations will be discussed during Riviera Maritime Media’s Webinar Week series in Q3 2020, use this link for more details