Arkas Line Reduces its Carbon Emissions by 24 Percent

While a raft of new regulations put into effect globally by the IMO this year look set to shake up the global shipping industry, Arkas Line has been reaping the fruits of its sustainability efforts that have been going on for years. Since 2011, the company has been able to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 24 percent. In the process, so many aspects of its business have also been revamped, from low-sulphur fuel to speed optimisation, switch to fuel-saving ships and using the best route. The target for 2020 is 25 percent.

With the global climate change reaching dangerous levels, the protection of natural resources becomes even more urgent along with sustainable development. For Arkas Line, sustainability is about making sure “meeting the needs of the present do not compromise the future generations” and so it has been streamlining its business processes for many years by taking into account the environmental factors and setting long-term goals.

Arkas Line, an active member of Ecovadis since 2017 following a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) rating on four aspects, namely Environment, Workers’ Rights, Ethics and Sustainability, and 21 sub-criteria, was awarded the silver medal according to the CSR rating 2019.

Set to Reduce its Carbon Dioxide Emissions by 25% in 2020

Arkas Line, a member of CCWG (CLEAN CARGO WORKING GROUP) representing 22 shipowners, which account for 84 percent of global container shipments and work to make container shipments more eco-friendly through measurement, assessment and reporting, stands out for being the first and only member of the group from Turkey. In this context, Arkas Line continues to develop new projects to reduce its fuel consumption and hence its carbon and sulphur emissions; reconsidering its current operations in the process.

On the other hand, the Energy Efficiency Ordinance, which came into force on 1 January 2013, prompted Arkas to draw up an energy efficiency management plan for its fleet comprising of 6 tankers and 52 container ships.

Within the context of these objectives, Arkas Line has been optimizing the trim and ballast of its vessels, using low-sulphur fuel, periodically cleaning vessel bottoms and propellers, selecting the best routes using the SPOS application, and optimizing speed using the Shipping Explorer program since 2011. By doing so, it has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 23.51% as of 2019 (benchmark year 2011). Arkas Line’s 2020 target is 25 percent.

Eco-Friendly Shipping with New Fuel and New Generation Ships

Using low-sulphur fuel oil instead of IFO 380 to run its fleet, Arkas Line embraces eco-friendly processes for its investment program and also within the framework of legal requirements by adding four new eco ships to its fleet. The new generation of eco ships stand out for their low fuel consumption, thanks to their configuration and design (propeller and rudder systems). Ships equipped with the MAN G engine minimize the release of environmentally harmful gases by saving up to 25 percent fuel compared with ships of the previous generation. Extra stability provided by their wide bodies increase the load capacity and reduce the need for the transport of ballast water.

10 Percent Less Fuel Consumption With Mini Chip

Maritime transport is responsible for 3.3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Arkas Line, putting its mark on a joint project with universities to minimize the CO2 footprint, joined forces with PROMATECH Marine Technologies and the Brunel University in London on September 2013 to kick off its “Mini Chip” project. After four years, the project has been successfully completed.

The mini chip, providing carriers with an innovative decision support system to reduce fuel consumption, minimize CO2 emissions and cut costs without compromising the quality of shipping operations, stands out for its simulative characteristics. The Decision Support System (DSS) mini chip, which analyses service level agreements (SLAs) with freight customers and also fuel costs for different vessel speeds and portfolios, enables captains to determine the best speed for their vessels and thus minimize fuel costs, thus seeing them meet their contractual obligations. The tests show that the right fuel and refuelling decisions reduce overall fuel consumption by 5 to 10 percent. This also reduced carbon emissions, which are directly related to lower fuel costs. The European Union described the mini-chip project as a success story and published an article on the results of the project, translated into six languages (English, Spanish, German, Italian, French and Polish) on the website of CORDIS Research and Development Information Service, one of its digital platforms.

What does the IMO Regulation bring?

The new international regulations introduced in 2020 by the IMO (International Maritime Organization), a UN agency that acts as a regulatory authority for the maritime industry and international shipping, are set to change the playing field in the industry. The regulations stipulate that companies must use fuel with a lower sulphur content.

Under these regulations, IMO reduces the sulphur content of fuel used by ships from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent as per the MARPOL Treaty. Conversely, pursuant to a decision in 2018, IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international-commerce ships by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008, while setting itself the target of making CO2 emissions a thing of the past by the end of the century.