Thu 06 Apr 2017 by Rebecca Moore reporting from the Ferry Shipping Conference, Italy
Methanol is a definite possibility for Stena to use in the future on its newbuilds and existing ships, Stena RoRo managing director Per Westling told the audience at the Ferry Shipping Conference (Shippax).
He told delegates at a session about how the ferry industry will look in 2025: “Our experience is very, very good, it is a very clean fuel and the technology really works, it is a dual-fuel engine which is extremely flexible.
“The reality is that the price for methanol is a little bit too high today for us to continue with the other vessels. But it is straightforward to convert conventional ships so that is a definite possibility for us in the future and on newbuilds.”
Elsewhere, he singled out CO2 as a major challenge for ferry operators in future. “CO2 is a big challenge for us and we have to solve this problem to be a sustainable business. We work a lot with CFD to make improvements, as is seen on our newbuildings. We have worked with these tools more and more and they give very good results.”
He said that this factor and looking at wind resistance and the shape of ships will improve and reduce fuel consumption and CO2.
He summed up: “We will be able to create a completely CO2-neutral ferry operation. It will take some years but it is possible.”
