Impact of alternative fuels on ultra-large container ship cargo capacity and emissions

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One of the goals of the shipping industry is to achieve major reductions in carbon emissions by 2050. One way to achieve this is to utilize low-carbon fuels instead of the currently used Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). Such alternative fuels include Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), Ammonia, Methanol, and Hydrogen. These fuels have a lower volumetric energy density than HFO and may negatively impact the vessel cargo capacity depending on the arrangements required to accommodate the various alternative fuels. This research presents a method for evaluating and comparing the environmental performance of a vessel powered by conventional and alternative fuels from a lifecycle, fleet, and cargo demand perspective. A case study examining a 24,000 TEU containership was then performed using this methodology. It was found that for this vessel type, while the cargo capacity was negatively impacted for all alternative fuels compared to HFO from both a TEU and deliverable cargo weight standpoint, the losses in capacity were small and could be compensated by increasing either the number of ships in a given fleet or increasing the frequency of deliveries without a net gain in global warming impact associated with increased shipbuilding or operational emissions, if sourced renewably. This shows that alternative fuels should be beneficial in reducing global warming emissions from the shipping industry not only from an operational emissions standpoint but for the entire lifecycle and fleet perspective.

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