Fuels as of 2020 – An overview

IMO2020 is a sulphur regulation of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). However, in this age of global warming, greenhouse gases present a particular challenge. The IMO has specified that C02 emissions are to be reduced by 30 percent by 2030. As part of efforts to achieve this target, Hapag-Lloyd is already refitting the “Sajir” in January 2020. The 15,000 TEU vessel will be the first large container ship in the world to be converted to operate using liquefied natural gas (LNG). The pilot project aims to show that the existing fleet can also be retrofitted to operate on LNG.

Using LNG in the shipping industry has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 15 to 30 percent and sulphur-dioxide and particulate-matter emissions by more than 90 percent. The “Sajir” is one of the 17 vessels in Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet that was designed already as a newbuilding to be “LNG-ready”. Her 16 sister ships are also technically equipped for retrofitting.

In addition to generating lower CO2 emissions, LNG also has lower sulphur emissions. Thus, vessels using LNG comply with the IMO2020 sulphur specification. What’s more, they already meet the C02 emissions-related requirements of IMO2030.