Royal Wagenborg has made a series of ‘green improvements’ to its ro-ro ship Bothniaborg during the vessel’s 15-year renewal survey at a shipyard in Tallinn, Estonia.
After the survey, Bothniaborg is once again ready for service and is currently on route to Piteå in Sweden to load containerboard that is destined for Terneuzen in the Netherlands.
During the survey, Wagenborg carried out various modifications. For the cooling installations, the refrigerant was changed to a harmless alternative for the layer. In addition, a new ultrasonic system was installed to remove biofilm, which makes the use of toxic cupper unnecessary. A special type of stern tube was also fitted to reduce the risk of an oil spill.
As part of the company’s broader strategy to reduce emissions, Wagenborg is investigating the use of renewable methanol as a transport fuel. The investigation will be executed within the Green Maritime Methanol project consortium.
The project will provide insight into the feasibility of methanol for a certain type of ship with associated sailing route and cruising speeds. Research for these ships will start with determination of the cost for implementation and use of methanol fuel systems. The results of this research will be compared with low sulphur marine diesel.
For each scenario, the project analyses which options are the most attractive technically, operationally and economically.
