As the maritime industry works to meet stricter environmental standards and reduce emissions, optimising fuel strategies is crucial for improving both performance and compliance. This article delves into the challenges of methane slip in LNG-powered vessels, the role of direct emissions monitoring in providing real-time data, and how technologies are helping operators fine-tune fuel transitions to reduce emissions and maximise efficiency.
A vessel running on LNG will experience an increase in methane slip immediately after departure due to several factors, including low engine load and cool engine components that cause incomplete combustion.
A key issue with the current IMO emissions calculation method is that it does not account for methane slip from LNG combustion. However, direct emissions monitoring provides precise data on when and where methane slip occurs.
Given this insight, it may be beneficial to start a voyage using marine diesel oil (MDO) and switch to LNG once the engine components have reached optimal temperatures. With real-time emissions data, operators can identify the best moment to transition between fuels, minimising methane slip while maximising efficiency. By strategically adjusting fuel transition strategies, for example, using diesel initially and switching to LNG at the right time, shipping companies can effectively reduce methane emissions while optimising engine performance.
Reducing The Risk Of Human Error
Direct emissions technology data is reported automatically, reducing the risk of human error from manual input and minimising the administrative burden on the crew. Furthermore, because direct emissions monitoring provides feedback on exactly where emissions are created, crew can detect exactly where an engine or boiler, for example, is running inefficiently and therefore requires intervention.
Case Study: Beyond Compliance
Florida-headquartered SailPlan is one company offering direct emissions monitoring technology. Through proven emissions sensor technologies and its own advanced digital platform, the company provides real-time monitoring and precise exhaust gas emissions data.
SailPlan’s technology takes land-based emissions sensor technologies and integrates them with an advanced digital data and analytics platform. In doing so, it fuses true emissions data with fuel and engine data to get insights about emissions generated during the combustion process.
SailPlan aggregates the data from the PEMS and exhaust gas flow metre and sends it to the SailPlan cloud-based platform through the data collector installed on a ship. This information is then widely available to the crew and operators, allowing them to gain insights into fleet analytics that weren’t previously obvious.
Unlike classification society systems that are built to meet minimum regulatory requirements, SailPlan’s technology is designed to provide continuous, high-resolution emissions data that enhances compliance and operational efficiency. While the data is secure so that only people who need to access it can, it is also provided in a format that makes it simple to share and report to class societies and the IMO for regulatory compliance.
Removing Inaccuracies
SailPlan’s system enables a range of emissions to be measured, including methane, NOx, SOx, and other GHGs. It allows any relevant stakeholder to understand inefficiencies and removes the need to figure out emissions from fuel consumption data, which is highly inaccurate. SailPlan applies data analytics and machine learning to filter out inaccuracies, correlate multiple data sources. Ultimately enabling true emissions to be reported rather than estimates.
40 Kuittinen, N et al., (Aug, 2024) Methane slip and other emissions from newbuild LNG engine under real-world operation of a state-of-the art cruise ship
41 Delft (Mar, 2013) Monitoring of bunker fuel consumption
For a more detailed understanding and exploration of the topics covered in this article, refer to our report, Transforming Maritime Operations: Unlocking Accurate Data for Sustainability and Compliance, commissioned by SailPlan.
