Wah Kwong explores carbon capture systems on bulk carriers

Hong Kong-based Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings has partnered with French classification society Bureau Veritas and Shanghai Qiyao Environmental Technology to study carbon capture and storage (CCS) units on existing ships.

PHOTO: Model of carbon capture, utilisation and storage stages. Bureau Veritas

The study will focus on two types of bulk carriers in Wah Kwong's fleet, and look to answer whether CCS can help the vessels meet the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Carbon Intensity Index (CII) targets for 2030.

CII data collection will begin from next year, and from 2024 it will be mandatory to calculate CII for ships annually. Ships need to achieve a rating of ‘C’ or better, based on their fuel consumption data from the preceding year.

Shanghai Qiyao Environmental Technology, a subsidiary of Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute (SMDERI), has designed a custom CCS unit for Wah Kwong. Bureau Veritas has reviewed the design.

According to Bureau Veritas, the CCS unit can capture up to 85% of carbon emissions in exhaust gas from ships. But it has yet to approve it.

"The transition to a greener shipping industry is critical,” Bureau Veritas’ marine and offshore chief executive for North Asia & China Alex Gregg-Smith says.

Citing International Energy Agency (IEA) data, he argues that carbon capture technology can contribute significantly towards emissions reduction from shipping.

IEA data shows that 40 million mt of carbon dioxide was captured with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) last year. This was mostly from onshore industrial projects.

Meanwhile, in its global energy review for 2021, the IEA found that global carbon dioxide emissions from energy combustion and industrial processes rose 6% on the year. At 36.3 gigatonnes, carbon dioxide emissions recorded its highest ever level.