World Bunkering > News > Industry News > Maersk Line switches to low sulphur in Hong Kong

AP Moller – Maersk’s main container shipping arm , Maersk Line, says its vessels began using low-sulphur fuel while at berth in Hong Kong  on 5 September. The company says its move  kicks off the first voluntary fuel switch scheme in Asia and will cost it US$1m a year.
 
“By switching from bunker to cleaner fuel at berth, we significantly reduce emissions of sulphur to the air,” says Tim Smith, Chief Executive of Maersk Line’s North Asia Region.
 
Maersk Line makes around 850 port calls in Hong Kong every year. It claims switching from bunker fuel to LS fuel will reduce Maersk Line’s emissions sulphur oxides (SOx) and particles by at least 80%.

The carrier says that - based on experiences from California, Houston and elsewhere – it was ready to act fast along with other shipping lines when the Civic Exchange, a local business NGO, and Hong Kong’s environmental authorities explored the possibility of a local fuel switch. Air pollution has long been a concern in the Chinese territory and the Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association was notable in supporting Intertanko when it proposed that the whole commercial fleet should switch to distillate fuel.
 
Mr Smith add: “We share the ambitions of the local government and Civic Exchange in Hong Kong and would like to contribute to a better air quality,” Tim Smith says. “We hope this voluntary initiative will show the way for future legislation.”
 

Morten Engelstoft, Maersk Line’s Chief Operating Officer in.“By engaging in voluntary fuel switches in Hong Kong and elsewhere, we want to demonstrate that it is a way to quickly reduce sulphur emissions without any technical difficulties. We support strict sulphur regulation and we hope that our fuel switches will inspire authorities to raise the regulatory bar on SOx.”
 
“Shipping is very efficient in terms of cutting CO2 emissions compared with other means of transportation. But shipping’s SOx emissions need to be dealt with,” says Engelstoft.