APL to test emulsified fuel on container vessel

APL to test emulsified fuel on container vessel Singapore-based ocean carrier APL said Monday that it will conduct a three-year test of emulsified diesel fuel on its 4,800-TEU 'APL Singapore.'
   At a press conference in the Port of Los Angeles aboard the ship, officials with the shipping line, academics and air quality regulators said they think the application holds great promise for the future of cutting air emissions from ocean-going vessels transiting U.S. waters.
   The test, which begins in February, will see the 'Singapore' run on emulsified diesel (where as much as 25 percent water is mixed with marine fuel) from the time it enters California waters outside Los Angeles, through its voyage up to Oakland and until it leaves California waters. An emissions baseline will be set and emissions will be tested at various water mixtures and at various ship engine RPMs. The test will also gauge what long-term effect the emulsified fuel has on the Singapore's engine.
   The pilot test will be assisted by Sea to Sky Pollution Solutions and the University of California, Riverside.
   'UC Riverside thinks it could reduce (nitrogen oxides) more than low-sulfur diesel fuel,' said John Bowe, president of APL Americas.
   Bowe also said that all new APL ships will be equipped to be cold-ironed, where docked vessels use electrical power to run onboard systems.
   'We obviously have more control over the ships in our fleet than the ones we charter,' he said. 'This process is a marathon, not a sprint.'
   A professor at UC Riverside who is heading the academic side of the test, said shipping lines face massive hurdles in retrofitting existing vessels.
   'It's very difficult to find a solution for existing vessels,' said Wayne Miller, manager of emissions and fuels at the university. 'If someone came to me and said we'd like to try something new with your car, I'd probably say no. This project has taken a long time to come to fruition. We expect to see benefits, but we don't know.'