Four New Boxships to be Built With Partial Carbon Capture System

Shipowners Purus Marine and Nordic Hamburg have signed up to install a partial carbon capture system aboard four newbuild container vessels, which will be operated by European feeder carrier BG Freight Line. 

The order marks the first time that Value Maritime's unique Filtree scrubbers will be installed aboard newbuild boxships. Filtree fulfills the functions of a conventional scrubber, removing SOx and PM from the exhaust stream. In this way, the vessel can operate on low-cost HFO while remaining in compliance. The system also includes advanced water treatment before washwater release, including pH neutralization. Fuel cost savings (compared with VLSFO) quickly pay for the capital cost of the equipment, according to Value Maritime. 

In addition, Filtree also captures a portion of the CO2. The modular Filtree system for Purus, Nordic Hamburg and BG Freight will provide 30 percent carbon capture - enough to make a real difference in carbon reduction compliance as regulations tighten. The carbon is stored in a "CO2 battery" and is periodically transported to shore, where it is collected for reuse in other applications - for example, greenhouses, which use CO2 to promote plant growth. 

"Cleaner, more sustainable shipping has risen on the agenda of many maritime companies over the past years. We are now seeing companies proactively looking to reduce their emissions not only retrospectively but from the very outset of operations," said Laurens Visser, container ship specialist at Value Maritime. 

Other recent adopters include product tanker company Ardmore Shipping, which is installing non-CO2 Filtree scrubbers (with provision for future carbon capture as a later add-on) aboard six vessels. "Value Maritime’s Filtree is unique in its ability to not only clean and neutralize overboard discharge, but also offer an additional benefit in the form of a potential carbon capture upgrade," said Garry Noonan, director of innovation at Ardmore. 

Icelandic carrier Samskip is installing the Filtree system with the 30 percent carbon-capture option aboard two feeder vessels, Samskip Innovator and Samskip Endeavor. Both of these ships already run on biofuel, which reduces their lifecycle CO2 emissions by 90 percent. Adding Filtree will make them truly carbon-neutral, according to Samskip head of vessel management Erik Hofmeester. 

"Carbon capture technology can make a significant contribution for owners seeking to reduce their carbon footprints now," says Visser. "We are making a ‘green circle’ for ship owners and freight shippers by recycling the CO2 and offering certificated accountability on greenhouse gas reductions."