Calculation of Fuel Consumption and Exhaust Emissions from Ship in Ice Conditions

Abstract

During the past few decades, we have seen a dramatic decline of the Arctic sea ice level; this decline has raised high interest in efforts to establish new trade passages, and in raising the possibility of economically viable trans-Arctic shipping. Although increased Arctic shipping may provide commercial and social development opportunities, the associated increased environmental impacts are also of concern. To better understand the impact of shipping in Arctic area, this thesis focus on the calculation of fuel consumption and related exhaust emissions for various ship types in different ice conditions along the Northern Sea Route in the Arctic Ocean. The topic subject is a part of the project ACCESS (Arctic Climate Change Economy and Society). ACCESS is a European Project supported within the Ocean of Tomorrow call of the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme. Its main objective is to assess climatic change impacts on marine transportation (including tourism), fisheries, marine mammals and the extraction of oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean. As a result of ice, a ship operating in ice conditions experiences an increase in the resistance due to extra work or energy required to break and remove the ice. The increase in resistance associated with ice navigation leads to higher fuel consumption rate for the vessel. In addition, delays due to ice may lead to the longer duration of the voyage which in turn also leads to more fuel consumption. Related emissions are therefore expected to be higher in open water conditions. By developing a computer program using FORTRAN language, the calculation was carried out for three different ship types, namely, bulk carrier, oil tanker and LNG carrier, which are very common seen in Arctic area. The fuel consumption of these ships is calculated in four different periods, varied from September 2000 to November 2007. Related exhaust gases are estimated for these following pollutants: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and various species of particulate matter (PM) including organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC).