Verification of Fuel Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions under Sulfur Restriction Policy during Oceanographic Navigation

Abstract

The paper presents a comparison of the fuel oil (FO) consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of a container ship’s 8000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) during oceanographic navigation. The evaluation has two types of FOs: a 3.4% heavy fuel oil with desulfurization (HFOWD) and a 0.5% very-low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), based on the sulfur cap policy of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The results show the average FO consumption at 130 tons/day of HFOWD and 141 tons/day of VLSFO, which means shifting to VLSFO increases fuel consumption 8.4% more than the HFOWD. The average CO2 emissions are 429 tons/day of the HFOWD and 471 tons/day of the VLSFO, indicating an 9.5% increase in CO2 emissions when the IMO adopts the low-sulfur fuel policy. Moreover, the VLSFO blending of various chemicals further deteriorates and wears out the main engine of the ship. IMO’s low-sulfur fuel policy significantly reduced the emission of sulfur oxides (SOX) and particulate matter emissions. Still, we should not ignore the fact that adopting VLSFO may cause more CO2 emissions. Therefore, while switching to low-sulfur fuels, the maritime industry should improve the related energy efficiency to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.