CSA applauds DFDS for scrubber results

The 37,939gt Ficaria Seaways, one of the first RoRo vessels to be fitted with an Alfa Laval PureSOx system, operates inside the stringent European Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), on the Gothenburg – Immingham route.

“The installation has prevented a substantial amount of sulphur emissions from entering the atmosphere,” said Poul Woodall, director environment and sustainability, DFDS.

Mr Woodall reported that during the ten-year period of running just 0.05% of SOx had been emitted, a figure confirmed by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which also reported particulate matter numbers were in the 31 – 53% range whilst mass was reduced by up to 55%.
“Had the vessel been trading on compliant fuel during these ten years, then SOx emissions would have been almost 60 times higher,” said Mr Woodall.

The operational performance of the scrubber was verified from internal measurements carried out by DFDS, which indicated scrubber downtime of less than 0.002% during the 12-month period to 1 July 2019.

Since the first installation onboard Ficaria Seaways, DFDS now has the technology installed on 28 vessels with ten more EGCS-operating ships on order. However, Woodall acknowledged that scrubber technology may ultimately give way to other technologies.

“To meet IMO’s ambitious target of 50% reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 the industry must find an alternative to fossil fuel,” he concluded.