Svitzer saves 1,000 tonnes of CO2

A pilot of the Aim for 8 initiative started in late 2021 across Svitzer’s UK operations and is part of the company’s multi-faceted decarbonisation strategy that was launched in May 2022.

Svitzer’s global fleet of 400 vessels emits the equivalent of 100,000 diesel-powered cars each year. The company says the initiative proves that small behavioural changes, when implemented alongside more ambitious and long-term shifts such as fuel and tug design, can have an immediate and measurable impact on the CO2 emissions of the global fleet.

The speed target of eight knots was chosen based on analysis of Svitzer’s tug fleet while mobilising to and from a job and asks and incentivises crews to try to achieve the ‘sweet spot’ of potential fuel efficiency that the company’s analysis identified. During mobilisation and demobilisation, there is less power demand and more predictable conditions.

For some individual tugs, optimising speed to eight knots during mobilisation and demobilisation has improved their efficiency by around 20%.

Kasper Karlsen, regional COO, Svitzer Europe, said: “We have been able to make this tangible impact at no cost to our operations and with very little disruption to our way of working, simply by asking our crews to make a small change in behaviour and stay below eight knots before and after the towage job.”

Following its success in the UK, Aim for 8 will now be implemented across Svitzer’s global operations. This will considerably increase the potential CO₂ saving from Svitzer’s operations, contributing to the company’s decarbonisation strategy through to 2040.