World's Cleanest Ship Demonstrates Future Waterborne Transport
February 29, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The low-emission, fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly motor tank vessel named "Victoria" moored in the port of Brussels on Feb. 28 for a special event to illustrate how clean shipping technology can revolutionise the way goods are transported in Europe.
This fully operational barge demonstrates how European Union (EU) research can help deliver safer, cleaner, and more competitive waterborne transport for the future.
Victoria, or the "Cleanest Ship," is a project of British Petroleum and the EU-financed research project CREATING, working together to develop environmentally efficient inland navigation.
CREATING is a partnership that brings together 27 companies and research organisations from nine European countries.
To improve fuel efficiency, reduce energy use and lower emissions, the Cleanest Ship uses innovative technologies for speed control, low sulphur fuel use, selective catalytic reduction and particulate matter filters.
"Greening is an essential objective of European transport research, and inland navigation provides a particularly relevant, environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to other forms of transport of heavy goods in Europe," said Janez Potočnik, EC commissioner for science and research. "This project is a perfect example of concrete scientific solutions which EU research brings through collaboration in the European Research Area."
"EU-funded projects continue to deliver innovative results in such fields as more efficient and cleaner alternative propulsion systems, cleaner fuel, optimised routing, as well as improved hull forms - all of these are directly usable today by the EU shipping industry," Potočnik added. "But we must also look further ahead, and support European leadership in ship engine production, as well as developing long-term solutions using fuel cell technology for cleaner, greener, safer shipping."
As well as presenting the world's Cleanest Ship, the Feb. 28 event presented other EU-funded projects delivering radical advances in clean waterborne transport and showcased two complementary projects working on marine engine technology and the use of alternative fuels:
- METHAPU - Methanol fuel cell technology for maritime applications.
- HERCULES - Innovative marine engine technologies to reduce fuel consumption and emissions for sea-going vessels.
For more information, see the web site for the Cleanest Ship project.
Source: European Commission.