Go Zero Emission with Plug-In Buoys for Ships

There has been persistent traffic in the American ports with tons of containers stacked like toy bricks, one on top of the other, waiting for that one brick at the bottom to break or fail. Cargo vessels waiting for hours in long queues, releasing tons of CO2 gases while idling their fleet has been a major environmental concern. Although predominant in the American ports, this situation is prevalent in seaports worldwide due to the increased demand for goods and relaxed trade laws.  Did you know that the amount of sulfur emitted by the world’s seventeen largest ships is more than the global car fleet? This calls for action to find ways in which container vessels and ships can operate in a sustainable manner.

To address this global shipping problem, Stillstrom, a subsidiary of the shipping conglomerate Maersk has come up with a solution whereby ships will be plugged into charging buoys powered by onshore renewable energy sources via underwater cables. So, what are buoys?  They are floating objects used as locators or warning points for ships in deep waters. For better visibility during foggy weather, these buoys are usually painted in bright fluorescent colors. Stillstrom has intelligently transformed the traditional use of a buoy from mooring ships to being used as a sustainable source of power and their vision within five years of commercialization of these renewable energy-powered buoys is to reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to 11 million barrels of oil. When ships are moored at port for loading and unloading, they are expected to be connected to land-based renewable energy sources ensuring that the entire shipping process is green. In a few ports like those in southern California where it is required for the idling of ships to be cleaner, these floating power ports will be useful. As part of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Ports Initiative, they have started a Shore Power Technology Assessment at the U.S. Ports to review the availability of shore power at the ports and also to evaluate the technical and operational feasibility of the installed shore power.

With sustainable concepts like these, we strive to build a world that is free of emissions and is safe for human health. A renewably powered plug-in buoy for the marine fleet will help in significantly reducing the greenhouse gases while in water and during onshore loading and off-loading. We are impatiently waiting for more information on Stillstrom’s take on the mooring design for these green-powered buoys.

For more read on Catenary Approach for Modeling Mooring Dynamics for Marine Applications, click here