News & events

27.05.2020

Travelling at zero net CO2 emissions: an Interreg project tells how

How can we estimate the CO2 emissions related to a research project? How can we offset them? The Italy – Croatia Interreg GUTTA project finds a way to successfully implement an EU project with zero net travel emissions.

The total direct emissions related to all travels generated by GUTTA project in 2019 were about 7 tons CO2. This corresponds to the emissions of an average Italian person during one year (according to data from the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance). This is the main result of the monitoring activity of CO2 emissions due to meeting travels of GUTTA, a project of the Italy – Croatia Interreg Programme that aims to contribute to the decarbonization of the ferry boat maritime traffic in the Adriatic Sea.

“In GUTTA we have a specific deliverable requiring us to monitor and report emissions related to project meetings and other travels for project related events- explains Gianandrea Mannarini, senior scientist at the CMCC Foundation and coordinator of GUTTA – and this could represent an innovation for EU projects.”

“We would like GUTTA to be the first EU project with zero net CO2 travels – Mannarini adds – and this can be done via negative emissions”. They can be achieved e.g. by funding reforestation/afforestation projects, provision of clean water supply in developing Countries (thus avoiding burning fossil fuels for purifying it), or supporting small renewable energy plants. This will also be beneficial UN SDGs like the #13 (‘Climate Action’).

How was the cost for offsetting GUTTA carbon footprint estimated? The travels emissions were considered as if they were part of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). This first attempt just considered the emissions directly related to travels. However, for a truly zero net CO2 project the picture should be enlarged to include both indirect emissions caused by the travels (so called scope 2 and scope 3 emissions) and other project budget lines, such as staff and equipment.

The average carbon intensity of GUTTA travels in 2019 was found to be 107 gCO2/km, which is less than the intensity of the average car in the EU, and the offsetting cost amounted to amounted to less than 200 euro. Thus, investing a little part of the project budget, GUTTA partners will know that their travels did not contribute to climate change.

Original text: https://www.cmcc.it/article/travelling-at-zero-net-co2-emissions-an-interreg-project-tells-how

29.04.2020

Key wind-assist propulsion installation starts North Sea operations

During the docking of the MV Ankie of Jan van Dam Shipping in January 2020 at the Royal Niestern Sander shipyard, the first retrofit eConowind Ventifoil wind-assist system was installed, six months after signing the contract. “The good and close cooperation between eConowind, Van Dam Shipping and Niestern Sander resulted in a pioneering project, which was completed within the planned installation period”, states Bart Volgers.

This installation features two, 10-meter wings that will generate significant force allowing the vessel to reduce motor power and thus save energy. 

The 3,600 DWT general cargo vessel MV Ankie, made its first voyage with the two wings installed, sailing for Wagenborg from Delfzijl to Hamburg, onwards to Norway and then back to Rotterdam.

10.04.2020

Happy Easter!

07.04.2020

Golar Viking Management - Associate Member of the Croatian Shipowners’ Association Mare Nostrum

On April 2, 2020, Croatian Shipowners’ Association Mare Nostrum welcomed one more associate member into the Association, Golar Viking Management Ltd.

Newly established Golar Viking Management Ltd. contracted with LNG Croatia Ltd. regarding the management and maintenance services of a floating FSRU terminal for a period of 10 years on the island of Krk (Omišalj). A Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) is a vital component  for transit and transfer of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). FSRU can be termed as a special type of ship used for LNG transfer.

The Association looks forward to the new membership and active cooperation of the new Member.

More information about the business of our new member can be found here: https://www.golarlng.com/

30.03.2020

The second GUTTA Steering Committee meeting will take place on April 1-2, 2020

The Consortium has stuck to this date since the previous meeting in Zagreb (Croatia) on Oct.1, 2019. In the meanwhile, the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe has changed everything, forcing the GUTTA consortium to restructure the physical meeting, originally due in Zadar (Croatia), into a web-conference.

Nevertheless, the meeting will include a comprehensive overview of the progress in the implementation of GUTTA, in both its technical and management components. The criticalities emerged during the first 15 months of the project will be discussed, in order to find shared solutions and make decisions impacting the remainder of the project.

The GUTTA project of the Italy-Croatia Interreg Program aims to contribute to the decarbonization of the ferry boat maritime traffic. To this end, a new tool for computation of eco-routes based on marine forecast and VISIR model is under construction. Furthermore, GUTTA disseminates the value of the public data collected under the European Regulation (EU) 2015/757 on Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of CO2 emissions by ships calling at EEA harbors, and is making an objective assessment for the need for a new ferry link between Italy and Croatia.