Friday, November 8, 2013

MARAD announces $1.4 million for maritime LNG research projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration said it would provide $1.4 million for two projects that will study the use alternative fuels and technology in the maritime industry. 

The projects will collect information on use of liquefied natural gas as a marine propulsion agent and research the challenges inherent in shore side storage and fueling of LNG vessels.

Through a partnership agreement, MARAD will provide Horizon Lines with $900,000 to assist in conversion and monitoring of their container carrier, Horizon Spirit, to operate on LNG. The vessel operates between Long Beach, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. The conversion is scheduled for completion by late-2015.

Measuring the efficiency and air emissions of the new LNG engines will provide substantive data on greener and more cost effective shipping options.

The second project is a $500,000 MARAD funded LNG study conducted by the U.S. subsidiary of Det Norske Veritas to research bunkering, which is the process of supplying fuel for ships, and the landside infrastructure needed to store and distribute LNG. This study will be complete by spring 2014.

"Fuel-efficient ships appeal to the maritime industry for the exact same reasons that fuel-efficient cars appeal to consumers – they're easy on the environment and their pocketbooks," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  "The Obama Administration is committed to protecting our environment and reducing pollution, and the information we'll gather from these projects will help us strengthen America's clean energy economy." 

More: marad.dot.gov


More Techwire stories

Peel Ports Group to deploy Navis TOS at eight locations

Freight sailboat brings local farm goods to NYC

California Green Corridor barge project to lower state highway emissions

3-D print replicas of 20 million-year-old fossils

Cargo spacecraft's reentry burn captured (video)

 

The Port Handbook



Click to browse past stories on these topics:

Logistics

Ports & Infrastructure

Economic Outlook

Environmental Impact

Technology