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Following what has been described as 'successful government supervised testing' on Eleonora Maersk on September 5th 2010, Maersk Line has announced that it will commence using low-sulphur fuel in its engines while at berth in Hong Kong, thereby kicking off the first voluntary fuel switch scheme in Asia.

“By switching from bunker to cleaner fuel at berth, we significantly reduce emissions of sulphur into the air,” said Tim Smith, Chief Executive of Maersk Line’s North Asia Region.

Maersk Line makes around 850 port calls in Hong Kong every year. Switching from bunker fuel, which is used at high sea, to low-sulphur fuel is expected to reduce Maersk Line’s emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particles by at least 80 percent. The Hong Kong initiative will entail an additional cost of USD 1 million annually to Maersk Line.

Based on experiences from California, Houston and elsewhere, Maersk Line responded when the Civic Exchange, a local business NGO, and Hong Kong’s environmental authorities explored the possibility of a local fuel switch.

According to Tim Smith, “We share the ambitions of the local government and Civic Exchange in Hong Kong and would like to contribute to a better air quality. We hope this voluntary initiative will show the way for future legislation,” he added.

“By engaging in voluntary fuel switches in Hong Kong and elsewhere, we want to demonstrate that it is a way to quickly reduce sulphur emissions without any technical difficulties. We support strict sulphur regulation and we hope that our fuel switches will inspire authorities to raise the regulatory bar on SOx,” said Morten Engelstoft, Chief Operating Officer at Maersk Line. Company insiders feel that Hong Kong is only a step towards a cleaner industry and a lot more can be done.

“Shipping is very efficient in terms of cutting CO2 emissions compared with other means of transportation. But shipping’s SOx emissions need to be dealt with,” added Engelstoft.