SHELL Digest: Vessel Air Lubrication helps to reduce maritime emissons

The shipping industry is adjusting to a new normal with the introduction of targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increased costs, particularly for fuel, so vessel efficiency is now a top priority. Air lubrication systems (ALS) for a vessel’s hull provide a viable solution for reducing fuel consumption and, thus, carbon dioxide emissions, and will play a role in decarbonising shipping (see boxed text, Decarbonising shipping: Setting Shell’s course). Recent work by Silverstream Technologies and other manufacturers indicates considerable net power savings. Shell originally tested the Silverstream® System on one of its chartered product tankers; the sea trials demonstrated about a 5% net efficiency gain. In 2020, Shell installed the Silverstream System on the Methane Patricia Camila (Figure 1) liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, which was the first time Silverstream had installed a system on this ship type. Early testing of the system has shown power savings of up to 8%.

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