McKay Global

We are proud to be able to work with New Zealand companies and businesses to drive emission reduction in the marine sector ⛴ If you have thought about electrifying your fleet, we would love to talk to you about your options 👉 https://bit.ly/2GMGUga

🚢 A study conducted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimated that greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping in 2018 accounted for 2.9% of anthropogenic (i.e. human generated) CO2 emissions.

While the IMO is developing measures to reduce global emissions from international shipping, New Zealand is also looking at ways to reduce our shipping sector-related emissions more generally.

A number of government agencies are working together on a coordinated approach to addressing emissions from New Zealand’s transport sector. Maritime NZ has been contributing to this work from the maritime perspective, alongside a group of industry bodies and other stakeholders.

This work considers how the maritime industry might achieve emission reductions in the future – for example, by having some New Zealand operators introduce electric vessels into their fleets.

The reductions in emissions between electric and traditional vessels is linked to how electricity is generated in New Zealand – in 2019 over 80% of all power was generated from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels. The technology does have its limitations, with current battery technologies requiring resources that can be environmentally damaging to gather. Looking at electric cars, however, the savings could still be over 60%.

Small electrically-powered vessels are already available in New Zealand, with some larger vessels in development. These can provide large emissions savings over their lifetime, and are likely to only become more efficient as technology progresses. With industry embracing these new technologies, greater up-take should fuel (or, in this case, power) even more innovation.

Image: A render of East by West’s fully electric ferry, which you can expect to see in the next few months (Credit: East by West Ferries)

Our marine team are currently delivering electrical works for the beautiful Sirena 🛥 They are delivering electrical system alterations in order to bring the vessel to survey standards. Find out more about our marine services 👉 https://bit.ly/3lsfyKy