Italian ferry firm Grimaldi, one of the early movers in International Paint’s innovative carbon credits programme, has been awarded nearly 110,000 credits worth more than $500,000 in the first phase of its hull coating upgrade programme.
The award covers the first 14 vessels operated by the company including ro-ro’s, ropax, cruise and pure car and truck carriers, which have had carbon emissions reduced and independently verified by the Gold Standard Foundation. The emission cuts have been achieved as a result of upgrading hull coatings from biocide-based products to the AkzoNobel subsidiary’s premium foul release coatings range, Intersleek, which are do not contain biocides.
In a London celebration yesterday timed to coincide with the IMO’s MEPC 70 meeting, Akzo Nobel’s Director of Sustainability André Veneman presented Dario Bocchetti, Manager of Grimaldi’s Technical Department in charge of energy saving, with a plaque to celebrate the award of the credits.
These are likely to be reinvested by the ship operator as it continues its coatings upgrade programme, according to Bocchetti. This now includes 48 ships in Grimaldi’s 120-vessel fleet and the company has other carbon credit claims in progress.
A carbon credit is awarded for every tonne of carbon dioxide saved by applying latest generation hull coatings. Altogether, nearly 127,000 credits have been awarded so far this year. Some 50 vessels are enrolled in the programme although International Paint representatives expect this number to increase sharply as more owners switch to its latest Intersleek 1100SR hull coating, formulated specifically to counter the effects of slime and with close to 1,000 applications already completed.
AkzoNobel’s Veneman declared that shipping needs to see a greater uptake of clean technology to improve its sustainability. “Our carbon credits programme proves that by making the investment, ship owners can benefit from both increased efficiency gains and lower fuel costs,” he said. “They also reap the additional financial benefits of the credits, based on the amount of carbon that is reduced,” he added.
The award comes at a critical time for shipping as delegates at the MEPC 70 meeting seek to thrash out a strategy whereby shipping can play its part in cutting carbon emissions as all energy consumers are bound to do under the Paris Agreement.
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