Fjord Line’s Bergensfjord and Stavangerford ferries have received the top two scores in the World Ports Climate Environmental Ship Index (ESI), which measures the emissions of over 3000 ships.
The LNG-fuelled ferries are both powered by four Rolls-Royce BV12PG gas engines that drive highly efficient Rolls-Royce PROMAS integrated rudder and propellers.
Of the 3194 ships currently on the ESI list, Bergensfjord scored 93.9 points followed by sister vessel Stavangerfjord with 93.5. Only 50 vessels had a score higher than 49.
Morten Larsen, Fjord Line’s Technical and Nautical Director, said: “It is clear that the Rolls-Royce engines have made these ferries more environmentally-friendly than other vessels on the ESI list. We continue to improve the efficiency of our vessels and, as an example, have recently moved to LED lighting to reduce further energy consumption onboard.”
John Knudsen, President Commercial Marine, Rolls-Royce, said: “These remarkable ferries are driven exclusively by natural gas. One reason for the high ESI score is that the Rolls-Royce Bergen engines only use LNG and do not need oil fuel for pilot injection. The result is that the BV12PGs emit zero oxides of sulfur, reduce oxides of nitrogen by 98% and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 23%.”
The ESI is a project within the World Ports Climate Initiative and is used by ports to reward shipowners for their commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Shipowners enter their vessels voluntarily on the basis that ports offer favourable terms to those vessels that score highly. Cleaner ships will in turn help ports not only to reduce general greenhouse gas emissions but also to cut NOx which is a local air pollutant.
Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly