JR Shipping marks 10th Filtree installation in carbon capture milestone

Dutch shipping company JR Shipping has reached a significant milestone by installing the 10th Filtree Carbon Capture system on its fleet.

The installation was carried out on board the 750 TEU MV Enforcer vessel in cooperation with Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros de Santander S.A.U. The Dutch-flagged container vessel was built in 2003.

The system, provided by Value Maritime, operates on a technology designed to filter both sulfur and ultra-fine particles from exhaust gases while also purifying wash water. Additionally, it includes a carbon capture module that captures the CO2 onboard in a battery container.

The captured CO2 is discharged on shore, for example, in the agricultural industry, after which the battery is returned to the vessel to be recharged.

Value Maritime’s CCS technology allows vessels to capture up to 40% of CO2 emissions, with the potential of exceeding 90% in the future. The system won ABS approval in March 2023.

“Our journey to decarbonize short sea shipping wouldn’t be possible without our incredible partners. We would like to thank Astilleros de Santander S.A.U., our long-standing shipyard partner, for facilitating this installation work, as well as Value Maritime for their sustainable partnership,” JR Shipping said.

“Thanks to the confidence of our charterers and the collaborative effort of our team, we can take these steps as a shipping group.”

The installation was contracted in June 2022 as part of a deal for six vessel retrofits including MV Enforcer, MV Endurance, MV Ensemble, MV Emotion, MV Empire, and MV Elysee. The deal builds on the initial two installations on 750 TEU container feeders MV Endeavor and MV Energy completed in summer 2022.

“JR Shipping is more than a loyal client. They have really helped us showcase our exhaust gas cleaning system to other potential clients – inviting them onboard their ships so they can see for themselves the Filtree unit in action,” Value Maritime said.

As part of its sustainability efforts, JR Shipping plans to equip almost its entire fleet with exhaust gas cleaning systems with carbon capture options by the end of 2023. The company’s fleet comprises 15 container feeder vessels, 7 offshore vessels, and one tall ship.

“The fact that valuable vessels can remain in service longer through the application of such systems allows shipping companies the required time to take further steps towards greener operations and prevents unnecessary – environmentally damaging – scrapping,” JR Shipping said in its sustainability report, adding that the installation is expected to impact the carbon intensity (CII) rating of its fleet.

“However, we must acknowledge that due to the building period (2003–2011) and the design philosophy of our vessels, it is inevitable that some of them will receive a poor CII rating. All existing container feeder vessels were designed in an era where maximized service speeds were required. Subsequently, all existing container feeder vessels are, from today’s perspective, overpowered, resulting in less efficiency even while operating at lower service speeds today. Needless to say, this is not optimal,” the company added.

Other measures are being pursued as well, such as grid blasting and anti-fouling coatings together with slow steaming to cut the company’s CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030.

JR Shipping launched its carbon capture technology investments in 2022 as part of its sustainability strategy of becoming net zero by 2050. The strategy also includes measures such as investing in more fuel-efficient ships, route optimization, and exploration of alternative fuels.

Specifically, the shipping company has teamed up with Technolog GmbH to develop a comprehensive concept for a new generation of container feeder vessels.

 The new designs are said to offer more capabilities, including a lower fuel consumption of 40-50%.

The next-generation vessels will be suitable for low-emission fuels like green methanol and/or hybrid e-propulsion solutions.

Until these new, low (or even zero) emission fuels become widely available, JR Shipping will fuel the new vessels with clean marine gas oil, and the related CO₂ emissions will be minimized by applying carbon capture technologies.