Carbon Intensity Indicator: what to expect and how to prepare

Wallenius Wilhelmsen actions related to CII will fall into three categories: Technical, operational and fuel-related measures.

“Our fleet renewal strategy is relevant when we look at the long-term effects of our operations on the environment,” says Fagerheim who expects the group fleet strategy to be announced in 2023. “At the moment, we need to focus more on what we can do with the current fleet we own and operate. With the current capacity squeeze coming from high customer demand, we certainly need to do several things concurrently – in all three areas – technical adjustments, operational improvements and evaluating new fuel mixes.”

1. Speed and fuel

Wallenius Wilhelmsen specialists are looking at the effect of engine power limitations. We are assessing a wide range of operational measures: We can reduce or adjust sailing speed to reduce emissions, we can always further optimize sailing routes based on weather data, we can reduce the number of waiting days at ports and we can optimize our planning. We are also in the process of establishing a biofuel (and synthetic fuel) strategy to see which mix of fuels are available in the market, and which can effectively be used going forward.

2. Technical changes

More long-term, Fagerheim says that we are looking at potential technical design changes such as how we can improve the hydrodynamic performance of the vessel hull or the machinery itself. Smaller projects such as evaluating the efficacy of our current waste heat recovery solutions, shaft power limitation devices, as well as propellers are some of many technical areas that are under evaluation. “At the end of the day, we need to ensure we do the changes that really have a significant impact. Not all changes are equally efficient.”

3. Changes are costly

“All changes we need to do have costs attached. Reducing the effect our operations have on the environment will come at a significant cost. It will come at a cost for us, our customers and ultimately, the end-consumers. Not doing enough will be even more costly to human mankind.”

“We need to address the vessels with the poorest rating first,” says Fagerheim. “These vessels are the ones that will get access to biofuel for instance. We will keep a special eye on the performance of our chartered vessels. We own 88 vessels, 27 are chartered. As part of our critical next steps, we will align operational routines to track performance and bunker planning, prioritize vessels at certain ports and much more. We also need to keep on top of cost recovery and how we can regain some of the investments we have to do.”