Handling of emissions

World trade and ship numbers have seen a steady increase over recent years, but in parallel there have been economies of scale with larger, more efficient ships. On a per unit basis, emissions both of harmful substances, pollutants and greenhouse gases from ships have been reduced, allowing shipping to assert it is the most environmentally friendly and the most energy efficient transport mode. Even if shipping will never replace all the other transport modes, more shipping is part of the solution to the challenges of air emissions and global warming which the world faces today. 

Euronav’s dedication to the reduction of emissions is demonstrated by:

• active Fleet Energy Management i.e. the development of a plan and the implementation of measures to reduce emissions and fuel consumption;
• the development of an effective policy on reduction of harmful emissions to air;
• the development of an advanced performance management system including online reporting;
• not burning plastics on board the vessels but delivering them ashore;

Euronav takes a systematic approach towards monitoring the fuel efficiency and evaluating potential improvements in order to reduce the fuel oil consumption and CO₂ emissions. Energy efficiency measures include:

• installation of devices that improve propulsion efficiency
• installation of electric heaters for minimizing fuel consumption when the vessel is idle or slow steaming;
• painting vessels with modern anti-fouling paint which improves propulsion efficiency, carbon emissions, as well as reducing the toxic effect of the paint on marine life;
• hull and propeller cleaning based on observation;
• slow steaming as part of voyage optimization;
• hardware and software installation for close monitoring of a vessel’s speed and consumption performance.