NEAS on board with transition to renewable energy shipping
Leaders of largest global shipping companies call for end-date on building fossil-fuel only ships
Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc., which owns the MV Aivik pictured here, is prioritizing using renewable energy on its ships in the future, said company president Daniel Dagenais. Recently the leaders of some of the world’s largest shipping companies called for an end-date for building fossil fuel-only ships. (File photo)
Updated on Monday, Dec. 12, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. ET
The head of NEAS Group, Inc., a sealift company serving Nunavut and Nunavik, agrees with leaders of some of the world’s largest ship operators in calling for a phasing out of building new ships powered by fossil fuels.
“Decarbonization is top of mind for all ship operators around the world,” said NEAS president Daniel Dagenais in an interview.
NEAS provides sealift shipping through Nunavut and Nunavik. It’s jointly owned by Makivvik Corp. and Transport Nanuk Inc.
The 28th annual United Nations global climate summit, known as COP28, is being held in Dubai until Dec. 12.
At the summit, chief executive officers for the global marine shipping companies MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Wallenius Wilhelmsen called for an end-date in the building of ships powered only by fossil fuels.
NEAS is looking more into the use of renewable energy, Dagenais said, whereas this issue used to be a secondary consideration.
“Now it’s top of mind for us, because our assets are in operation for 15 to 20 years and sometimes more,” he said.
For NEAS, this requires technology that can function reliably in Arctic conditions.
Since the Arctic’s cold temperature would be a drain on a ship’s electric power, NEAS is looking into green fuels such as ethanol, ammonia or hydrogen, Dagenais said.
To ensure communities are properly served, NEAS will gradually make the shift toward renewable energy.
“The last thing we want to do is commit to this transition [too] early and put in jeopardy the service we provide to isolated communities,” Dagenais said, adding he does not want to see a situation where an NEAS ship cannot function because of a technology or fuel problem.
“There’s very little room for error here,” he said.
Environmental non-profit group Clean Arctic Alliance sent out a news release Dec. 7 saying the group took notice of the joint statement “with interest” and pushed the shipping companies to take it one step further by adding their voice to a years-old call to regulate black carbon emissions.
Black carbon is produced by burning heavy fuel oil — the cheapest and dirtiest oil leftover after the oil refining process. Heavy fuel oil is commonly used by ships around the world, according to Clean Arctic Alliance.
The alliance’s lead adviser, Sian Prior, said the first step is for ships operating in the Arctic to move from heavy-oil fuels to lighter fuels to reduce their black carbon emissions.
“Then … black carbon compliance thresholds [need] to be established that can be tightened over time to eliminate black carbon emissions,” she said in the news release.
“Continuing to use heavy residual fuels or moving to alternative methane-based gas fuels is not acceptable.”
Other groups such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council have also called for the removal of black carbon in Arctic waters. Until the end of the year, the council is a provisional consultative member in the United Nations International Maritime Organization, which is responsible for international shipping regulations.
Inuit Circumpolar Council Canada president Lisa Koperqualuk is in the United Arab Emirates for COP 28 was not available for an interview.
Correction: This story has been updated to include the correct name of NEAS Group Inc. and to reflect that NEAS Group Inc. is jointly owned by Makivik Corp. and Transport Nanuk Inc. It’s also been updated to correctly identify Dr. Sian Prior.
Let’s see if they actually do anything 🤣
“NEAS is looking into green fuels such as ethanol, ammonia or hydrogen, Dagenais said.”
Lol, ethanol is basically the same carbon chemical as gasoline and other alkanes; hydrogen fuel is most easily sourced fro alkanes
Orrhaps DEAS could just run its ships on the excess self-righteousness generated by the human-made climate crowd
Keep in mind NEAS isn’t going to do anything for a warm fuzzy feeling. They’ll do it if they’re regulated to do it or if it affects their bottom line.
CAA needs to get it’s message straight. First they say arctic shippers must move away from heavy fuel oils. Then they say moving to methane based fuels is not acceptable. Well, which is it? Either they want black carbon eliminated, or not.
If they do not have actual solutions to recommend to shippers, perhaps they can change their name from Clean Arctic Alliance to No Shipping in the Arctic Alliance, which would then be more accurate.
This is the trouble with this crop of environmental groups. All they have to say is No. Well, if the answer is No, then residents of the arctic need to hear and understand that clearly.
A No on heavy fuel oil or any reasonably feasible alternative fuel is a No to our annual community resupply. This in turn means that the only way this group’s objectives can be met is that people will have to vacate the arctic, because we will be without the goods and materials necessary to live here.
So, I would say at least some arctic residents are looking at the CAA’s own statements “with interest”. What are they doing to make this happen, besides taking in donations to complain about someone else – which seems pretty thin gruel for the task at hand?
Come on Greenpeace and WWF, how much money are you raking in from concerned southerners and using to test better fuels that are as cheap as HFO so our sealift bills do not go through the roof? Or, will you subsidize the sealift with your donations to keep the costs on par? How does the saying go -“If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem”?
Perhaps in the end, Nunatsiaq may instead want to reach out to Transport Canada or someone else in real authority on this issue to see what actually can be achieved to make arctic shipping as clean as possible.
Wooden ships and iron men.