First Carbon Credits from Hull Coating

Published Feb 24, 2016 4:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

AkzoNobel has announced the issue of more than 126,000 carbon credits worth more than $500,000 – the first to be awarded under the company’s scheme which was developed in conjunction with the Gold Standard Foundation and the Fremco Group.

Launched in 2014, the program rewards shipowners who convert existing vessels from a biocidal antifouling to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating proven to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

On average, each of the 16 vessels included in the first issue achieved savings of just over 1,250 tons of fuel and 4,000 tons of CO2 per year, resulting in the award of 126,785 credits by the Gold Standard Foundation. That number is expected to increase as more vessels continue to enrol in the scheme.

Based on the average 10 percent CO2 savings recorded in this first carbon credits issue, the full fleet of over 4,500 vessels currently using the company’s Intersleek coating have already achieved total annual reductions in carbon emissions of around 17 million tons of CO2, says AkzoNobel. That figure represents around 1.5 percent of the global emissions from shipping, as estimated by the third IMO Greenhouse Gas Study.

The issue of the carbon credits followed a rigorous assessment of the scheme, which included validation and verification of the 16 participating vessels’ fuel consumption data by an independent auditor, RINA Services and the Gold Standard Foundation, in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism.

Alastair Fischbacher, CEO of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative said: “Climate change is a critical global challenge, and one the shipping industry must play its role in responsibly contributing to the global CO2 reduction target. Central to achieving this is incentivizing shipowners by demonstrating that a sustainable approach to business is also a more profitable one. AkzoNobel’s carbon credits methodology does just that, and is an example of how financial mechanisms, combined with real innovation can play a key role in creating a sustainable future for shipping.”

As well as being able to sell the carbon credits, the scheme also offers ship owners the option of passing them on to other stakeholders, such as cargo owners, to offset their emissions. They can alternatively be used to voluntarily offset other sources of CO2 emissions. AkzoNobel is currently in discussions with the enrolled shipowners regarding sale and offsetting options for their credits.

AkzoNobel spent more than two years developing the carbon credits methodology as part of its research into making eco-efficiency technologies more accessible for the wider shipping industry.