Carnival Corp is one of seven companies who recently founded the Methane Abatement in Maritime (MAM) innovation initiative.
This is a coalition of leading shipping companies who have joined together to identify, accelerate and advocate technology solutions for the maritime industry to measure and manage methane emissions activity.
It is MAM’s aim to minimise the environmental impact of LNG in shipping, whilst aiding the transition to future fuel solutions.
Led by Safetytech Accelerator, established by Lloyd’s Register (LR), the initiative is a technology acceleration programme whose activities will initially be supported by seven partners, including Carnival Corp.
The group will also tap into the expertise of academics, civil society, and other stakeholders, such as the National Physical Laboratory.
In its first year, MAM will seek to identify and pilot new technologies to monitor and reduce methane slip from vessels fuelled by LNG.
Once these solutions have been validated, the members will seek to endorse them to industry from 2023.
MAM will also tackle how shipowners and operators can be encouraged to adopt proven abatement technology at scale.
This initiative will be chaired by Panagiotis Mitrou, LR’s Global Gas Director (pictured), and directed by Safetytech Accelerator’s Head of Partnerships, Steve Price.
It is hoped that the new solutions will help the industry to understand the extent of, and then manage, their methane emissions activities.
Measuring the scale of methane emissions, and understanding if they can be managed to negligible levels, will signal if liquefied bio-methane (LBM) and liquefied synthetic methane (LSM) are viable pathway fuels to help achieve 2050 de-carbonisation targets.
Tom Strang, Carnival’s Senior Vice President, Maritime Affairs, said: “LNG has consistently provided substantial benefits in maritime operations over time, including virtually zero sulphur and significantly reduced overall emissions, as the industry’s most advanced fuel available to date.
“As a leader in advancing LNG adoption for the cruise industry, we are pleased to participate alongside our partners in a strong coalition organised around fostering innovation and maximising the positive impacts of LNG as a fuel in transition.
“Working together, our two-pronged approach to accelerating technologies in the areas of methane measurement and abatement will help drive specific, effective solutions for the larger maritime industry, in support of our shared de-carbonisation ambitions,” he said.
