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The Isle of Man is the first in the world to reach a significant environmental milestone

Monday, 10 August 2020

Two Manx registered vessels, BW Leo and BW Gemini, will be the first ships of their type to be retrofitted to run a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) dual fuel propulsion system.

LPG emits significantly less air pollution compared to traditional ship fuels, both in terms of local pollution and greenhouse gases.

Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister for the Environment, Food and Agriculture said:

‘This is a significant environmental milestone. Greenhouse gas emissions from these vessels will be cut by around 17% when running on LPG, making them much cleaner than the current international requirement.

‘A world first in any arena is a remarkable achievement, it shows the Isle of Man are out ahead in terms of our thinking and practises. Hopefully, this will become a new standard for shipping and lead to emission reductions across the board.’

He added:

‘As our plans progress to fulfil our climate commitments and have net zero carbon emissions by 2050, this clearly shows just what can be achieved and that our small Island is more than capable of leading the way on a world stage.

‘As an island, much of our territory is the sea. Reducing the impact we have on the marine environment is vital so that we can maximise the benefits such as carbon storage and healthy marine life.’

The conversion of BW Leo and BW Gemini are expected to be completed by the end of the summer, a further ten vessels will follow suit with fuel conversions taking place at each vessel’s next scheduled dry docking.

The use of LPG compared to traditional fuels will virtually eliminate sulphur emissions (by around 90-97%) and further reduces the emission of nitrogen oxides and black carbon particulate matter.

The Isle of Man Ship Registry approved the safety equivalence applications for the fuel conversation earlier this year and are currently working with industry on a number of other cutting edge environmental projects such as; biofuel usage and wind power. The Ship Registry already issues fully digital certification and offers discounted fees for environmentally friendly ships that meet the criteria.

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