Port du Havre, in partnership with SEREP, a subsidiary of SARP Industries, has set up a local industry for the treatment of scrubber residues.
Developing an industry compatible with the stated requirements of the International Maritime Organisation
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has decided to limit sulphur emissions from marine fuels to 0.5% (instead of 3.5% in 2012) in international waters. Having come into force from 1 January 2020, this new regulation aims to reduce the environmental impact of marine transport on air quality.
Le Havre has been in the SECA (Sulphur Emission Control Area) since 2015;a perimeter where the sulphur (SOx) emission rates must not exceed 0.1%. Ships sailing and docked in the port must either use fuels containing no more than 0.1% sulphur, or be fitted with a closed-loop scrubber system to filter and wash exhaust fumes.
A commitment to offer shipping companies concrete solutions
To offer concrete solutions to shipping companies that choose to use scrubbers, the Port of Le Havre and SEREP have worked to set up acollection and treatment of scrubber waste industry. Waste from ship exhaust fume purifiers is taken by truck to the treatment and recovery centre for processing.
To encourage ships to deposit their liquid waste and scrubber residues on site, the Port takes in charge 30% of the cost of waste collecting
Waste, an economic lever for the future for the region
Industrial ecology is a historical sector in Le Havre.The region, and in particular the industrial-port area of Le Havre, has been home to factories and companies in the circular economy since the 1950s. The density of heavy industries and their maritime and river connections have made it afavourable region for innovation in this area.
This is the case for SEREP, a subsidiary of SARP Industries, which has been established here since 1953, and in 2011 developed a maritime waste collection activity to provide a local response to the needs of ships in port. This port service, called SWC (Service Waste Collection),started with waste and residues from water/hydrocarbons (Marpol -Appendix I) and is now being extended with the management of scrubber residues (Marpol -Appendix VI).
Beyond the Le Havre region,SARP Industries also offers European ports the complete management of scrubber waste with its dedicated ShipO2service:https://youtu.be/d3975DoBLxY
Taking things further to make the industrial port area of Le Havre a smart industrial eco-park, consideration is under way to continue these efforts. In the field of circular economy in particular, SEREP is finalising a short-circuit recovery project for hydrocarbons collected from ships.
This is a route that paves the way for new opportunities for industrial attractiveness.
Source: Port of Le Havre