Dubai port operator cuts power and diesel usage

Duba:Global marine port operator DP World has cut carbon emissions by reducing its electricity and diesel fuel consumed by cranes to lift, load and stack steel containers at 60 marine terminals on six continents, company executives said yesterday.

The company witnessed its carbon footprint drop from 20.2 kgCO2e/ModTEU in 2008 to 18 kgCO2e/ModTEU in 2011 as part of a target to slash carbon emissions by 27 per cent by 2013, officials said..

The ports sector measures carbon emissions as kilograms of CO2 (carbon dioxide) per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container unit).

“Managing the environmental issues is a process, not just a project,” said Rashid Abdulla, senior vice-president, Global Operations of DP World. “Our carbon emissions need to be brought under zero control in order to achieve our goal of energy-efficient marine terminals.”

Falling CO2 emissions logged by the company are no small accomplishment given that the company is realising strong upward movement in cargo volumes which require more work by heavy equipment and longer operating times.

Last year, for example, DP World handled 54.7 million TEU, a 10 per cent spike in volume over 2010.

The company attributed serious retrofitting and replacement of existing technology in recent years to the decline in its own commercial carbon footprint.

Abdulla said “eliminating retrograde equipment and re-engineering conventional – but at the same time – dependable functional machinery are essential steps towards cutting down our carbon footprint.”

When the company beat out competitors to develop and operate the new Doraleh container terminal, it switched from traditional rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes, the large port cranes we see at ports around the world, and purchased only new Eco-RTG cranes.

After purchasing six of the new more eco-friendly RTG machines in Djibouti, the company quickly realised that the newer models were the way of the future given that they used 50 per cent less energy.

In turn, DP World modified its RTG crane usage and introduced the newer machines as older ones were phased out or retrofitted and new Eco-RTG cranes are now in use at 60 DP World terminals on six continents to slash carbon emissions from crane engines.

Since 2006, in fact, the company has launched 157 new Eco-RTG cranes from ports in Sydney, Australia to Sokhna, Egypt.

Mohammad Sharaf, chief executive officer of DP World, said in a statement that “as a global marine terminal operator and significant energy consumer, it is important that we constantly invest in innovative solutions that support the environment and the communities where we operate. Energy conservation is critical to a sustainable future for the supply chain industry of which marine terminals are an important part.”

The company said that switching to more environmentally friendly lighting has also helped reduce carbon load on the environment.

New white lighting at ports has dramatically cut power draw by 50 per cent for electricity savings between 40 and 70 per cent depending on location, DP World said.