International environmental regulations for the shipping industry are being tightened and demand a reduction of the emissions of sulphur and nitrous oxides. In order to fulfill these demands, many of which come from the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), shipping companies are pushed to upgrade their fleets with emission reducing systems. Ship repair and conversion yards are now challenged to keep installation costs as low as possible for their clients.

Damen Shiprepair Götaverken (Gothenburg, Sweden) has already taken an interest in the new rebuilding requirements that come into force in 2015. At this very moment the tanker ‘Bit Oktania’ from Tarbit Shipping is in one of its dry docks for regular maintenance. At the same time the vessel is upgraded by installing a catalyzer system to meet the new environmental demands.

“We try to keep installation costs at the lowest possible levels to mitigate the high costs experienced by ship owners due to new environmental demands”, says Jos Goris, Managing Director of Damen Shiprepair Götaverken. “Even though this is fully in line with our own philosophy of operating in a sustainable way, this is quite a challenge for us. Nonetheless, we feel we’re up to it! Furthermore, it gives us the opportunity to develop new ways of cooperating with our Scandinavian suppliers and we experience a knowledge increase, which has a positive effect on our workforce.”

Tags: Damen Shipyards