Reshaping the Ocean Industries: Towards Sustainable and Autonomous Vessels with Antoon van Coillie

Introduction

Welcome back! Today, we have a special guest, Antoon van Coillie, who I had the pleasure of meeting during the Autoship project, an EU initiative focused on autonomous vessels. Antoon has some fascinating insights, and we will discuss how we can reshape the ocean industry for a sustainable future. As we learn more about different sectors in the industry, we can come together to create a complete picture of how we can work towards a more sustainable and efficient maritime sector.

Anton van Coille: An Overview

Anton van Coillie is a Belgian based in Antwerp, known as the "Center of the Maritime World." He is involved with Zulu Associates, developing zero-emission vessels for inland waterways and short-sea. Antoon's approach to achieving zero-emission vessels involves using alternative propulsion systems and making the vessels autonomous, with no crew on board during transit. However, people are still engaged in the vessel's operation, either remotely from a control center or during port and planning operations.

Alternative Propulsion Systems

One of the critical aspects of Anton's approach is the use of alternative propulsion systems. For inland waterways, the vessels are fully electric below the deck, while on the deck, 20-foot containers with energy are used. These containers are agnostic in terms of the energy source, which can include batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, or even internal combustion engines burning ethanol. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for easy switching of energy sources or containers, depending on the availability or advancements in energy technologies. This makes the vessels "technology proof" regarding energy sources and ensures they remain competitive with trucks, which typically renew their fleet every five years.

Sustainable Energy Sources

Anton believes that batteries will play a crucial role in inland waterways, thanks to advancements in battery technology. Hydrogen is also a promising option, especially for longer distances in inland and near-shore routes. The flexibility of using different energy sources in the containers on the vessels allows for adaptation to changing technologies, ensuring that the vessels remain efficient and competitive without major future retrofits.

Autonomous Vessels: Advantages and Impact

Anton's vision of autonomous vessels has several advantages:

1. It improves safety, as vessels can operate in adverse weather conditions without risking crew members' lives.

2. It enhances efficiency, as vessels can be operated remotely, allowing for optimized routes and operations.

3. It reduces the environmental impact, as zero-emission propulsion systems can be used, contributing to a more sustainable maritime industry.

4. Using autonomous vessels allows for the design of vessels optimized for autonomous operations, resulting in innovative vessel designs and improved performance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Antoon van Coillie's approach to reshaping the ocean industries through sustainable and autonomous vessels is promising. The Ocean Industry can become more sustainable, efficient, and competitive by utilizing alternative propulsion systems and making vessels more efficient using automation, autonomous tools, and technology. 

Advancements in battery technology and the use of hydrogen as an energy source hold great potential for inland waterways and sea-going vessels. The flexibility of using containers with different energy sources allows for adaptation to changing technologies, ensuring that vessels remain technologically advanced. Furthermore, adopting autonomous vessels offers various advantages, including improved safety, efficiency, and reduced environmental impact. As we continue to explore and implement these innovative approaches, we can work towards a more sustainable and prosperous future for the maritime industry.

Transforming the Shipping Industry: Embracing Technology Means for Better Jobs and Gender Equality

Introduction

The shipping industry has come a long way from the old-fashioned sailing vessels that required many sailors to operate. The industry has transformed with modern technology, automation, and specialized vessels. However, despite the advancements, challenges still need to be addressed, such as creating better job opportunities and promoting gender equality within the industry.

Embracing Old Means for Better Jobs

One way to improve job opportunities in the shipping industry is by looking back at traditional methods. For example, reintroducing sail-powered vessels can create new jobs for sailors experienced in handling such vessels. Sail-powered ships have lower operating costs than modern vessels, which could increase demand for such ships in certain routes. This can also open up opportunities for local communities, as sail-powered vessels often require more manual labor, creating shipbuilding, maintenance, and operation jobs.

Moreover, sail-powered vessels can also have positive environmental impacts by reducing carbon emissions, a growing concern in the shipping industry. This can align with the industry's increasing focus on sustainability and promote a more eco-friendly approach to shipping. But vessels with only sail will not be a scalable answer to the ocean industry's challenges.

Promoting Gender Equality - thru Autonomy?

Gender equality is another area that the shipping industry needs to address. Historically, the industry has been male-dominated, with limited opportunities for women. However, promoting gender diversity and inclusivity can significantly benefit the industry.

One approach is to actively encourage and support the participation of women in the industry, including in traditionally male-dominated roles such as sailing and ship operations. Providing training and education opportunities for women in maritime fields can help bridge the gender gap and create a more inclusive workforce. Additionally, promoting diversity in leadership positions can help break the glass ceiling and create role models for aspiring female professionals in the shipping industry.

In conclusion, embracing old means, such as sail-powered vessels, and promoting gender equality can create better job opportunities and foster inclusivity in the shipping industry. By addressing these challenges, the industry can evolve into a more sustainable, diverse, and forward-thinking field, benefiting not only the industry itself but also the communities and the environment it serves.

Additional reflections:

Short sea and inland waterways small vessel transport; The current shift towards electric prime mover below deck with interchangeable containerized swappable or plug-and-play energy sources. This can be batteries, where technological improvement is increasing rapidly for energy density, longevity, and charging speed. could also be based on fuel cells (hydrogen) or internal combustion (ammonia, bio-gas, etc.) With the decreased costs that may be realized by moving from MDO as the standard fuel in the short sea and small transport to electric drive + agnostic energy source, they are betting on reducing the lifetime OPEX of maintenance for the prime mover + fuel cost + carbon offset speculation to be a competitive alternative to trucks as the for zero-emission transport. This may hold in many urban markets as inland waterways are far from full utilization. It also holds challenges that port infrastructure needs to be developed to effectively service vessels of that size, as they are at the bottom of the priority list they are less reliable and desirable for on-time delivery. 

It is a pain point identified for how we might collaboratively design a better future in the ocean industry. Antoon had also touched on the possibility that vessels of this size might need their port infrastructure and that primary port hubs may need to transfer cargo overland to inland hub terminals for the onward transport via waterways to its last mile transfer port. These vessels' owner/operator landscape will change as autonomous operations enter the market, as many of the current vessels are owned by private operators who live abroad and operate single vessels. It is also a segment that has been reducing over time with the low cost and high speed of truck transportation. It shows unrealized potential for resurgence as even with current fuels on older inland vessels, the CO2 per Ton of cargo transported is substantially less than in trucking. 

There was also a discussion on the logistics chain itself and vessel sizes. Long ocean carriage tends towards a "bigger is better' model - which holds from a sustainability standpoint of EEXI. Still, something must be said about the emissions in the logistics chain after that cargo leaves the vessel for its onward journey, as the ports that can handle the largest vessels are few and may be located far from their cargo's final destination. Is the truck or train emissions (and cost of fuel and transfer) for the more extended port hub to the destination journey more, less, or equal to what is saved by using the significant vessel fuel efficiency per ton? What is the Goldilocks zone for the logistics chain generally as a whole? What is the sub-optimization here that is driven by competing interests? If anyone has some reflections on these questions, I would love to hear them and discuss them further, as they may be a vital part of the future we might build. Training, crewing, and communication/telecoms must be added to my Venn diagram.