Reducing emissions from ships will be one of the major drivers in the maritime industry for the years to come. Already today, Shipowners have taken measures or started analysis to reduce emissions from their ships.

As Peter Drucker said “you cannot manage what you do not control and you cannot control what you do not measure”, monitoring emissions becomes mandatory to ensure not only regulatory compliance, but also to achieve the required operational performance.

Emission monitoring is already required for vessels operating within the Emission Controlled Areas (ECAs) according to IMO MARPOL Annex VI regulations.

The Emission Monitoring System (EMS) meets the specific requirements of the application, i.e.:

a)      Suitable gas analysis techniques

b)      Reliability and repeatability of measurements

c)       Capability to operate in harsh environmental conditions

d)      Reduced maintenance and calibration

Continuous monitoring of NO_x, SO_x, and CO₂ by sampling exhaust gases is one of the most effective methods and requires installation of dilution probes in the exhaust ducts. The gas samples, after having been filtered, are sent to the analyzing unit. The measuring principle of NO_x and SO_X is based on the chemiluminescent principle (chemiluminescence is the emission of light with limited emission of heat as the result of a chemical reaction), that is recognized as the most accurate method. CO₂ is measured by Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) detector.

The measured values are sent to a central unit for processing and the output values measured in g/KWh are displayed both as numerical values and as graphical curves on the operator display unit. In addition, data can be printed, stored or remotely transmitted to shore.

The results from the installation of the EMS onboard one Grimaldi Group roro vessel will be presented.