Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 91 ] GPS Marine is also investigating potential environmental benefits that might be achieved by retrofitting post-combustion technologies into some of the tugs in its Thames fleet. A catalytic converter made by Eminox has been supplied by the Tideway Tunnel project, and GPS Marine is installing this system in its tug GPS Ionia , which is powered by a 575 BHP Caterpillar D379 engine. The system is being installed in parallel with the existing exhaust system to facilitate operation with and without the retrofitted post-combustion system so that, in trials conducted using both enhanced HVO and marine gas oil, engine exhaust can be sampled with and without the technology in operation, under identical operational conditions, thereby ensuring that optimal data comparisons can be achieved. In a similar trial, with the aid of matched funding through Cross River Partnerships, GPS Marine has commissioned Industrial and Marine Silencers Ltd to build a selective catalytic reduction system for its tug GPS Anglia which is powered by a 1250 BHP Caterpillar D399 main engine. Much of the fleet operating on the Thames today uses engines built before exhaust emissions were monitored and controlled, GPS Anglia and GPS Ionia included. It is hoped that, by using enhanced HVO as fuel in place of marine gas oil and implementing these additional retrofit technologies, it may be possible to produce exhaust gas emissions in line with, or close to, the strictest current standard for new marine diesel engine emissions on European inland waterways, even for engines built before marine diesel engine exhaust emissions were monitored and controlled. GPS Marine believes that the creation of the Thames Freeport provides an opportunity for the river to retake its place as a key part of the freight transport mix in Kent, Essex and London. Local businesses, GPS Marine included, are willing and capable of taking up the challenges of bringing this opportunity to fruition. It is for the port operators and the organisations that set up in the Freeport to provide such businesses with the commercial opportunities to move cargo by water and deliver cost effective, sustainable, low carbon transport. The building blocks are in place and Thames Freeport could be the catalyst to bring about a dramatic and much needed change in how freight is transported in the southeast of England. GPS Vincia towing GPS 1904 carrying pre- cast concrete segments The environmental effect of using Green D+ in place of marine gas oil is to reduce CO2e emissions by up to 90 per cent, which some studies suggest equates to a reduction of up to 2.72kg of CO 2 e per litre of fuel used