Anchoring and CO2 – the possibilities and barriers in reducing emissions - A case study on the Port of Gothenburg

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the topic of anchoring and emissions of CO2 concerned with it in the case of the Port of Gothenburg. More specifically, the research focuses on tankers and identifying the reasons to why they are spending time waiting at anchor, investigating what possible initiatives there are to make use of to reduce the emissions concerned to this time. Moreover, it aims to consider the contractual aspects, such as the difference of operating on time charter and voyage charter, as well as commercial aspects, such as how the possible initiatives are affected by matters as demurrage and laycans. To achieve this, a qualitative study was made, analysing the results from seven semi-structured interviews with persons representing companies operating in the Port of Gothenburg, the results from a survey on the reasons for anchoring, and a literature review on the topic. Our analysis shows that the two main reasons for tankers waiting at anchor in the Port of Gothenburg is due to awaiting a free berth or awaiting laycan, and that these two can be explained due to lack of port infrastructure, inefficient port operations or poor planning of the ships, as well as the commercial reasons implied by laycans, where the different actors does not want to risk a financial loss. The possible initiatives to make use of presented was enabling Just in Time arrival through the use of a Virtual arrival system, investing in port infrastructure to make port operations more efficient, and making use of alternative fuels or more energy efficient technologies in the ships. Regarding contractual aspects our results showed a high potential for, especially Just in Time arrival, initiatives for time charter contracts, while voyage charter contracts is much more complicated. For voyage charter contracts there are several commercial aspects, such as how to divide cost and face financial risks that must be covered in the contracts. The conclusion is that there are several initiatives to make use of for reducing emissions of CO2 concerned to anchoring, however, they all have some barriers. The most crucial barrier identified in this research is the issue of trust between all different actors.