Sailing towards Sustainability: Unveiling the Secrets of Eco-Friendly Marine Facilities

From ports and harbours to marinas and offshore wind farms, marine structures facilities play a crucial role in protecting our coastlines. But as we confront the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels, it's more important than ever to ensure that these structures are sustainable, resilient, and environmentally friendly.

In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Vishal Krishnan, Maritime Structures Service Lead –and Benjamin Hall, Maritime Planning Service Lead, at WSP Middle East, dive into the world of green marine facilities and explore the latest innovations in eco-friendly designs. 

The episode is hosted by Amr Abdelnaeim, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager at WSP in the Middle East.

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Transcript

00:00

From ports and harbors to marinas and offshore wind farms, marine facilities play a crucial role in protecting our coastlines. But as we confront the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels, it is more important than ever to ensure that these structures are sustainable, resilient, and environmentally friendly. My name is Amber Sade. And in this episode of The anticipate podcast, I'm delighted to be joined by Vishal Krishnan, maritime structure service leader, and Benjamin Hall maritime planning service lead at WFP in the Middle East. In this episode, we will dive into the word marine facilities and explore the latest innovations and eco friendly designs. Welcome to the anticipate podcast, Michelle and Ben, it would be great if you could give a brief introduction about yourselves your roles and your passion to our listeners. So let's start with with you, Michelle.

 00:54

My name is Michelle Krishnan. I am a maritime structures service lead for W SP in the Middle East. In this role, I'm generally responsible for a portfolio of maritime projects in the hospitality and commercial industries. The focus of my service line is to structures within these maritime facilities. We have an excellent team of structural engineers with a wide range of experience involved in the design of maritime facilities, all the way from concept to detail engineering.

 01:22

Thanks, Vishal. Ben, would you give a brief introduction about yourself as well?

 01:26

Sure. Thanks, Anna. So my name is Ben Hall, and I am the maritime planning service lead at WFP in the Middle East. And in this role, I focus on the planning aspects of marine developments. So marine planning projects can involve anything from coastal developments and small harbors all the way to large industrial ports. And our team provide a wide range of services, including feasibility studies, technical due diligence, and master planning designs.

 01:59

Thanks, burn. So delving into the topic of our episode today. And speaking about green marine facilities, it looks to me that they have emerged as a way to mitigate some of the environmental challenges that have been historically linked to maritime facilities, or the traditional and existing maritime facilities. So it would be great if we could kick off this episode by explaining to our audience some of these challenges.

 02:23

Yes, of course. So there are a number of environmental challenges within the maritime industry. And these can relate both to the carbon footprint within the global maritime sector, and also the more direct impacts that marine facilities can have on the surrounding marine ecology. So where would you like to start? Anna?

 02:42

I think it might make more sense for our listeners if we start to with the major factors contributing to carbon emissions in the industry.

 02:51

Yes, so the carbon footprint of marine trust sport is particularly significant. At the moment, around 90% of the global goods trade moves by marine transport. And this transport accounts for around 3% of all greenhouse gases that are emitted globally. But if we don't have proper intervention, this could increase all the way to 6% by 2050. If we look at container ships, for example, the size and capacity of the container ships have as rapidly increased since we first started shipping containerized goods in the 1950s. Our ships rely largely on very energy dense heavy fuels to support global trade routes, and these fuels have historically had very high levels of emissions. Although there have been significant efficiency gains over time and shipping. The overall growth of the industry has meant that emissions have continued to rise, as well as the operational aspects of the shipping industry, the development of new ports and harbors as well as the expansion of existing facilities has previously been responsible for significant carbon emissions. This is largely because the concrete and cement industry is responsible for around 8% of global carbon emissions. And maritime structures typically have required very high quantities of cement for the construction of key walls for heavy duty pavements and for coastal concrete army units. It's actually now thought that investments in green cement technologies could have the potential to cut global emissions more than the equivalent investments in the car, aviation and electricity industries.

 04:40

Well, the numbers and facts that you just mentioned, Ben are really alarming. And I think there are also massive impacts on the marine environment. So it would be great if he could shed light on these on these impacts.

 04:51

Yes, so the developments of marine facilities and their operations can lead to direct impacts on the land and seas around them and these The impacts could be caused by capital dredging, maintenance dredging, accidental spills, stormwater runoff, leaching of ship paints, and the growth of harmful algae. All of these things can be mitigated through careful planning, design and operational procedures. So in summary, I think the maritime industry has a very important role to play in ensuring that our oceans and seas are used in a way that is sustainable, both in terms of its fixed infrastructure, and also its operations.

 05:35

I can't agree more than oceans are the lungs of our planet and the maritime industry has a big role to play and perhaps a duty in keeping these lungs functional and in safeguarding biodiversity in our world. Vishal. Your expertise is mainly in maritime structures. I think some of our audience might be wondering now about what makes green structures green and what benefits they provide to the environment?

 06:00

That's a good question. So these are structures that either limit the environmental impact or structures that can accommodate and encourage flora and fauna species. Green marine structures, the goal is to offset the carbon footprint during generated during manufacturing construction. Generally, the chemical composition of materials used in marine construction, and the typically smooth surfaces of structures both discourage marine life to thrive. Green marine structures tackle these issues to allow for increased biodiversity and promotion of local species.

 06:36

Thanks, Michelle. It would also be great if you can give us some examples of a particularly innovative green marine structure and explain to our audience how it works to reduce the environmental impacts that we just touched on.

 06:49

Yeah, sure. So before speaking about innovation, I think as designers, we must make efforts to reduce our impact on the environment. I believe this is the first step before mitigating residual impacts that are unfortunately integral part of the construction industry. In many of our projects, we carefully review the impact of dredging and modifications to existing coastlines, making sure that they're not detrimental to local marine life. In terms of innovation, there are quite some technology and innovation that's being investigated out there. An example is living sea walls that they've implemented in Sydney. These are textured tiles that are fixed to vertical walls, which may which mimic nature and allow marine life to find a growth point. In the Port of Rotterdam for a recent key wall extension, they are in the process of installing textured walls to attract attract marine life. Now this is an interesting step, especially since it's a commercial facility. Another example is rockpools. Typically, we have armor rock or concrete units, which are installed along the coastline. concrete blocks that allow retention of water are installed among these rocks, leading to increased species in coastal structures, such as breakwaters, or Vetements. And grinds. You see, the oceans and marine life is a natural sink for atmospheric co2. Now, these solutions that reduce the impact on marine life and biodiversity at locations of such marine infrastructure, and this would help maintain this natural process of removal of carbon emissions.

 08:22

Thank you so much, Michelle, for all the examples that you just drew. I think by now we actually spoke about the problem and solution aspects of today's topic. So the question that emerges at the moment is basically about the challenges. So when can you tell us about the global and regional challenges that face the development of green marine structures?

 08:43

Yes. So firstly, I would like to say that I think investors, developers and logistics providers in the region do understand the importance of undertaking their business in a way that is sustainable, and this is increasingly becoming a more important part of their work. But when it comes to civil infrastructure of marine facilities become, in some cases be a tendency to stick with the more traditional tried and tested forms of design and methods of construction. Because these are generally perceived as reliable and low risk. But in in order to overcome this, I think it's important that we as designers, demonstrate that green marine structures can be highly durable, they can be long lasting, resilient, and also adaptable to changing demands. However, in the case of marine fuels, the major shipping lines are required to move away from the more traditional fuels in order to comply with the regulations that have been set out by the IMO with the International Maritime Organization.

 09:47

I think the aspects related to marine fields are important to many of our clients. So it would be great if you can also highlight some of the key challenges when it comes to marine fields.

 09:57

Sure. So in terms of vessel fuel, As I think there is an ongoing race to find the next generation of marine fuels, fuels such as bio diesel, green hydrogen LNG, methanol, and ammonia have all they all have potential to decarbonize the shipping industry. However, an important challenge in achieving reductions in emissions will be developing the infrastructure required to produce store and distribute these fuels and to ensure that bunkering facilities are available to refuel ships. In Saudi Arabia, the neon green hydrogen company is investing in the world's largest green hydrogen facility at oxygen with an $8.4 billion investment. Also, the shipping company CMA CGM recently secured an order for 12 new methanol fueled container ships and four new LNG fueled ships.

 10:53

So speaking about all of these challenges, Ben, I think like maybe technology would have some potential solutions would be great if he can also speak to us about the emerging technological innovation that can enable eco friendly design in the maritime sector. Yes, so

 11:09

there are a number of emerging technologies and innovations in the maritime sector. For some time now we've seen significant developments in the electrification of ports equipment, with many ports across the globe moving towards electrically powered key cranes and yard cranes. This has become quite commonplace in in recent years. Automation is another area that is that is still emerging in the maritime sector. DP World has announced the commercial use of automated high base stacking systems in the UAE and South Korea. And there are ports being developed in the region with the ultimate goal to move towards fully automated operations with automated key cranes, yard cranes and terminal trucks. I think though, it's important to note that although there is great potential to realize operational efficiencies through automation, it's an area that requires significant capital investment, and there are still major challenges in maximizing the capabilities of automated equipment, particularly if operations are siloed.

 12:15

Thanks, Ben. Vision, one of the major components of marine infrastructure is concrete. What are some of the innovative approaches being developed to improve the performance and durability of concrete while reducing its environmental impact?

 12:32

Yes, summer so as Ben mentioned earlier, cement is awesome and manufacturing is one of the most significant contributors to a carbon emissions. So, a common approach that we take is partially replacing the cement with supplementary cementitious materials, which are basically byproducts from other areas of manufacturing. Now, there are two benefits here, one is reducing the carbon footprint and the other is increased durability within the maritime environment to replace some and we utilize waste products like fly ash, which is residue from coal combustion and ground granulated blast furnace slag, which is a byproduct from the iron manufacturing process. Now, for the marine environment, this is quite necessary as well because ordinary Portland cement would not provide sufficient resistance to the ingress of chlorides and sulphates. So it's basically a win win situation. Now another aspect is that concrete can also leach chemicals into the into seawater, increasing the pH levels and making it more alkaline, which is not really good for the marine environment. So there's a lot of research on going into producing additives to create a more chemically balanced mix. Another innovative approach is carbon mineralized concrete. This is an example of carbon sequestration, which is basically a process of capturing and storing carbon emissions. Captured co2 is injected into the concrete mix, which drops the co2 in its millon form permanently within the concrete. This is also said to improve the concrete strength itself. Now, this is just really skimming the surface surface of you know, various technologies out there. 3d printing additive manufacturing, this is also a very intensive area of research that's ongoing, and it's expected to reduce a lot of waste and improve energy usage.

 14:28

That's great. The shell microstate is now to you when I was like still also speaking about innovation anticipating the future. What do you see as the most promising areas for innovation in the field of green ports and marine structures,

 14:44

I think presents the most promising areas for innovation and the ones that focus on implementing digital systems to achieve energy efficiencies. So if end to end cargo operations can be accurately simulated in In a digital twin, then this can be used to efficiently design infrastructure and plan operation and maintenance regimes. I think the industry will continue to improve the way that it uses data to optimize the timings of ships calling at the ports to arrive just in time. And we can link we can link the information from the port to the connecting transport systems and gate controls to reduce waiting times. If we maximize operational efficiencies of the ships and the ports infrastructure, as well as the ports equipment and the inland logistics, then this will lead to reductions in energy consumption and ensure that the maritime assets are used effectively throughout their lifecycle.

 15:45

I think this brings our episode today to an end. Thank you so much, Vishal and Ben, for the insights that you have shared today with our listeners to our audience. Thanks for listening all the way through. Please leave us a comment if today's episode has sparked your interest. And don't forget to join us in two weeks for a new talk.