One of Belgium's largest carbon dioxide emitters, the port of Antwerp-Bruges, has started to test alternative fuels for its own sprawling fleet.
European laws are being introduced that require the maritime sector to cut emissions by at least 55 per cent over the next decade.
The EU's green transition has raised more questions than answers for many in Europe's maritime industry, with some relying on hydrogen while others prefer methanol as they move away from fossil fuels.
The second busiest port in Europe has adopted a strategy to diversify fuels.
Methanol, hydrogen and electricity-powered vessels are all due this year to join its fleet of 18 tugboats on the North Sea.
“We're trying to become a platform where innovation can be tested,” said port chief executive Jacques Vandermeiren at Tuesday's launch of the world's largest hydrogen-powered vessel, the 30-metre Hydrotug 1.
“Then we'll be able to compare and explain the benefits and drawbacks of each technology.”
Green tugboats are a “drop in the water” in Antwerp's green strategy, Mr Vandermeiren told The National.
By 2030, the port also hopes to capture about half of its 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year and store it in empty gasfields in the North Sea.
The port's carbon dioxide emissions, which are 10 per cent of Belgium's carbon footprint, come mostly from its petrochemical industry, which is the second biggest in the world behind Houston in the US.
But the port's green strategy also signals how complex the transition is for the shipping industry, which represents three per cent of global greenhouse emissions.
Ambitious political statements have so far indicated support but industry leaders are divided on what alternative fuels they should invest in.
The EU has thrown its weight behind efforts such as Danish shipping and logistics company AP Moller-Maersk's launch in September of the world's first methanol-enabled container vessel, the Laura Maersk.
“This event is a big deal, not only for Europe but for the whole world,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Copenhagen.
She praised the Laura Maersk as the fruit of co-operation between private innovation and the EU's ambitious climate policies to become carbon neutral by 2050.
But Ms von der Leyen also highlighted the enormous challenge that lies ahead.
“The next priority is to secure green fuels … at scale,” she said.
The EU plans to produce and import 20 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030.
The 'molecule of the future'
For CMB Tech chief executive Alexander Saverys, whose company owns Hydrotug 1, hydrogen is the “molecule of the future”.
One of the oldest Belgian shipping companies, CMB Tech shifted in 2017 to hydrogen fuel and launched in 2021 the first hydrogen-powered ferry in Japan in collaboration with local shipbuilding company Tsuneishi.
Now, with Hydrotug 1, the company wants to show that it can fulfil clients' request to reduce carbon emissions.
The tugboat is equipped with dual-fuel engines that will run on average at 65 per cent on hydrogen and the rest on diesel.
After leasing it for operations as part of its fleet for two or three years, Antwerp-Bruges port will decide whether it wants to buy Hydrotug 1, which costs 30 per cent more than traditional diesel-fuelled tugboats.
The port has also bought a so-called metha-tug from a Dutch company that it will begin using in the second quarter of next year. This will be followed by an electricity-powered tugboat.
This implies an increase in operating costs for the port but for now they will not be handed down to customers.
“We'll see how we absorb the costs and how we sell our old ships – it needs to be ambitious but also realistic when it comes to price and technology,” Mr Vandermeiren said.
The aim is to experiment with these “fuels of the future”, said port spokesman Lennart Verstappen.
“We don’t know what will work best or how cost will evolve.”
At CMB Tech, hydrogen is viewed as the way forward in comparison to battery-fuelled ships, which struggle with high speed or heavier cargo. Methanol is less green than hydrogen, because relying on biomass raises questions about its source, Mr Saverys said.
“Hydrogen is the molecule of the future to green the maritime sector,” he told The National.
“We need to prove that it works and is safe so that we can move forward and run thousands more such ships.”
But there are limits to hydrogen's use in the maritime sector.
It is highly flammable and hard to compress, meaning that for long-haul trips across continents, it is preferable to transform it into ammonia, an option that is under consideration at CMB Tech.
There is also not enough hydrogen in the market, an issue often referred to as a “chicken and egg” problem that slows down investments.
These are obstacles also faced by CMB Tech.
“The biggest issue for us is the price and availability of hydrogen”, Mr Saverys said.
Hydrotug 1 runs on 415kg of hydrogen a day, which is produced locally near the port and can last about 24 hours.
CMB Tech has ordered another 40 other hydrogen-fuelled ships, including a 200,000-tonne bulk carrier – at least 50 times bigger than Hydrotug 1.
The company is acutely aware that much more hydrogen will be needed than is produced at Antwerp port and has plans to import it from Namibia and possibly the Middle East.
“Our ultimate goal is to run bulk carriers on hydrogen,” said Mr Saverys. “But we have to start bottom-up.”
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3E%0DElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Homie%20Portal%20LLC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20End%20of%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdulla%20Al%20Kamda%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2014%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELaunch%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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