Spanish ferry operator Baleària has signed up to AkzoNobel’s landmark carbon credits program. The company has enrolled its passenger ferry Martin i Soler into the scheme, which financially rewards ship owners by enabling them to generate income in the form of carbon credits earned by reducing CO2 emissions.

The landmark program was developed in 2014 in conjunction with the Gold Standard Foundation. It is based on ship owners converting existing vessels from a biocidal antifouling system to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating such as Intersleek, part of AkzoNobel’s International line of marine coatings. Intersleek products are proven to reduce fuel consumption, and hence reduce CO2 emissions.

The Martin i Soler was converted from an existing silyl biocidal antifouling to Intersleek®1100SR in November 2013. The vessel’s performance was monitored over the following 12 months and showed a 12 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. These fuel savings – which equate to a reduction of 15 tons of CO2 per day – convinced Baleària to enroll the vessel into the carbon credits program.

“We are happy with the performance of our vessel since Intersleek1100SR was applied,” said Guillermo Alomar, managing fleet director of Baleària. “We decided to use the new technology due to the fuel saving potential and the positive environmental image of using biocide-free technology on our passenger vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. The performance improvement was immediately apparent and analysis of the first year of sailing data confirms a significant fuel saving of over 12 percent.”

He added that Baleària intends to use the carbon credits as evidence of the ferry operator’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment and to aid investment in its other vessels.

Commenting on Baleària’s enrolment, Trevor Solomon, Intersleek business manager for AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings business, said: “The fuel saving figures from the Martin i Soler prove that Intersleek1100SR can give immediate efficiency gains and maintain those over time. This enables ship owners and operators to benefit from operational, environmental and energy efficiencies. Baleària joins a growing number of companies that have enrolled into the second round of carbon credit claims – our first claim, worth almost $500,000 for 17 vessels is being audited now – and we anticipate the first credits to be issued shortly.”

Oscar Wezenbeek, director of AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings business, added: “We are very pleased with the positive response to our carbon credits program. Based on the 100 eligible ships already converted from a biocidal antifouling to Intersleek technology, there is an estimated $2.8 million worth of carbon credits potentially available to ship owners and operators.”