Shipping and sea transport in Equinor
With regards to the maritime security situation in the Red Sea: We are following the situation closely and are in dialogue with ship owners carrying cargo on our behalf and with other actors in the industry.
We have chosen to reroute ships away from the area. Until further notice, we have also paused new activities that involves transit through the region.
With over 170 vessels working for us on the Norwegian continental shelf, including supply, standby, anchor handling vessels and tankers, we are a significant charterer on the market.
We do not own any vessels, but we lease them from a number of different shipping companies, which means that the shipowners are responsible for safe operation and follow-up of the vessels, while Equinor decides where the various vessels will sail and the tasks they will perform.
All shipping companies operating for us must be prequalified before contracts are entered into, and all vessels undergo regular thorough inspections.
The Equinor shipping fleet
Our seaborne transportation of crude, liquid refinery products, liquid petroleum gas and LNG volumes involves more than 2300 voyages worldwide per year and moves about 100 million tonnes annually.
Today, over 170 ships are at work collecting and transporting energy products, fetching and bringing equipment and providing emergency standby services just for Equinor – an enormous number of transport movements.
Equinor’s pathway for decarbonisation of shipping
- Press release 15 June 2022 - Equinor joins the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping
- Press release 21 Jan 2020 - The world’s first carbon-free ammonia-fuelled supply vessel
- Press release 8 June 2020 - Equinor launching maritime climate ambitions
- Press release 8 Oct 2020 - Committing to the Sea Cargo Charter
Ambitions for our maritime activity
The maritime sector represents 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Norway and 2–3% of global emissions.
As a producer and supplier of fuel to the maritime sector, Equinor has extensive maritime activity around the world, including around 175 vessels on contract with the company at any one time.
Equinor has set the following ambitions for its maritime activity:
- By 2030: Halving maritime emissions in Norway compared to 2005 emissions
- By 2050: Halving global emissions compared to 2008 emissions.
As a supplier of fuel to the maritime sector, Equinor’s ambition is as follows:
- By 2030: Escalating production and use of low-carbon fuels
- By 2050: Strongly increase production and use of zero-emission fuels
The ocean, and the expertise associated with it, is one of Equinor’s priority areas. Low carbon shipping is a natural part of this commitment.
- Equinor’s ambitions in offshore wind will be yet another driver for decarbonisation of shipping.
- New transport demand for Liquid CO2 and CCS value chain is in need for low carbon solutions
We are undertaking a comprehensive newbuilding plan to renew our shipping fleet.
- 9 newbuildings will be put into operation in Equinor’s tanker shipping fleet by 2026, following the 15 newbuilds already in operation from 2020.
- Dual-fuel LPG propulsion for LPG carriers and dual-fuel LNG on shuttle tankers and Aframax / LR2s
- Through the Northern Lights JV, newbuild liquefied CO2 transport ships fitted with high pressure dual-fuel LNG and energy saving technologies such as rotor sails and air lubrication will be delivered for start-up of the Longship project.
- Equinor has a long history in decarbonising our offshore fleet. The supply vessel Viking Energy was the first in Equinor’s fleet to be powered by LNG. Battery hybrid notation and shore power connection are now widely implemented in the fleet. Ongoing projects are exploring a fully electric alternative as well as ammonia technologies for the supply vessel segment.
The vessels are equipped with new carbon-efficient technologies such as dual fuel LNG, LPG, LVOC (Liquified Volatile Organic Compounds) to be blended with LNG as fuel, and hybrid battery systems.
A wide variety of measures are employed to reduce emissions from our logistical operations:
- Planning efficient sailing routes and optimal utilisation of vessels and helicopters.
- Fuel consumption as one of the evaluation criteria in awarding new vessel contracts.
- We have introduced requirements in our long-term contracts stating that supply vessels must have hybrid battery operation and be prepared for shore power.
- Incentives in the vessel contracts to reduce fuel consumption: shipowners are paid if their emissions are lower than agreed, and they must pay a surcharge if their emissions are higher than agreed.
What are possible alternative fuels for ships?
The Green Shipping Programme
Norway has established a programme to achieve the world’s most efficient and environmentally friendly shipping.
The Green Shipping Programme aims to find scalable solutions for efficient and environmentally friendly shipping. The results will be cost-effective emission cuts, economic growth, increased competitiveness, and new jobs in Norway. Authorities and industry actors are participating in the programme and are working together to achieve these goals.
What we will achieve:
- Cost-effective emission reductions
- Sustainable logistics
- Cargo owners will achieve effective and sustainable logistic solutions.
- Green jobs
- Increased competitiveness
- International leadership position
- Norwegian shipping will be a showcase for the world, an incubator and platform for export of environmental technology and green transport services.
Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping
The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is a not-for-profit, independent research- and development center working across the energy- and shipping sectors with industry, academia, and authorities. With Partners, the Center explores viable decarbonization pathways, facilitates the development and implementation of new energy technologies; builds confidence in new concepts and their supply chains; and accelerates the transition by defining and maturing viable strategic pathways to the required systemic change.
Sea Cargo Charter (SCC)
The SCC is an initiative developed by the Global Maritime Forum, an international not-for-profit organisation, with the aim to decarbonise shipping. The initiative was launched in October 2020, and provides a shared, global framework to quantitatively assess and disclose emissions from vessel chartering activities.
The goal is to be transparent on environmental performance and thereby increase awareness, unite fronts and drive improvements in the industry. The SCC is consistent with the policies and ambitions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including its ambition to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050.
Currently, 34 charterers have signed up for the SCC. This includes peers like Shell, TotalEnergies and Chevron, as well as other major charterers of shipping services like Maersk Tankers, Trafigura and Anglo American. Equinor became a signatory of SCC in 2020.