Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya: Converting Solar Ships To DDF Reduce Carbon Emissions

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi supports the conversion project of diesel-fueled ships into diesel fuel (DDF), in order to reduce carbon emissions and be environmentally friendly.

"I appreciate and support PT Pertamina Hulu Mahakam, who has taken the initiative to carry out the diesel-fueled ship conversion project to DDF," said the Minister of Transportation as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 13.

He considered this to be a strategic step in line with government policies to reduce imports of High Speed Diesel (HSD) fuel and to increase the use of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) which is more environmentally friendly.

He said, DDF is a new technology in the maritime industry that can support efforts to reduce carbon emissions in upstream oil and gas activities.

This technology can be implemented on all ship engines and is carried out at domestic shipyards.

"This conversion project not only aims to increase operational efficiency and reduce fuel costs, but also contribute significantly to efforts to reduce carbon emissions," said the Minister of Transportation in a statement in Jakarta.

By using DDF technology, he continued, CO2 emissions can be reduced substantially and this is in line with the government's commitment to achieve the Net Zero Emission target by 2060.

Broadly speaking, added the Minister of Transportation, the diesel-fueled ship conversion project to DDF also shows a strong synergy between SOEs and the private sector, to support government programs in order to reduce environmental pollution.

"I thank all parties who have contributed and hope that other parties will not hesitate to take similar initiatives, thus providing sustainable benefits," said the Minister of Transportation.

Then, Budi said, all maritime industry players need to play an active role in overcoming the climate change emergency problems due to global warming.

In this context, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has committed to adapting to climate change through reducing ship emissions by implementing Green Shipping.

The next step is the application of energy efficiency aimed at reducing marine environmental pollution from high consumption of fossil fuels and encouraging the use of environmentally friendly energy.

He said the government supports the implementation of Green Shipping by issuing a number of mitigation action regulations.

Some of them are mandatory use of low sulfur fuel, and the obligation to use scrubs for ships as exhaust gas cleaners.

In addition, rejuvenation and modernization of ships, the use of environmentally friendly navigation tools, and the obligation to report fuel consumption for all Indonesian-flagged vessels.