Hybrid propulsion and alternative fuels education in the course of decarbonised shipping

ABSTRACT

The study investigates marine engineering education on alternative fuels and hybrid propulsion regarding decarbonisation of shipping. A new course is proposed for maritime education and training subject to the IGF Code amendments to the STCW which lasts 14 weeks and 3 h per week. Competences at the STCW amendments for the persons who work on alternative-fuelled ships are taken into account while preparing the course topics. Each topic is paired with basic and advanced training competencies of the STCW amendments, compliance with the STCW is provided, the course topics and sub-topics are explained, and the duration of the course is determined. The need for updating the curriculum and the training of future seafarers is crucial to satisfying their ability to operate future ships. This study highlights the need for novel approaches and courses regarding the new future technologies for the traditional marine engineering curriculum.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid propulsion
• alternative marine fuels
• maritime transportation
• marine engineering education
• decarbonisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Omer Berkehan Inal

Omer Berkehan Inal is a PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at the Marine Engineering Department of Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University. His researches are focused on hybrid propulsion systems and energy efficiency for ships. He previously studied the fuel cell applications onboard ships during his MSc. He is an oceangoing marine engineer and worked in chemical tankers.

Caglar Dere

Caglar Dere, PhD, graduated from the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University in 2010. He received his Master of Science diploma in 2015 and PhD in 2021 from Maritime Transportation Engineering at Istanbul Technical University in Turkey, where he is working as a research assistant currently. He has a broad range of research interests, including energy efficiency practices in marine engineering, marine diesel engines, diesel engine modelling, numerical simulations, and energy flow modeling.

Burak Zincir

Burak Zincir, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Marine Engineering Department of Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University. His research areas are alternative marine fuels, performance and emissions of marine diesel engines, and energy efficiency on ships. His MSc thesis is on the application of hydrogen as marine diesel engine fuel and his PhD thesis is on an alternative fuel assessment model for ships and experiments on the effect of methanol on diesel engines. He did the experimental part of his PhD study at Lund University, Sweden. He was awarded “The Most Successful Dissertation Thesis Award” in 2019 by Istanbul Technical University. He currently works on future alternative marine fuels such as ammonia, biofuels, and electrofuels.

Cengiz Deniz

Cengiz Deniz, PhD, is a Professor and Head of the Marine Engineering Department of Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University. His main research areas are performance and emissions of marine diesel engines, shipping emissions, energy efficiency on ships, and training and education of marine engineering students. As thesis advisor, he was awarded “The Most Successful Dissertation Thesis Award” in 2019 by Istanbul Technical University. He is also a chief engineer and worked on various ships.