In general, ships that operate on oil-based fuels use either HFO or a type of distillate fuel. Large commercial vessels, such as cargo ships, generally operate on HFO while smaller ships, such as tugs and fishing vessels, tend to operate on distillate fuels, such as marine diesel oil (MDO), marine gas oil (MGO), or even ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD).[1] However, because of the 0.5% global fuel sulfur standard, which will enter into force in January of 2020, ships that currently operate on high-sulfur HFO may switch to desulfurized HFO fuel or blends of HFO and distillate fuels that comply with the 0.5% standard. Although low-sulfur HFO and HFO blends may be better in terms of sulphur oxide emissions, they may be just as harmful to the marine environment as high-sulfur HFO.
More specifically, in the Arctic, as defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the top five ship classes by total HFO fuel on board (MT) in 2015 were bulk carriers (247,800 MT), container vessels (112,900 MT), oil tankers (110,600 MT), general cargo vessels (76,600 MT) and fishing vessels (76,200 MT).[2] For the U.S. Arctic, the top five ship classes by total HFO fuel onboard in 2015 were bulk carriers (42,000 MT), oil tankers (7,700 MT), fishing vessels (7,400 MT), service vessels (6,200 MT), and tugs (3,800 MT).[3] This data suggests that cargo vessels, which tend to have larger bunker fuel tanks than fishing vessels, service vessels, and tugs, account for most HFO fuel on board ships in the IMO Arctic. However, the relatively large number of fishing vessels operating in the Arctic makes them an important source of HFO fuel carried onboard ships as well.[4]
[1] Bryan Comer et al, Heavy Fuel Oil Use in Arctic Shipping in 2015, International Council of Clean Transportation, 1 (2016).
[2] Bryan Comer et al, Heavy Fuel Oil Use in Arctic Shipping in 2015, International Council of Clean Transportation, 6 (2016).
[3] Bryan Comer et al, Heavy Fuel Oil Use in Arctic Shipping in 2015, International Council of Clean Transportation, 6 (2016).
[4] Bryan Comer et al, Heavy Fuel Oil Use in Arctic Shipping in 2015, International Council of Clean Transportation, 6 (2016).