Marine Link
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Air Emissions News

18 Mar 2024

Port NOLA Bests Container-on-barge Record

(Photo: Port NOLA)

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) said 2023 was a record year for container-on-barge shipping.During the last calendar year, Port NOLA marked 20,500 container moves by barge, the highest since launching the container-on-barge network—the nation's largest—in 2016 with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and Ingram Marine Group. Container-on-barge moves containers by water rather than by truck on roads to reduce air emissions; moving an average of 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year between New Orleans, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Memphis and St. Louis.

13 Nov 2023

Seaspan to Expand Vancouver Ship Repair Operations

(Photo: Seaspand Shipyards)

Seaspan is investing to upgrade and expand its Vancouver Drydock infrastructure to help grow the company’s ship repair and maintenance operations and to better serve the Pacific Northwest.Seaspan received permit approval from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) in October 2023 to extend its North Vancouver drydock facilities to increase capacity and service additional vessels.The upgrades, which include a drydock expansion, a new operations building and a complete overhaul of the current careen deck…

12 Oct 2023

Port of Galveston to Co-pilot Shore Power Project

© Irina Starikova / Adobe Stock

Galveston Wharves has been awarded a $1 million grant for a shore-power pilot project in partnership with Texas A&M University at Galveston to reduce emissions from cargo shipping operations.Funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the pilot project will include establishing an onshore electricity microgrid to provide a clean portable power source to a docked ship as an alternative to using the ship’s diesel-fueled auxiliary engines.The project study team will evaluate the microgrid’s feasibility…

21 Sep 2023

US' MARAD Announces Grants to Boost Supply Chain Efficiency

File photo: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (Photo: Harvey A. Duze – Office of Command Communications)

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $12 million in grants to eight marine highway projects across the nation under the United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP). The funding will improve the movement of goods along our navigable waterways and expand existing waterborne freight services in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, which will strengthen supply chains and ultimately cut costs for consumers.“Our country has always relied on American waterways to get vital goods where they need to go,” said U.S.

16 Oct 2023

Future Fuels: Methanol

(Image: Glosten)

Any commentator on the maritime business decarbonization voyage will offer something along the lines of "There will be multiple fuels…" With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings of its Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) set for early July, it is likely that targets for emissions will be tightened. Whatever mileposts that the IMO actually establishes, there will be no prescriptions handed down on how to get there. By mid-2023, nearly two years after the late 2021 alternative fuels crescendo in the aftermath of the COP26 meetings in Glasgow…

18 Oct 2022

Cruise Industry Making Headway Toward Net Zero

© Biletskiy Evgeniy / Adobe Stock

The global cruise industry continues to make progress as it works to achieve its goal of net-zero carbon cruising by 2050, though the need for development and deployment of sustainable marine fuels remains.The 2022 Global Cruise Industry Environmental Technologies and Practices Report from trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) reveals an increasing number of vessels launching over the new few years that will be able to incorporate zero-emissions propulsion when available as well as the growing investment to equip ships to plug in to shoreside electricity where available.

31 Oct 2022

MARAD Awards Nearly $39 Million in Marine Highway Grants

© raoyang / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $39 million in grants to 12 marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help expand marine highway services on the United States’ navigable waterways to reduce congestion, alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, and move goods more quickly from ships to shelves.“At a time of record demand for goods, it’s more important than ever to…

19 Sep 2022

Holland America Line Trials Biofuels on Board Volendam

(Photo: Holland America Line)

Carnival Corporation's Holland America Line brand announced it has completed a 20-day trial of cleaner-burning biofuel on board its cruise ship Volendam, reporting a decrease in lifecycle emissions compared to marine gas oil.Wrapping up at Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the long-term test was conducted in partnership with GoodFuels, a producer and supplier of sustainable biofuels for the transportation industry, and Wärtsilä, manufacturer of power and propulsion technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine market.The assessment was completed September 7.

24 Mar 2022

AWO Urges California to Reconsider Proposed Harbor Craft Engine Emissions Rules

© Enrico / Adobe Stock

A trade group representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry is urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reconsider new harbor craft engine emissions regulations that many in the industry say will be difficult, if not impossible, to comply with.The American Waterways Operators (AWO) said it is "deeply concerned that CARB's proposed regulations mandate engine technology that is not available and is not certified as safe by the U.S. Coast Guard; impose an infeasible compliance schedule…

09 Feb 2022

MARAD Seeks Port Microgrid Demonstration Projects

© be free / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) has an open request for proposals (RFP) that demonstrate microgrids for marine terminal operations. Closing bid date is February 16. Total funding could equal $1.5 million. This is a cost sharing effort. MARAD’s share tops at 50% of total project cost.This effort builds on MARAD’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program which partners on projects to investigate, test, and demonstrate the use of alternative fuels and technologies to reduce air emissions from vessels, ports, and marine terminal operations.

09 Dec 2021

Seattle, Tacoma Ports Plan to Phase Out Maritime Emissions

(Photo: Port of Seattle)

The ports of Seattle, Tacoma and the combined container operations of The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) have adopted near-term implementation plans that guide emission reduction efforts for seaport-related activities.The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy covers six sectors of port activity: oceangoing vessels, cargo-handling equipment, trucks, harbor vessels, rail and port administration and tenant facilities. The recently adopted implementation plans direct changes in equipment…

04 Nov 2021

AWO Publishes Environmental Stewardship Best Practices

© bmargaret / Adobe Stock

Trade group The American Waterways Operators (AWO) has released a set of environmental stewardship best practices for the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry.Distributed to AWO members and available on the AWO website, the best practices are intended to inform, support and guide vessel operators' continuous improvement in the areas of water quality, energy efficiency, air quality, waste management and corporate responsibility, AWO said."Barge transportation is the safest, most environmentally sustainable mode of freight transportation," said Jennifer Carpenter, AWO president and CEO.

07 Sep 2021

Fincantieri Cuts First Steel for Princess Cruises New LNG-powered Ship

Credit: Fincantieri

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has cut first steel for the first of two LNG-powered cruise ships being built for Princess Cruises, a Carnival Corporation brand.The steel cutting ceremony took place last week in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) at Centro Servizi Navali, a company that specialized in logistics and production of sheet metal for the Fincantieri yards located in northeastern Italy. The ship will be built in the Monfalcone yard.At 175,000 gross tons the “Sphere” vessels will be the largest ships built so far in Italy.

18 May 2021

Reflections on the Trends That Have Shaped the Maritime Industry

© videotrinkets /AdobeStock

This will be my last monthly article for Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. I started writing these articles in early 2002, just over 19 years ago and during that time I have written over 228 articles, missing only one month when my grandson was hospitalized. (I have also written about 6,200 of my (almost) daily newsletters.) Early articles were focused on maritime security, which was still in evolution following the horrific terrorist incidents in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

04 May 2021

New LNG Bunker Barge Planned for Port of Tacoma

Puget Sound Energy’s LNG Terminal in the Port of Tacoma (Photo: GAC)

Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fuel from Puget LNG’s terminal to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest.When the Tacoma LNG Terminal becomes operational in the second quarter of 2021, it will be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge.GAC Bunker Fuels, a division of the Dubai-based GAC Group, will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge to be constructed…

19 Apr 2021

Crowley Designs US' First Fully Electric Autonomous Tug

(Image: Crowley)

Crowley Engineering Services announced Monday it has designed the first fully electric U.S. tugboat with autonomous technology, engineered as a zero-emissions, high-performance solution for ship assist and harbor services.The Crowley design, powered by the expertise of recently integrated subsidiary Jensen Maritime, leverages a large battery system and power saving technology to operate in a fully electric mode while producing zero air emissions or greenhouse gases, Crowley said.

15 Apr 2021

Crowley Tug Running on Cleaner-burning Biofuel

(Photo: Crowley)

A Crowley ship assist and escort tug serving the Bay of San Francisco is now running on cleaner-burning biofuel, in line with Crowley Shipping's commitment to sustainable operations that decrease the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas impacts of maritime operations.The Veteran, a 6,800-horsepower tug with a bollard pull of 182,000 pounds, received its first bunkering of 24,000 gallons of low carbon biofuel on March 9 in San Francisco, where Crowley has operated tugboats since 1906.Veteran joins Crowley’s Vision/650-10…

29 Mar 2021

How Shipping Ports Can Become More Sustainable

© superjoseph / Adobe Stock

Marine shipping drives 90% of global trade, moving over 11 billion tonnes of containers, solid and liquid bulk cargo across the world’s seas annually. Almost all consumer products we buy — or the raw materials required to make them — arrive at Canadian ports via ship.Each year, Canadian port facilities handle about 340 million tonnes of goods, worth about $400 billion. Roughly 25% of Canadian exports and imports, by value, are transported by marine shipping.Despite their economic importance…

16 Mar 2021

BV Publishes Rules for Wind Propulsion Systems

AYRO Oceanwing digital rendering (Image: AYRO)

Bureau Veritas (BV) has released new-generation classification rules for wind propulsion systems amid growing interest in and support for the development of zero carbon propulsion solutions for modern ships.Wind propulsion is among a number of options being examined and implemented by owners and operators who are today seeking ways to reduce air emissions from their vessels.The new BV rule notation for WIND PROPULSION SYSTEMS (WPS) – NR 206, builds on preexisting BV rules released…

11 Mar 2021

OpEd: STCW Requirements Should Support Maritime Decarbonization

© Wan Fahmy Redzuan Wan Muhammad / Adobe Stock

The modern merchant mariner is required to be competent in a number of skills and knowledge areas, such as firefighting, CPR, vessel security and even how to work as a team. Absent from this list is the mariner’s role in fighting climate change. Maybe it’s time for that to change.The Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) is an internationally recognized set of rules that set minimum standards and competencies for mariners to perform their jobs effectively and safely. Before STCW was formed in 1978 it was left to individual governments to set mariner training standards.

10 Mar 2021

Shipping Nations, Groups Call for IMO Green Research Fund

© leeyiutung / Adobe Stock

A group of prominent shipping nations and organizations are calling for a $5 billion research fund to help launch zero-emissions vessels by 2030, in a move aiming to accelerate the industry's efforts to decarbonize maritime transport.A proposal by governments including Georgia, Greece, Japan, Liberia, Malta, Nigeria, Singapore, Switzerland is being submitted Wednesday to the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO), in a bid to establish the IMO Maritime Research Fund using mandatory contributions from shipping companies…

24 Dec 2020

Great Lakes Group: Venerable & Versatile

“…We have built our reputation job by job, boat by boat, and tow by tow, and we intend to continue to do so.”The Great Lakes Towing Company (GLT) and the Great Lakes Shipyard are core businesses within The Great Lakes Group of Companies, based in Cleveland, on the Old River, a shipping channel that runs west from where the Cuyahoga River meets Lake Erie. Company towing operations extend from Buffalo, N.Y. in the east to Duluth, Minn. in the west. Great Lakes Towing owns and operates the largest U.S.-flagged tugboat fleet on the Great Lakes, serving more than 35 ports in all eight U.S.

02 Dec 2020

ABS Publishes Sustainability Guide

© aerial-drone / Adobe Stock

Classification society ABS has published the Guide for Sustainability Notations aiming to help marine and offshore operators meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ABS has also launched two new sustainability notations, SUSTAIN-1 and SUSTAIN-2, to help marine and offshore operators demonstrate alignment with the SDGs and establish a pathway for sustainability certification and reporting.“We are responding to the growing interest in the SDGs from the maritime industry.

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week