Irish Ship Fuel Initiative Gets Underway
MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, and renewable energy consultants Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) have announced the inception of the 'ShipFuel' research project.The initiative is set to position Ireland at the helm of maritime sustainability by developing a clear path to support the transformation of the shipping sector's reliance on traditional fuels to low-carbon alternatives.The research is funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
Adapted ME-GI Gas Engine Runs on Hydrogen
MAN Energy Solutionsâ licensee, MITSUI E&S Co. Ltd., has announced that it has successfully tested a 50-bore MAN B&W two-stroke engine up to 100% load at its Tamano facility while running on hydrogen, a world-first for the maritime industry.In collaboration with MAN Energy Solutions, MITSUI converted one of the four cylinders of an MAN B&W ME-GI (-Gas Injection) engine to hydrogen operation. The hydrogen was supplied from a hydrogen gas-supply system that MITSUI developed in 2023.Stable operation was achieved at various loads and operating conditionsâŠ
NAPA Studio aims to help Blaze Maritime's Digital Path
NAPA introduced NAPA Studios, an initiative designed to foster cross-industry partnerships to deliver new data-driven solutions and insights on some of the most imminent ship design, safety and operational challenges faced by the maritime industry.NAPA Studios will harness NAPA's own digital tools and experience, while working directly with individual shipyards, shipowners, charterers, and other supply chain stakeholders in tailored projects. This offering will, for example, enable shipyards to make a greater use of shipsâ operational data to improve future designs, while other projects will support shipowners and charterers in assessingâŠ
Many Different Vessels but One Goal â Passenger Safety
Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.
Oxidation Catalyst Project Aims for 70% Methane Slip Reduction
MAN Energy Solutions has announced that it is developing an oxidation catalyst for four-stroke engines that will significantly reduce methane slip. Called âIMOKAT IIâ and developed at MAN Energy Solutionsâ headquarters in Augsburg, Germany, the research project is currently undergoing testing at the companyâs Frederikshavn, Denmark facility.Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Climate Action, the new project will investigate the operational experience of a pre-turbo methane-oxidation catalystâŠ
HydroWing Unveils Plans for Tidal Energy Project in Wales
HydroWing is gearing up for deployment of its tidal energy technology, following the recent announcement that it has been awarded a contract for a 10MW tidal stream energy project in Wales.HydroWing was the largest tidal stream project in Wales to be successful in the UK governmentâs latest Contracts for Difference round. The project will be located at the Morlais tidal energy site in Anglesey, which is managed by the social enterprise Menter Môn. The Morlais site is the UKâs largest consented tidal energy scheme.Richard ParkinsonâŠ
CCS Grants AiP for Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Supply System
China Classification Society (CCS) has issued a first Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate for the marine liquid hydrogen fuel supply system developed by Weishi Energy Technology Hebei.The system design includes a marine liquid hydrogen tank and cold box, supercooled hydrogen storage technology, heat exchange technology, regulated hydrogen supply technology and subcooled hydrogenation technology. Dual-boost functionality ensures rapid system startup, says CCS, and the systemâŠ
MAN Developing Methanol Retrofit Solutions for Medium-speed Engines
MAN Energy Solutions announced it will begin developing retrofit solutions for medium-speed marine engines as part of a research association including WTZ Roßlau gGmbh and TU-Darmstadt. The three-year research project, âCliNeR-ECoâ, is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) with initial work having already commenced at the beginning of 2023.CliNeR-ECo aims to develop concepts for diverse, medium-speed, marine engines that will enable the retrofitting of entire ship fleets at reasonable economic and technical costs.
Korean Register Grants AiP to K Shipbuilding and ForceTEC for Ship Cyber Resilience Design Technology
Korean Register (KR) has awarded Approval in Principle to K Shipbuilding and ForceTEC for their design technology focusing on ship cyber resilience in accordance with the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Unified Requirement (UR) E26.KR, K Shipbuilding, and ForceTEC in January embarked on a joint research project aimed at applying and validating the rules of ship cyber resilience, in a proactive response to the forthcoming adoption of IACS UR E26.IACS UR E26, introduced in April 2022, establishes unified requirements for cyber resilience in ships.
ABS and Texas A&M University Partner on Fuel and AI Research
ABS and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) have signed a research agreement to investigated ammonia as fuel, ship electrification, carbon capture and sequestration, trusted artificial intelligence (AI), and safety of industrial wearable visualization technologies, among other topics.The research agreement is part of the continuing collaboration between ABS and Texas A&M which includes a recent endowment establishing the ABS Ocean Engineering Department Chair. TheâŠ
ABB Introduces Operational Planner for Offshore Wind Vessel Operations
ABB has introduced a new Operational Planner module for its ABB Ability OCTOPUS â Marine Advisory System to help offshore fleet managers plan and optimize the maintenance of offshore wind farm operations.For support vessels moving between turbines or rigs during a single shift, OCTOPUS Operational Planner forecasts vessel workability across multiple sites. Whereas an offshore support vessel typically relies on an onboard weather routing system to predict weather and wave heightsâŠ
Corvus Unveils Pelican Fuel Cell System
Corvus Energy has launched its inherently gas-safe marine fuel cell product, the Corvus Pelican Fuel Cell System.The system is the result of the H2NOR research project that started in 2021. H2NOR was initiated by Corvus Energy, Toyota and other partners to fast-track the development and production of sustainable and scalable Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems.Corvus says the result of the two-year development is the safest marine fuel cell system to date. Using the well-proven fuel cell technology from ToyotaâŠ
Meyer Werft Lays Keel for Second Silversea Fuel Cell Cruise Ship
Silversea Cruises has celebrated the keel laying of the cruise ship Silver Ray at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.The 155-foot, 728-guest Silver Ray is the second ship in Silverseaâs Nova class and is expected to enter service in summer 2024, following sister ship Silver Nova which is expected to enter service in summer 2023.The Nova-class ships will be fitted with dual-fuel LNG engines, energy storage and a 4MW fuel cell system. The system is the result of a research project involving Freudenberg e-Power SystemsâŠ
Pushing the Envelope: A H2 Project Highlights French Teamwork on Alt-Energy
At the Sea Tech Week Maritime Transport conference this past September, held in Brest, France, there was no shortage of big-picture, creative ideas pertaining to maritime shipping and alternative energy.One such project, called Seaguel, was presented as part of a larger discussion on hydrogen (H2) as maritime fuel. The full session was titled âDistributing Hydrogen from Offshore Wind Farms as a Fuel for Ships.â The topic was developed by France Energies Marines (FEM), a public-private R&D collaborative focused on offshore renewable energy.Right nowâŠ
Marlink, Fraunhofer CML Team Up to Speed Up Digitalization, Define RoI Scenarios in Shipping Industry
Maritime communications specialist Marlink signed an agreement with research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) to identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data to accelerate digitalization and define the Return on Investment (ROI) scenarios for long term operational efficiency.Within this agreement, Marlink will leverage its BridgeLink solution to deliver data from core engine room and bridge systems including VDR, ECDIS, Radar, AIS, AMS, engine control systems, cargo systems, propulsion, and sensors.
Foreship Makes a Pair of Senior Appointments
Foreship made two senior appointments to grow its design and technology capabilities to support shippingâs sustainable future. From November 1, Joonatan Haukilehto joins Foreship as Lead Consultant, Newbuilds & Decarbonization, while Pekka Pohjanen is appointed Senior Technology Specialist, Sustainability.Based at Foreshipâs Helsinki head office, Haukilehto and Pohjanen add extensive expertise in advanced marine technologies and ship decarbonization to the leading naval architecture and marine engineering firmâs consultancy knowhow to serve the cruise and commercial shipping industries.
Molten Salt Reactors: Maritimeâs Nuclear Option
A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? âDecarbonizationâsâ holy grail â believed to be a âsmallâ thorium-fueled, molten-salt rectorâs unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern, as-yet non-existent marine reactor aboard a modern commercial vessel. As with nuclear power generally, shipborne reactors produce national discussion first, then discovery.
Kongsberg Maritime Launches EcoAdvisor for Offshore Vessels
Kongsberg Maritime has launched EcoAdvisor, an intelligent and dynamic decision support system for optimizing a range of offshore vessel operations. "EcoAdvisor is an outcome of a joint âIntelligent Efficiencyâ research project between Kongsberg Maritime, vessel operator DOF Subsea AS (DOF), Sintef, NORCE, and Innovation Norway, with the aim of developing technologies to monitor and reduce the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions during vessel operations," Kongsberg Maritime said.It monitors the vessel operation and its environmentâŠ
ABS, DOE to examine Nuclear Energy for Commerical Maritime
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded ABS a contract to research barriers to the adoption of advanced nuclear propulsion on commercial vessels.The $800,000 research project â awarded by the DOEâs Office of Nuclear Energy last year and formally contracted through its U.S. Industry Opportunities for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development funding opportunity â will address challenges to adopting new reactor technology in commercial maritime applications. ABS will develop models of different advanced reactor technologies for maritime applications and develop an industry advisory on the commercial use of modern nuclear power.Support will be provided by the Department of Energyâs National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), based at Idaho National Laboratory.
Hydrogen as Fuel: Possibilities, ButâŠ
Hydrogen is everywhere. You know that from high school chemistry. And you also know it from Marine Newsâ almost daily updates about H powered vessel projects around the world.As a fuel that could potentially replace fossil fuels, H is in the spotlight. Perhaps the brightest spotlight, at least in the U.S., is within the Department of Energyâs âEnergy Earthshotsâ initiative.R&D on H was the first such Earthshot announced last year. DOE wants the âHydrogen Shotâ program to âaccelerateâŠ
To Achieve Greener Shipping, "There's an App for That"
As part of a R&D project, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has investigated the influence of the behavioral change of individual seafarers on carbon emissions on selected ships managed by BSM Deutschland (BSMD). Using clean-tech start-up Signolâs app, BSM reports that "remarkable reductions in bunker fuel consumption" were detected on single ships.During the research project, which ran in the second half of 2021, 60 Masters and Chief Engineers on 28 vessels under full management of BSMD were invited to take part in the trial on a voluntary basis.
Johnson Joins The Shearer Group, Inc.
Houston-based naval architecture, marine engineering and marine surveying firm The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) announced it has hired mechanical engineer Ethan Johnson.Johnson graduated from the University of Houston with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Continuum Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics, Convection Heat Transfer, and Nonlinear Controls. For his undergraduate research project, Johnson created an energy recovery system for thermal losses within transformers.Johnson is a registered Engineer-In-Training in the state of Texas and holds a U.S.
MAN Upgrading Four-stroke Engines for Green Future Fuels
In continuously developing the range of services for its portfolio of four-stroke engines, MAN Energy Solutions enables its customers to exploit a multitude of synthetically manufactured, climate-neutral fuels in the operation of ships or power plants. Already today, MAN engines using power-to-X fuels such as synthetic natural gas (SNG) can be operated totally climate-neutrally.MAN customers will in due course be able to use other, so-called 'future fuels' âsuch as ammonia, methanol and hydrogen â also produced in a climate-neutral manner.