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Transporting Goods News

20 Feb 2024

Chemical Tanker is World's First Equipped with Wind Propulsion

(Photo: Chemship)

Chemship commissioned its first ship with wind assisted ship propulsion. This makes the MT Chemical Challenger the first chemical tanker in the world to be equipped with sustainable wind technology. The ship will serve on shipping company Chemship’s Trans-Atlantic route between the East Coast of the United States and the Mediterranean.This week four 16-metre-high aluminum wind sails were installed on board the 134-meter-long vessel. The VentoFoils from Econowind create a direct wind surface of 180 m2.

13 Feb 2024

OPINION: Seeing the Ship as a System Changes Everything

image credit ABB Marine and Ports

Shipping must engage with the decarbonization realities that lie ahead by changing the way it crafts maritime legislation to reflect its place in the interconnected, interdependent world economy, says Eero Lehtovaara, ABB Marine & Ports.ABB Marine & Ports Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, Eero Lehtovaara has carved out an unusual - and possibly unique - role in the maritime industry over recent years, as a ‘stakeholder’ simultaneously mindful of the perspectives of owners, seafarers…

03 Nov 2023

US Awards More than $653 Million for Port Projects

© druid007 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

03 Nov 2023

Maersk to Cut at Least 10,000 Jobs as Shipping Boom Unravels

Credit: Fotokon/AdobeStock

Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk reported a steep drop in third-quarter profit and revenue on Friday and said it would cut at least 10,000 jobs in the face of overcapacity, rising costs, and weaker prices.Maersk, which controls about one-sixth of global container trade, transporting goods for a host of major retailers and consumer goods companies such as Walmart and Nike, flagged a steeper downturn in demand than analysts and investors had expected."Our industry is facing a new normal with subdued demand…

02 Nov 2023

Rhenus Upgrades Engines on Two Pushboats

(Photo: Rhenus Group)

The Rhenus Group announced it has upgraded two canal push boats operated by Deutsche Binnenreederei (DBR) with new stage V engines.While the new construction of more sustainable hydrogen-powered vessels is a long-term project, the Rhenus Group is retrofitting its older vessels with modern and therefore more environmentally-friendly technology in the short term. The two canal push boats, RSPSB146 and RSPSB153, which were built in 1978 and 1979 respectively, are the first to undergo this process.It has taken about ten months to convert the two vessels.

05 May 2023

HGK Shipping and Hydrogenious to Design Inland Waterway Vessel with Hydrogen Carrier Tech

Photo: (from left to right) Dr Daniel Teichmann, the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime and the CEO and founder of Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, and Steffen Bauer, CEO at HGK Shipping, sign a Memorandum of Understanding (Copyright: HGK Shipping / Hydrogenious LOHC)

Germany-based inland waterway shipping firm HGK Shipping has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies to work on developing a scalable solution to make hydrogen available as a source of energy on a large scale. The technology is based on hydrogen, which is bound in a liquid carrier (LOHC, liquid organic hydrogen carrier). The partners are planning to develop a demonstration vessel by 2028 and then put it into service…

30 Mar 2023

Headwinds Hamper the Poseidon Principles

Copyright Bojan/AdobeStock

The Poseidon Principles provide a platform for financing shipping’s sustainable future, but the technical guidance underpinning the initiative remains under scrutiny.In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will consider revising the UN agency’s strategy on greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Moving on from a current target to reduce CO2 emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050, based on 2008 levels,  influential administrations seek to accelerate towards net-zero or even zero by 2050.

22 Mar 2023

Headwinds for the Poseidon Principles

Copyright zwiebackesser/AdobeStock

The Poseidon Principles provide a platform for financing shipping’s sustainable future, but the technical guidance underpinning the initiative remains under scrutiny.In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will consider revising the UN agency’s strategy on greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Moving on from a current target to reduce CO2 emissions from ships by at least 50% by 2050, based on 2008 levels, influential…

13 Mar 2023

London to Trial Shipping Light Freight on the River Thames

(Photo: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers)

A group of partners aiming to boost efficiency and sustainability for transporting goods in and around London has come together to trial shipping light freight on the River Thames.The non-profit Cross River Partnership (CRP) recently launched the London Light Freight River Trial, London’s first daily, multi-supplier, river freight trial, as part of the Defra-funded Clean Air Logistics for London project. The group has been working with the Port of London Authority (PLA), Lyreco UK & Ireland…

12 Dec 2022

Shipping Must Accelerate Its Decarbonization Efforts, and Now It Has the Opportunity to Do So

© Petru / Adobe Stock

Member states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the UN agency that regulates international maritime affairs, are meeting on December 5-16 to discuss how to accelerate the industry’s climate mitigation efforts.An initial strategy – agreed in 2018, when the industry’s emissions were roughly the same as Germany’s – targeted a 50% reduction in shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and included a noncommittal aim to phase out emissions in line with the 1.5℃ temperature…

19 Aug 2021

US Announces New Marine Highway Route and Six Marine Highway Designations

© boygek / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Thursday announced the designation of six new Marine Highway Projects and a new Marine Highway Route as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The AMHP encourages the use of America’s navigable waterways for the movement of freight and people as an alternative to land-based transportation. Since its inception, the AMHP has designated 46 Marine Highway Projects. A designation makes projects on Marine Highway Routes eligible for grants when AMHP funding is available.

17 Jun 2020

Wärtsilä to Supply Propulsion for MSCL Newbuild

(Photo: Wärtsilä)

Wärtsilä will design and deliver a fully integrated main propulsion system for a new 8,200 dwt multipurpose cargo vessel being built for Mauritius Shipping Corporation Ltd (MSCL) at the Huanghai Shipyard in China.The newbuild is expected to commence commercial operations in 2022, replacing an existing vessel transporting goods and passengers between the Republic of Mauritius and the islands of Reunion, Agalega and Rodriquez.The order with Wärtsilä was placed in April 2020, and the equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard in spring 2021.

26 Oct 2020

Container Lines Expect US Import Binge to Lose Steam

© sheilaf2002 / Adobe Stock

Surging shipments into the United States are fueling record high freight costs and logjams at seaports, but transportation executives say the rally will lose steam with a second wave of COVID-19 restrictions on the cards.Container shipping companies, which move goods for customers including Amazon.com and Walmart, got stung late last year and early this year when COVID-19 halted trade around the world, and they question whether the U.S. import boom can be sustained."Let's not get carried away," Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Germany's Hapag Lloyd, told reporters.

28 Jan 2021

Electric Propulsion: The Dawn of a New Generation of Marine Power?

A foil ferry designed to use battery electric propulsion (Image: Glosten)

Technological advancement is opening new doors for hybrid and fully electric vessels.In mid-2020, the U.S. Navy accepted the delivery of the USS Zumwalt, the Navy’s first full-electric power and propulsion surface combatant. The ship’s new electric propulsion plant provides favorable efficiency coupled with a reduced total cost of ownership. The design is flexible and efficient to deliver power where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Its adoption is symbolic of a maritime future and what could be in store for other marine craft…

31 Aug 2022

Zim Inks $1 Billion LNG Bunkering Deal with Shell

© Rock / Adobe Stock

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. on Wednesday announced it has signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering deal valued at more than $1 billion with Shell NA LNG, LLC as the Israeli container shipping seeks to reduce emissions from its operations.Under the 10-year sales and purchase agreement, Shell will supply 10 LNG-fueled vessels that will be deployed on ZIM's flagship ZIM Container Service Pacific (ZCP), on the Asia to USEC trade. The 15,000 TEU vessels are expected to enter into service during 2023-2024 and will be transporting goods from China and South Korea to U.S.

30 Sep 2020

History and Overview of U.S. Cabotage Laws

© bbourdages/AdobeStock

The United States domestic maritime sector recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the passage by Congress of the Jones Act. It is considered the most significant of various US cabotage laws. Few mariners though appreciate the long history of cabotage laws in this country.Cabotage laws here are older than our nation. The British Navigation Acts and its predecessors were designed to develop, promote, and regulate British ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its colonies, including the restriction of foreign participation in its colonial trade.

25 Oct 2022

Seaspan's First LNG Dual-fuel Containership Launched for Zim Charter

(Photo: Seaspan Corporation)

Seaspan Corporation said its first vessel in a series of 10 new 15,000 TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel containerships has been launched at Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.The newbuild, ZIM Sammy Ofer, was floated out on October 15 and is scheduled to enter service under a long-term charter to Israeli shipping company ZIM starting in 2023.The 10 ships ships were ordered in February 2021 and are expected to be delivered in 2023 and 2024 and will be used by ZIM for transporting goods from China and South Korea to U.S.

26 Mar 2021

Suez Canal Blockage Adds Strain to Global Supply Chains

(Photo: Suez Canal Authority)

A stuck container vessel in the Suez Canal, which has blocked the flow of goods through the narrow channel, will add strain to global supply chains already stretched by rebounding economic activity and tight shipping container supplies, analysts said on Friday.The 400-metres long Ever Given container vessel has been stuck in the canal since Tuesday, suspending traffic of containers transporting goods, parts and equipment through the shortest sea link between Europe and Asia.The…

14 May 2021

Keel Laid for Finnlines’ Second Hybrid RoRo Ship

 The construction of the Finneco II is progressing and the first keel-block of the new vessel was laid into the shipyard’s dry dock. (Photo: Finnlines)

The Nanjing Jinling shipyard in China has laid the keel for the second of three new hybrid ro-ro vessels it is building for Finnlines.The construction of MS Finneco II is proceeding, and the keel laying ceremony was held on May 12, Finnlines said.The vessel is part of Finnlines’ €500 million ($607 million) newbuilding program which includes two eco-sustainable ro-pax vessels in addition to the three hybrid ro-ro vessels.“Finnlines has made major investments in renewing and developing its fleet into more sustainable, using the latest technologies and green innovations available.

21 Feb 2022

Greece Reports First Fatality after Blaze on Ferry, 10 Still Missing

©Hellenic Coastguard

Firefighters battling for a third day a blaze on a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy recovered on Sunday the body of a passenger listed as missing, Greek authorities said.It is the first reported fatality after rescuers managed to take at least 281 out of 292 passengers and crew to safety from a blaze which broke out on the Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia early on Friday.The ferry had been on its way to the Italian port of Brindisi from Igoumenitsa in Greece when it was engulfed…

05 Aug 2022

China's Military Drills Near Taiwan Disrupt Key Shipping Lanes

© tawatchai1990 / Adobe Stock

China's military exercises in the waters around Taiwan have prompted some ships to navigate around the Taiwan Strait and give the island a wide berth, disrupting key trading routes for cargo and commodities sailing around the world, analysts said.Angered by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China on Thursday began four days of military drills around the disputed island, including firing live missiles and deploying fighter jets.Although Taiwan's ports are operating as normal…

18 Feb 2021

DNV GL Advises ‘Mind the (Safety) Gap’ as Maritime Transforms

© Denys/AdobeStock

A new approach to safety is necessary along the maritime industry's rapid transition to a decarbonized, digitally smart future, says classification society DNV GL in a new white paper released this week, and as discussed on Maritime Reporter TV with Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL - Maritime and Fenna van de Merwe, Principal Consultant at DNV GL, the report’s author.The white paper entitled “Closing the Safety Gap in an Era of Transformation”, identifies a looming “safety gap”…

27 Oct 2021

Self-driving 'Roboats' Ready for Testing on Amsterdam's Canals

(Image: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions)

Visitors to Amsterdam may soon spot a self-driving watercraft the size of a small car cruising silently through its ancient canals, ferrying passengers or transporting goods or trash.It will be the electric-powered "Roboat", a catchier name than "autonomous floating vehicle" for a project shortly due to start test journeys aimed at improving the crowded city's transport options."We have a lot of road traffic and congestion, e-commerce, logistics cluttering the small streets in the city…

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