Un International Maritime Organization News

Efforts to limit environmental damage from a cargo vessel that sank after a Houthi missile strike and another abandoned during a fiery assault are on hold until attacks on ships ease, the United Nations' maritime shipping regulatory agency said on Monday.The UK-owned Rubymar last month became the first vessel lost since the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea area in November. The bulk carrier with 21,000 metric tons of fertiliser contained in its cargo hold…

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they could only reconsider their missile and drone attacks on international shipping in the Red Seaonce Israel ends its "aggression" in the Gaza Strip.Asked if they would halt the attacks if a ceasefire deal is reached, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters the situation would be reassessed if the siege of Gaza ended and humanitarian aid was free to enter."There will be no halt to any operations that help Palestinian people except when the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the siege stop…

Iran's offer to host a maritime event in October has been rejected after a proposal led by the U.S. to rescind the bid was approved in a vote at the UN shipping agency's Council, an agency spokesperson said on Thursday.The move is likely to further raise tensions between Washington and Iran after Tehran tried to seize the Richmond Voyager tanker, which was managed by U.S. oil major Chevron, earlier in July in international Gulf waters.Iran had proposed to host a shipping event in Tehran in late October this year in conjunction with an annual maritime day hosted by the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO), which was accepted in 2015 by the IMO's executive Council.The U.S.…

Top global ship fuelling hub Singapore is unlikely to be ready for ammonia bunkering by the end of this year, Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said, while industry players have also raised concerns about feasibility. The port authority's clarification came after the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) said on April 27 that Singapore's first transfer of ammonia for bunkering could take place by the end of 2023. "These views do not represent the assessment of MPA and other government agencies – the timeline before end-2023 is not realistic…

UAE's Fujairah must step up investments for storage and supply of new alternative fuels as these markets are still lacking traction at the world's third-largest bunkering hub despite the urgency for maritime decarbonization, industry executives said on Wednesday.The maritime industry must seek out alternative fuels to meet carbon emission reduction targets set out by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization, which include cutting carbon emissions by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030 and overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2050.Despite being a key bunkering port…

The maritime industry is urging the United Nations to help free hundreds of seafarers and dozens of ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian waters a year after Russia's invasion.In a letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres, an international group of shipping companies and organizations urgently called for diplomatic efforts toward the immediate release of the 331 seafarers still trapped on 62 vessels in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov."Our seafarers are the heart of our industry and cannot be forgotten. For 12 months now they have been caught up in a crisis far beyond their control.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) welcomed the China Shipowners’ Association (CSA) as a Full Member from January 1, 2023. The CSA will join the ICS Board, which oversees the policy positions ICS presents on behalf of shipowners’ worldwide with the shipping industry’s global regulators, including the UN International Maritime Organization and the International Labor Organization. Established in 1993, the China Shipowner’s Association (CSA) is a voluntary trade organisation whose members are owners…

Even as liquefied natural gas (LNG) is seen as a key transitionary fuel for bunkering, soaring prices of the super-chilled fuel have led to higher demand for ships with dual-fuel tankers, said an industry executive. The global shipping industry is seeking to reduce its reliance on oil as it tries to meet carbon emission reduction targets set out by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization. These include cutting carbon emissions by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030, and overall greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050."We believe that LNG will be one of the major fuels for bunkering.

Shipping and commodities firms will commission more ships partly powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) next year while ramping up trials for biofuel bunkering as they seek to cut emissions from ship operations, senior executives said this week.The shipping industry is seeking to reduce its reliance on oil as it tries to meet carbon emission reduction targets set out by the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization.These include the shipping industry cutting carbon emissions by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030…

The UN's shipping agency will seek to create a safe maritime corridor to enable merchant ships and their crews stuck in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to sail away without the risk of being hit, it said on Friday.Russia's military took control of waterways when it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, in what Moscow calls a "special operation".Ukrainian maritime officials have told Reuters fighting has left around 100 foreign-flagged vessels and hundreds of mariners stranded in Ukrainian…

Japan's Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) and its partners said on Tuesday they will conduct a demonstration project to develop commercial vessels equipped with ammonia-fueled engines to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions to tackle climate change.The shipping industry is examining a range of technologies as it looks to meet a target set by the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions from ships from 2008 levels by 50% by 2050.Ammonia is used in making fertilizer and industrial materials, but is also seen as a potential future energy source, along with h

The United Nations shipping agency on Thursday adopted a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic region while green groups said the regulations contained loopholes which will allow many vessels to keep sailing without enough regulatory control.Antarctic waters are protected by stringent regulations, including a ban on heavy oil fuel (HFO) adopted in 2011, even though no cargo moves through the turbulent southern waters. For the Arctic, the rules have been looser.In a virtual…

Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping, and I consider this a position the whole shipping industry must adopt.”Running from Murmansk near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

Global demand for oil-based marine fuels is set to fall in the next three decades as stricter carbon emissions rules for the shipping industry kick in and alternative fuel use climbs, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Friday.The U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO) is set to formally adopt energy efficiency regulations in June that aim to reduce the carbon footprint of new and existing ships by 40% by 2030 compared with 2008 levels.By 2050 the IMO aims to reduce the…

Enhanced cooperation and implementation of best practices are needed to avoid, deter and report attacks threatening ships and crew in the world's top piracy hotspot, says the United Nations' (UN) maritime agencyKitack Lim, Secretary-General of the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) expressed his deep concern about the escalation in the number and severity of attacks on ships and crew in the Gulf of Guinea region, and insisted on the need for a collaborative approach…

Container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said it is working to advance the exploration viability of hydrogen and fuels derived from it as potentially viable fuel sources for its vessels.The initiative is part of the Swiss-Italian shipping line’s wider approach to decarbonization which has already seen the company pioneer the use of biofuels as a blended marine fuel, and on Tuesday MSC said it joined the Hydrogen Council, an industry body, to help drive R&D…

Two centuries after the first coal-powered steamships crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a Swedish company is designing a futuristic throwback: a huge, wind-driven cargo ship that could help end the fossil fuel era and limit climate change.Shipping accounted for 2.9% of man-made greenhouse gas in 2018, and the industry’s share of planet-heating emissions has been rising in recent years, according to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization.One solution may be to turn the clock back to pre-industrial times and again hoist sails to carry cargo around the world.Sweden’s Wallenius Marine AB…

The United Nations shipping agency on Friday approved a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic region in a move criticized by green groups which said loopholes will allow many vessels to keep sailing without enough regulatory control.Antarctic waters are protected by stringent regulations, including a ban on heavy oil fuel (HFO) adopted in 2011, even though no cargo moves through the turbulent southern waters. For the Arctic, the rules have been looser.In a virtual session…

When Captain Will Whatley guides a ship through Arctic waters, he is starkly aware of what can go wrong.Double the manpower is needed to navigate. Lookout shifts are kept to just one hour, so sailors don't lose concentration and miss a mass of floating ice. Big icebergs show up on radar, but smaller, truck-sized "bergy bits"—even more dangerous—can be missed, the captain says.The cold can freeze equipment and the earth's magnetic field disrupts compasses. If anything goes wrong…

Container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) counts biofuels and hydrogen-based fuels among options worth studying to potentially help the shipping industry meet decarbonization targets, one of the company's executive told an industry conference in Switzerland on Monday.“There’s no one single solution to decarbonize shipping. We need a range of alternative fuels at scale and we need them urgently,” said Bud Darr, MSC Group's Executive Vice President, Maritime Policy & Government Affairs…

Denmark will allow merchant sailors stranded on the high seas since the outbreak of the coronavirus to come ashore and be reunited with their friends and families, the Business Ministry said on Monday.Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, 200,000 seafarers have been stranded on merchant ships, some for more than a year, because travel restrictions have made it almost impossible to rotate crews."While many Danes have used the corona crisis to spend more time with the family, many Danish sailors have had to do without family and friends for much longer than usual…

Jens Boysen disembarked one of the world’s largest container ships on Thursday after 167 days at sea when he has acted not only as captain but also as doctor, dentist, mental coach and entertainment director for his stressed-out crew.Almost 200,000 seafarers like Boysen are stuck onboard merchant ships, some for more than a year, because coronavirus travel restrictions make it almost impossible to rotate crews, according to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization (IMO).The crews…

The U.K. government announced Thursday it will host an international summit next month to address crew change challenges caused by the COVID-19 health crisis.Led by U.K. Maritime Minister Kelly Tolhurst, the virtual event will bring together UN, political and business leaders from across the globe to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the global shipping industry, and what governments and industry must do to protect the welfare of crew workers around the world. Secretary…