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Correspondence News

24 Mar 2024

ICS Responds to MEPC81 Outcomes

Source: IMO

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued a statement following the conclusion of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC81) Meeting last week.“We welcome the progress made during these intensive negotiations to achieve net zero emissions from shipping, and the support received from around 60 Member States for a flat rate contribution system per tonne of GHG. The purpose of the proposed system, put forward by the ICS, is to reduce the cost gap and incentivise the accelerated uptake of green marine fuels…

26 Feb 2024

IMO’s PPR11 Agrees Guidance on Key Environmental Issues

Source: IMO

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed new guidance on several key environmental issues.Meeting from February 19 to 23, 2024, the following guidance will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval this March (MEPC 81) and October (MEPC 82):• the safe transport of plastic pellets by sea• best practices for cutting black carbon emissions from ships operating in or near the Arctic• reducing risks of use and carriage…

21 Jun 2023

Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon: We Need to Act Now

Kitack Lim at MEPC 79 (Source: IMO)

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon has published a call for IMO member states to act decisively on emissions targets at MEPC 80.The critical role of IMO member states at MEPC 80 report has been published with the warning: “We need to act, and we need to act now.”The Center notes that IPCC's most recent synthesis report delivers a clear message of caution: the pace of global surface temperature rise is surpassing any other period in the last 2,000 years, atmospheric CO2 levels now exceed those of the past two million years…

19 Jun 2023

IMO to Review GHG Strategy and More at MEPC 80

MEPC 79 (Source: IMO)

The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) - 80th session will meet at IMO Headquarters in London from July 3-7, and amongst key agenda items, the MEPC 80 session is expected to adopt an upgraded IMO greenhouse gas strategy.The revised IMO GHG Strategy will contain concrete greenhouse gas reduction targets for the sector and is expected to outline a range of technical and economic measures. Negotiations have been ongoing and will continue during the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 15)…

14 Jun 2023

IMO Agrees on Relevance of STCW to Autonomous Shipping

MSC 107 (Source: IMO)

The IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) advanced efforts to support maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) when it met between May 31 and 9 June 9.The Committee made progress on the development of a goal-based instrument regulating the operation of MASS which is expected to be adopted by 2025 after completion of a related regulatory scoping exercise.A MASS Working Group was established to further the work and develop common positions on key matters that will be shared with the Joint MSC/LEG/FAL Working Group on MASS.

29 May 2023

IBIA Wants IMO to Improve New Flashpoint Regulations

Source: IBIA

The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) has submitted proposals to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) which will be meeting later this week in a bid to improve understanding and workability of new flashpoint regulations for fuel oil.MSC 107 will meet from 31 May to 9 June and will continue discussion on an agenda item for the development of further measures to enhance the safety of ships relating to the use of fuel oil. In essence, the aim is to introduce increased control on the supply of bunker fuels.

01 May 2023

Black Carbon and Biofouling Guidance to be Advanced by IMO

© ANGHI / Adobe Stock

The IMO Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) Sub-Committee held its 10th session from April 24 to 28, 2023, discussing a range of topics including black carbon regulation and an update to biofouling guidance.ABS has provided a summary of the session, noting that after extensive discussion, the Sub-Committee agreed to establish a Correspondence Group that will seek to finalize draft guidelines on black carbon emission data collection and reporting. The group will also draft guidelines on goal-based control measures to reduce its impact on the Arctic, which it expects to be completed in 2025.

30 Jan 2023

IMO Targets Subsea Ship Noise with New Draft Guidelines

Copyright Coffeemill/AdobeStock

Draft revised Guidelines for the reduction of underwater noise from commercial shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life have been agreed by the IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 9), which met January 23-27, 2023.The draft guidelines recognize that commercial shipping is one of the main contributors to underwater radiated noise (URN) which has adverse effects on critical life functions for a wide range of marine life, including marine mammals, fish and invertebrate species…

25 Jan 2023

Lebanese Blast Investigator Charges Former PM, Top Public Prosecutor

© Layal / Adobe Stock

The judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court summons show.Judge Tarek Bitar unexpectedly resumed an inquiry on Monday after it was paralysed for more than a year by political resistance and legal complaints filed by top officials he was seeking to question.The explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 was caused by…

15 Dec 2022

US Probing Shipping Lines’ Anti-retaliation Compliance

© Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

The United States' Federal Maritime Commission said it is asking the top 20 shipping lines calling the U.S. to provide information on how they are complying with the new prohibitions on retaliation established by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA).The added protections against retaliation were created by Section 5 of OSRA and became effective immediately upon the law’s enactment in June. The prohibitions apply to common carriers, marine terminal operators (MTO), and…

08 Jul 2022

Cheniere Asks Biden Admin to Drop Pollution Rule

© Wojciech Wrzesień / Adobe Stock

Cheniere Energy Inc has asked the Biden administration to exempt it from limits on emissions of cancer-causing pollutants, arguing they would force the top U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas to shut for an extended period and endanger the country's efforts to ramp up supplies to Europe, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.The request imposes an uncomfortable dilemma on President Joe Biden’s administration as it tries to balance efforts to slash pollution from the fossil…

10 May 2022

Fuel Tax Repeal Victory in New York State

Copyright MishaelPervak/AdobeStock

The New York State Petroleum Business Tax (PBT), Article 13-A levies a tax on fuel consumption of commercial vessels operating on the waters of New York State. The PBT has long been a source of contention for operators of tug boats and towing vessels transiting New York State waters because of the difficulty to accurately calculate the tax due the state. This led to many long drawn out audits of vessel operators by the state, resulting in unacceptable additional taxes, interest and fines.Over the years, multiple efforts were made by industry groups to repeal the PBT legally without success.

23 Mar 2022

Army Corps Making Plans for Fort Langley-Eustis Construction

(Image: USACE)

The U.S. Army Corps’ Norfolk District seeks contractors for the 3rd Port Improvements Project at Ft. Eustis, Va. Total award could be between $10 million and $25 million. The Corps will use responses from companies to “determine an acquisition strategy.” Go to SAM.gov and use ID W9123622B2017 to search. Responses are due March 28.As envisioned now, this would be a firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of improvements at 3rd Port, JBLE–Eustis (Joint Base Langley-Eustis, in Newport News).

25 Jan 2022

Pandemic Setback Strengthens Resolve to Remain Positive

© Udo Ingber / Adobe Stock

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan looks beyond the latest COVID-19 complications to explain why the global trade association has reasons to believe the industry’s future is ultimately secure.If I had been writing this column just a few weeks earlier than late December, my opening remarks would have been decidedly upbeat. After two devastating years under the cloud of COVID-19, the pandemic seemed to be in ever-growing retreat and the passenger ferry sector was poised to turn the corner toward ‘business as normal’ in 2022.Now, however, that hope has been somewhat diluted by a single word: Omicron.

21 Jan 2022

ABS Withdraws Certification for Two Oil Tankers Over Iran Sanctions

Two tankers have had their environmental and safety classification withdrawn by a U.S. company that provides such certification, after accusations by a U.S. advocacy group that they had shipped cargoes of Iranian oil, documents seen by Reuters show.Countries targeted by tougher U.S. sanctions, including Iran and Venezuela, have responded to the mounting pressure with elaborate strategies to circumvent restrictions on their oil exports.Top oil shipping companies say they have in turn responded by tightening guidelines and deploying technology to prevent accidental sanctions breaches, which U.S. officials have said could lead to them being…

30 Mar 2021

Excessive Speed a Factor in 2019 Houston Ship Channel Collision -NTSB

A screen capture from wheelhouse video on board the towing vessel Voyager shows the moment when the LPG tanker Genesis River struck barge 30015T, March 10, 2019. (Source: Kirby Inland Marine / NTSB)

Excessive vessel speed contributed to a 2019 collision between a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker and a barge in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of 11,000 barrels of petrochemicals, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The 754-foot-long tanker Genesis River collided with the 297-foot-long tank barge 30015T on the Houston Ship Channel May 10, 2019, in Texas’ Upper Galveston Bay. The collision breached two cargo tanks in the barge, spilling approximately 473,600 gallons of reformate, a gasoline blending stock.

10 Aug 2020

Lebanon's Leaders Were Warned in July About Explosives at Port

© Erich / Adobe Stock

Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources.Just over two weeks later, the industrial chemicals exploded in a massive blast that obliterated most of the port, killed at least 163 people, injured 6,000 more and destroyed some 6,000 buildings, according…

31 Jul 2020

Australia Bans Another Bulker Over Unpaid Wages

TW Hamburg (Photo: AMSA)

A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier has been banned from Australian ports for 12 months after authorities discovered that seafarers onboard were underpaid, had expired employment agreements and were requesting repatriation. The 93,229 dwt TW Hamburg is the second bulker to recently be banned from Australia for crew underpayment, following the Liberian-flagged Agia Sofia earlier this week.Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said its inspectors boarded the 229-meter TW Hamburg in Gladstone on Friday…

02 Jun 2020

Interview: Takeshi Okamoto, ClassNK

 Takeshi Okamoto, Corporate Officer and General Manager of EOD at ClassNK

As COVID-19 and a historically weak energy market wreaks havoc on maritime, Takeshi Okamoto, Corporate Officer and General Manager of Public Relations Team, ClassNK, tells Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in its May 2020 edition that the pandemic will effectively help to fast track portions of its ClassNK Digital Grand Design 2030 strategy, particularly "where we have a great interest in expanding evaluation methodologies using digital technology to substitute the current physical evaluation methods."Takeshi Okamoto was part of Maritime Reporter's report on 'Class'…

01 May 2020

IMO Postpones More Meetings Due to COVID-19

(Photo: IMO)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said its meetings scheduled to be held in July, including the next regular session of the IMO Council, have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the UN shipping agency moves to revise its meeting program for the remainder of 2020.The IMO said it  has drawn up a priority list of meetings to be considered by the Council at its 32nd extraordinary session that will be held by correspondence from May to July. This follows the 31st session of the Council that took place…

19 Feb 2020

Wärtsilä Navi-Port Tested for Just-in-time Sailing

Photo: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä, together with project partners Carnival Maritime and HVCC Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC), announced they have implemented and tested a new solution for just-in-time sailing.Together, the partners have achieved the exchange of data between ship and shore under real-life conditions, thereby enabling optimal port arrival. The applied solution, Wärtsilä Navi-Port, has received approval in principle from Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore for meeting the classification…

03 Jul 2019

Implementation of IMO Instruments

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) informed that the Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III) brings together flag, port and coastal States, together with observer delegations, to consider implementation issues.At its sixth session (1-5 July), the Sub-Committee is expected to finalize updates to key instruments which assist in implementation, said the UN body.The key instruments include the updated Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification, the Non-exhaustive list of obligations under instruments relevant to the IMO instruments implementation Code (III Code), and Procedures for port State control…

05 Mar 2019

Regulations for Cargo Lifting Safety on the Anvil

Draft mandatory regulations to make lifting appliances such as onboard cargo cranes safer are being developed by the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE).According to a press note from International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Sub-Committee aims to finalise the draft SOLAS regulations and related guidelines covering design, construction, installation and maintenance of onboard lifting appliances and anchor handling winches.The rules are intended to help to prevent accidents and harm to operators and damage to ships, cargo, shore-based structures and subsea structures, as well as the marine environment.On fire safety matters…