Mechanisms News

A British Royal Navy ship will supply aid to Gaza as part of an international effort to help set up a new humanitarian maritime corridor in early May, the foreign office and ministry of defence said on Saturday.The multinational effort, involving the United States, Cyprus and other partners, will develop a new temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, British foreign minister David Cameron said."The situation in Gaza is dire and the prospect of famine is real. We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it…

A new fire safety study by survival technology solutions provider Survitec finds that existing fire-fighting methods used to extinguish machinery space spray and pool fires on conventionally fueled vessels are inadequate when dealing with methanol-based fires.This follows extensive comparative fire tests on dual-fuel marine engines using diesel oil and methanol.“Our tests confirm that traditional water mist fire suppression mechanisms do not perform as expected on methanol pool fires and methanol spray fires.

The Singapore government has recounted the achievements of Maritime Singapore to date to highlight the nation’s successes as a maritime hub in 2023:Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA exceeded S$4.8 billion, up from S$4.3 billion in 2022. Twenty-five maritime companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore last year. These included maritime services companies and companies setting up sustainability desks in Singapore as part of their…

Inspection intervals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier membrane tanks could be safely extended thanks to monitoring technology and predictive maintenance, according to a study led by GTT Group, Lloyd’s Register and Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited.The International Gas Carriers (IGC) Code and IACS UR Z16 rules require LNG carrier cargo tanks to be inspected internally every five years. This joint study explored whether this interval could be extended…

As the IMO prepares for negotiations on regulations to support net-zero by 2050 at MEPC 81 in March, the World Shipping Council (WSC) has proposed a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism it calls the Green Balance Mechanism.The aim is to provide a new approach to greenhouse gas pricing which makes it possible to close the price gap between fossil fuels and green fuels, at the lowest possible overall cost:• Through the Green Balance Mechanism, fees are taken from fossil fuels and allocated to green fuels used…

Houthi rebel drone attacks on vessels traversing the Red Sea and Suez Canal route, accounting for 10% of global trade, have exposed the shortcomings of current ship alert systems.The unpredictability and increased frequency of these attacks have created a challenging security environment for ships passing the area via the Bab el Mandeb strait, posing a substantial risk to seafarers and maritime trade by endangering the safety of the crew and cargo.Initially focused on Israel-related ships in solidarity with Hamas…

Israel is prepared to let ships deliver aid to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip "immediately" as part of a proposed sea corridor from Cyprus, the Israeli foreign minister said on Sunday, naming four European countries as potential participants.Under the arrangement first suggested by Nicosia in November, cargo would undergo security inspection in the Cypriot port of Larnaca before being ferried to the Gaza coast, 370 km (230 miles) away, rather than through neighbouring Egypt or Israel.If the plan goes ahead…

AUKUS defense ministers have reaffirmed their resolve to bolster security and stability and ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a region free from coercion and aggression.A statement was released after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia, and Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom, at the Defense Innovation Unit Headquarters in California on December 1.AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia…

Tankers transmitted the most distress calls in 2022, according to Inmarsat’s new report: The Future of Maritime Safety Report 2023.Inmarsat GMDSS data indicates that tanker distress incidents have risen steadily over the past five years from 80 distress calls in 2018, through 134 in 2021 to its highest peak so far in 2022 at 160. However, the cause for this remains unclear. “Whilst the gradual increase could potentially be linked to the overall increase in the global fleet during the same period, it seems likely that other factors are at play,” states the report.

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…

Ammonia-to-power solutions company Amogy Inc. has released a white paper titled "Ammonia as a Clean Energy Solution for Maritime Use."Ammonia has emerged as a promising fuel source for a wide range of vessel types, but realizing its potential requires a combination of production incentives, sector-specific policies, and standardized ammonia usage practices throughout the maritime value chain.The white paper examines ammonia's pivotal role in decarbonizing maritime applications.

The goal of engineering analysis is to use models of the real world to simulate and predict the performance of a design with confidence, explore design modifications, and inform downstream stakeholders—the owners, builders, operators, and passengers—with knowledge that the design works as intended before it is built. To do so, we need models that characterize the physical world. That is easier said than done, but it underpins much of what we do as engineers. This is precisely…

According to the latest edition of DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050, the shipping industry will find it challenging to secure enough supply of carbon-neutral fuels.To meet the anticipated demand of 17 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) annually by 2030, the maritime sector would need to access 30-40% of the projected worldwide carbon-neutral fuel supply.As the shipping industry will compete for these fuels with aviation and road transportation, as well as other industries, their production needs to significantly accelerate if the industry’s emission-reduction goals are to be met.

The international shipping industry as a whole is responsible for 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and if nothing changes, those will increase by 250% by 2050, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Sobering numbers like these have made reducing emissions across the sector a focus for governments, shipbuilders, environmentalists, vessel owners and technology suppliers alike.The United States federal ship fleet, excluding combat ships, consists of various types of vessels utilized for civilian purposes. This fleet of vessels makes the U.S.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has called for the safe and environmentally friendly recycling of the FSO Safer, currently being salvaged off the coast of Yemen.The UNDP is looking for a destination for the FSO’s recycling, and the Platform is calling on the Dutch government, one of the biggest donors to the Stop Red Sea Oil Pollution operation, to assist UNDP in identifying a suitable recycling facility. The Netherlands has shown leadership in preventing the environmental disaster an oil spill from the FSO Safer would have caused, says the Platform, along with Dutch company Boskalis, via its subsidiary SMIT Salvage, which has been tasked with the removal of the oil from the FSO.Referring to Dutch involvement in the Stop Red Sea Oil Pollution operation…

The UN’s 193 Member States have adopted a legally binding marine biodiversity agreement, the High Seas Treaty, following nearly two decades of fierce negotiations.Adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), the “high seas” treaty aims at taking stewardship of the ocean on behalf of present and future generations, in line with the Convention on the Law of the Sea.The new agreement contains 75 articles that aim at protecting…

Classification society the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has issued approval in principle (AIP) certificates to Saildrone, including the first AIP for a 10-meter commercial uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), the Saildrone Voyager. Approvals were issued to Saildrone for both the Voyager and Surveyor ocean data collection platforms. The AIP is an important step to class for Saildrone’s vehicles.Alameda, Calif. based Saildrone provides ocean data using uncrewed vehicles, with nearly 25,000 days at sea and nearly 1,000,000 miles sailed.

Japan-based company PowerX has unveiled the detailed design of the first-ever ‘Battery Tanker’ at an exhibition in Imabari City, Japan. The inaugural ship “X” aims for completion by 2025, with domestic and international field testing planned to start in 2026. This electric propulsion vessel will be 140 meters long and will be equipped with 96 containerized marine batteries, providing a total capacity of 241MWh. "The onboard battery system is based on our proprietary module design, featuring safe and reliable lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells that ensure a lifespan over 6,000 cycles.

Romania and Poland are in talks with the European Commission over export tracing mechanisms for Ukrainian grains to ensure local farmers are not hurt by a flood of cheap imports, the Polish and Romanian prime ministers said on Tuesday.Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, has seen its Black Sea ports blocked since Russia invaded more than a year ago and has been forced to find alternative shipping routes through European Union states Poland and Romania.But logistical bottlenecks mean that large quantities of Ukrainian grains…

Africa's abundance of solar, wind and thermal energy across the continent can place Africa at the core of the global decarbonization of maritime transport, the IMO conference on Low-Carbon Shipping in Africa heard on May 5.Speaking at the Conference, held in In Mombasa, Kenya, and co-organized with the Kenya Maritime Authority, The Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport, Ghana, said Africa is the key to speeding up global climate action on the Decarbonization Agenda.

Bureau Veritas (BV) has launched a new Cyber Health Analysis Report Tool (CHART) to help shipowners understand their ships’ digital architecture (OT/IT), specific vulnerabilities and level of preparedness to potential cyber threats.The aim of the tool is to enable a comprehensive technical assessment of a vessel’s cyber resilience at specific moments throughout its lifetime, responding to the need to constantly review, maintain and update systems in the face of evolving cyber threats.The tool provides a comprehensive audit of the vessel’s equipment…

The United Nations on Thursday fell far short of raising the money it needs for an operation to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying vessel moored off Yemen's coast and avert an environmental disaster.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.The war in Yemen suspended maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. The U.N. has warned its structural integrity has significantly deteriorated and it is at risk of exploding.Deputy U.N.

Bureau Veritas (BV) launched its new Cyber Health Analysis Report Tool (CHART), designed to help shipowners gain a better understanding of their ships’ digital architecture (OT/IT), specific vulnerabilities and level of preparedness to potential cyber threats.The aim is to offer a comprehensive technical assessment of a vessel’s cyber resilience at specific moments in its lifetime, responding to the need to constantly review, maintain and update systems in the face of evolving cyber threats.The tool aims to provide a comprehensive audit of the vessel’s equipment…