Friendly Transportation News

Qatar-based energy shipping company Nakilat has placed orders to with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) of South Korea for the construction of six new LNG and LPG carriers.The order includes two LNG carriers with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters each and four very large LPG/ammonia gas carriers, with a substantial cargo capacity of 88,000 cubic meters.The vessels are set to be delivered between 2026 and 2027, Nakilat said.Upon delivery, Nakilat's LNG fleet will expand to 71 vessels…

Zinus announced it has won a contract to supply its autonomous charging solution for a new zero-emissions, lightweight Ro-Pax ferry.The endeavor is led by shipbuilder Incat Tasmania, and commissioned by their South American customer Buquebús. The ferry will operate between Argentina and Uruguay, providing efficient and eco-friendly transportation services to as many as 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles.Zinus will be supplying its autonomous charging solution, which includes the SWC200 Onboard Unit and ZPP800 charging tower solution.

Japan's NYK Line has recently taken delivery of the LNG-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Sweet Pea Leader at Tadotsu Shipyard Co., Ltd., a member of the Imabari Shipbuilding Group. This is NYK's seventh LNG-fueled PCTC, with NYK planning to introduce a total of 20 new LNG-fueled PCTCs by 2028 as a bridge-solution to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2050 for the NYK Group's oceangoing businesses."Like NYK's other LNG-fueled PCTCs, the vessel was named…

On July 24, Freesia Leader, the fifth LNG-fueled pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) operated by NYK, arrived at the port of Nagoya for a commemorative delivery ceremony.After arriving at the Port of Nagoya, the vessel received LNG fuel from Kaguya, an LNG-bunkering ship operated by Central LNG Marine Fuel Japan Corporation, a joint venture owned by NYK and other companies.The 200-meter, 71,846GT Freesia Leader can carry 7,000 units and will be engaged in the transportation of finished…

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) announced that WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project has been completed, resulting in a substantial decrease in air pollution emissions from four San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels serving Oakland, Alameda and Richmond.In September 2021, WETA's Board of Directors approved a $5.5 million project to upgrade the engines and reduce emissions on the agency’s four Gemini-class vessels.

Sweden-based Furetank said it has signed a contract for a new dual-fuel tanker to be built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou for scheduled delivery in July 2024. The deal includes an option for additional vessels.The 17,999 dwt vessel will be number 11 in the Vinga series of sister vessels designed with special focus on minimum environmental impact. Furetank owns four of the vessels already delivered and commercially operates all.The Vinga vessels all have dual-fuel capability and run on LNG/LBG.

The methanol-fueled chemical tanker Grouse Sun, owned by NYK Bulkship (Asia) Pte. Ltd., an NYK Group company based in Singapore, was delivered on April 19. The vessel was built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Korea.Grouse Sun has been equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can use not only heavy fuel oil but also methanol. When navigating using methanol as fuel, the vessel has a new technology that suppresses the production of NOx (nitrogen oxides) by adding water to methanol to lower its temperature during combustion.

The methanol-fueled chemical tanker Seymour Sun, owned by NYK Bulkship (Asia) Pte. Ltd., an NYK Group company based in Singapore, was delivered on January 27. The vessel was built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Korea.Seymour Sun has been equipped with a dual-fuel engine that can use both heavy fuel oil and also methanol. In addition, when navigating using methanol as fuel, the vessel has a new technology that suppresses the production of NOx (nitrogen oxides) by adding water to methanol to lower its temperature during combustion.

NYK Bulkship (Asia) Pte. Ltd., an NYK Group company based in Singapore, signed a long-term time charter contract with Waterfront Shipping Company Limited (WFS) for two newly built chemical carriers, each equipped with a dual-fuel engine that enables the vessels to be powered not only by marine fuel oil but also methanol.Planned for delivery from the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (Korea) in 2022, the vessels will be delivered to WFS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Methanex Corporation, the world’s largest producer and supplier of methanol.

SCF Marine Inc., a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc., announced that its container on barge service, operated by SEACOR AMH, is participating in a 12-month accredited U.S.-based carbon offset program starting June 2020.“Through this initiative, diesel carbon emissions from AMH’s container service and the St. Louis, Memphis and Port Allen terminals will be offset to achieve carbon neutrality, a benefit AMH is proud to extend to its direct and indirect customers,” said Rich Teubner…

Maersk’s subsidiary Maersk Oil Trading has teamed up with Dutch liquid bulk storage operator Koole Terminals for the production of IMO 2020-compliant bunker fuel in the Port of Rotterdam.According to a Maersk statement, the production will take place at the Petrochemical Industrial Distillation (PID) unit, located at Koole’s Botlek site in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam. The toll distillation deal allows Maersk to produce VLSFO bunker fuel and will enable Maersk to further expand its bunker supply volumes in Europe.Annual production is expected to cover 5-10% of Maersk’s annual fuel demand.“The fuel manufacturing process allows Maersk to produce compatible low sulfur fuels that complies with the IMO 2020 sulfur cap implementation…

Norwegian shipping company Klaveness Combination Carriers AS holds several attractive growth options and is now launching a contemplated private placement of shares with total gross proceeds of approximately USD 45-70 million.The owner and operator of modern combination carriers said that current investors, management and previous CABU investors will subscribe for USD 25 million.Klaveness Combination Carriers AS (KCC), with its nine CABU vessels in operation and five CLEANBU vessels on order, is the leading owner and operator of modern combination carriers. Combination carriers are vessels able to transport both dry and wet bulk cargoes in the same cargo holds.Through this…

Washington State Ferries has begun a project to transition the largest vessels in its fleet to cleaner hybrid-electric power.The three ferries in the operator's Jumbo Mark II class, the Tacoma, Wenatchee and Puyallup, were built from 1997 to 1999 at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle. Each vessel can carry up to 2,499 passengers and 202 vehicles, making them the largest in the Washington State fleet.The 460 footers are also the fleet's biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions.

Spirit of British Columbia, one of two BC Ferries vessels that will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel, has finished conversion at the Remontowa Ship Repair Yard S.A. in Gdansk, Poland and has returned to service for the Canadian operator.The 1993-built ro-pax ferry Spirit of British Columbia was the first to undergo conversion while its sister vessel, the Spirit of Vancouver Island, is expected to complete conversion during the spring of 2019. The 550-foot ABS-classed vessels are the largest ships in the BC Ferries fleet with a capacity to carry 2…

Honghua Group Ltd. informs it has signed a shipbuilding deal with LNG Power Shipping Ltd. for the construction of 200 eco-friendly inland river ships to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The contract, worth approximately RMB760 million ($122.4 million USD), will see Honghua build and sell 200 LNG-powered inland vessels, including 700-ton ships, 950-ton ships and 1,350-ton ships. The builder expects to deliver all of the vessels by the end of September 2016. Honghua Group chairman Zhang Mi commented on the deal, saying, “The LNG powered ships that [Honghua Group] will build are a new type of environment-friendly transportation vessel, directly responding to the concept of environment protection and energy saving.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) today dedicated the California Green Trade Corridor. The Corridor will help take freight traffic off California’s congested I-580 by offering shippers an option to move cargo along the waterways between the Ports of Oakland, Stockton and Sacramento. The project received a $30 million grant from the Department of Transportation, as well as $5 million from local sources. Acting Maritime Administrator Paul Jaenichen and state and local leaders were on hand for the dedication. “This $30 million investment in public infrastructure is an important part of President Obama’s national initiative to double America’s exports by 2015,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO, www.nassco.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, has joined BP p.l.c. in naming the Alaskan Explorer, the second of four Alaska-class double-hull oil tankers being built for BP Oil Shipping Company, USA. Maureen Hayward, spouse of Tony Hayward, Group Chief Executive of Exploration and Production for BP, was the ship's sponsor, officially naming the Alaskan Explorer and striking a ceremonial bottle of champagne across the ship's hull.

Overall U.S. maritime cargo volumes in the Great Lakes region are recovering from extreme lows experienced in 2009 finds a MARAD study. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) report 'Status of the U.S.-Flag Great Lakes Water Transportation Industry', finds that the U.S. Great Lakes maritime industry is generally healthy, providing efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transportation services. It continues to be competitive with railways and trucks and, supported by responsible regulation and infrastructure maintenance, will remain an essential part of the regional and national economies. “This study shows that the recovery happening in communities all across the country is also happening right here in the Great Lakes…

Today, Maersk Line CEO, Eivind Kolding, addressed the container shipping and logistics industry as the keynote speaker at the TOC conference in Antwerp, Belgium. His message was clear and simple: If container shipping is to secure its license to operate in the future, the industry needs to change now! Containerization revolutionized world trade. The potential it unlocked by efficiently connecting producers and consumers across the world enabled both shipping lines and their customers to develop their businesses in ways that previously had seemed impossible.

WCI President testified before House Water Resources & Environment Subcommittee on substantial economic importance of inland waterways system navigation projects, once completed, will provide jobs and billions of dollars for american economy. Michael J. Toohey, President and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI), testified today before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on “The Economic Importance and Financing Challenges of Recapitalizing the Nation’s Inland Waterways Transportation System.”  Mr.

ABS has been authorized to conduct inspections and issue approvals and certificates to convention ships registered in Canada. ABS acts on behalf of over 100 administrations around the world to issue statutory certificates on their behalf. Transport Canada’s Marine Safety Executive branch issued the authorization under its Delegated Statutory Inspection Programme. According to ABS Regulatory Affairs Manager Gregory Shark the class society successfully documented and demonstrated its ability to address those unique aspects of Canadian national requirements which exceed ABS Rules and the International Conventions. The authorization process called for an in-depth comparison matrix examining Transport Canada’s requirements…

David C. Hanby, Jr., President & COO McDonough Marine shares with readers of MarineLink.com his insights on key market drivers for the coming year. What legislative/political issue do you count as the most important for the marine industry in the next few years? DH: Effective funding of infrastructure improvements of the waterway facilities our industry depends on to provide efficient, safe, environmentally friendly transportation of our nation's commodities. While the government seems determined to increase the tax burden on our industry…