Technology Neutral News

The shipping industry and the European Independent fuel suppliers welcome the European Parliament’s support to incentivize the uptake of low-carbon and carbon-free alternative fuels and to remove disparities in energy taxation.On 25 October the European Parliament adopted its report on The deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels in the EU which pointed out that taxation has a major impact on the price competitiveness of alternative fuels and underlined that a technology neutral approach should be adopted to create a level playing field.A press release from European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) noted that disparities in energy taxation for shore-side supply for ships and energy used to generate alternative fuels should be addressed.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment, stated a ESPO Secretariat.For European ports though, reducing the administrative burden in maritime transport and facilitating trade is a top priority. ESPO wants more ambition on the harmonisation of data definitions and data sets, while maintaining the existing reporting systems, it said in a press release.This would further reduce the administrative burden and would facilitate trade. This is the guiding principle of ESPO’s position paper in response to the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment which was published on 17 May.For European ports…

Which safety level should be established for small passenger ships and what is it technically possible to acquire? These are some of the items on next week's IMO agenda. At the 97th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), the IMO is to take a final position on the choice between these two formulas. R = 0.000088 ∗ N + 0.7488 or R = 0.0719 x ln N + 0.291? The formulas are part of the basis for calculating how a passenger ship must be constructed in order to have a sufficient tolerance in case of damage that results in a hole in the hull. Director Per Sønderstrup from the Danish Maritime Authority stated, ”The formulas reflect that…

Is there an electronic Oil Record Book in the future of the maritime industry? There could be. Will charters be negotiated and signed electronically? They can be, but they do not have to be. Will the new rules of electronic signatures and electronic record keeping change the maritime industry? Most certainly. Are the new rules simple to apply? Not at all. The rapidly accelerating use of electronic commerce in all industries demands changes in the traditional "paper and pen" foundation of legal documents. The "high tech" community has been a strong proponent of the need for change for several years. Initially their efforts focused solely on electronic signatures.