Ballast News

Optimarin AS, a Norwegian supplier of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), announced it has agreed to acquire the Hyde Marine UV business from the Italian multinational Industrie De Nora S.p.A.

The IMO's Facilitation Committee held its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12, in person at IMO Headquarters in London.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) meets annually to deal with matters related to the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports. The Committee also addresses electronic business and aims to ensure that the right balance is struck between regulation and the facilitation of international maritime trade.

Partners CY Shipping and BigLift Shipping have ordered two new heavy transport vessels (HTVs), increasing their HTV fleet to six vessels.The first vessel, owned by CY Shipping will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025, while the second vessel, owned by BigLift Shipping, is schedule for delivery in second quarter of 2026.Newbuilding contracts for the two new HTVs have been signed with Jing Jiang Nanyang Shipbuilding in China. The vessels, jointly designed by CY Shipping and BigLift Shipping…

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She highlights some of the greatest focus areas for the 80-year-old trade group—simultaneously looking at both the present day and the road ahead.The towboat, tug and barge industry is in a period of rapid evolution. How is AWO—now in its 80th year…

The IMO Facilitation Committee will meet in person at IMO Headquarters in London for its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12 to discuss issues related to autonomous shipping; prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking on ships; digitalization initiatives and the implementation of the Maritime Single Window and Port Community Systems.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) will continue discussions around regulating commercial vessels that can operate independent of human interaction - Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark has unveiled Prowler, its new autonomous, amphibious, and semi-submersible military craft engineered to meet the current and near future warfighting requirements of the U.S. military and its allies. The company is also debuting Frenzy, a high-performance, low-cost, amphibious micro-USV (uncrewed surface vehicle) with a payload carrying capacity of up to 14 pounds.“Prowler represents the sum total of everything we’ve learned while building 400-plus autonomous and remote operated vessels for our military customers over the past decade…

Van Oord’s cutter suction dredger Biesbosch and trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Apolonia are teaming up to dredge the Prinses Amaliahaven located on Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.A consortium of Van Oord, HOCHTIEF and Ballast Nedam has constructed 2.4 kilometres of new quay wall. The new quays are being dredged to a depth of more than 20 metres below sea level. This development means that the Port of Rotterdam Authority is ensuring an expansion of container capacity in Rotterdam.In total 1…

Ballast water management systems (BWMS) manufacturer Techcross said it plans to roll out a variety of eco-friendly shipbuilding equipment lineups in addition to the existing BWMS at the Sea Japan 2024 maritime trade show."The optimal solutions provided, based on extensive engineering and installation experience, are expected to not only reduce costs for customers but also contribute to the protection of the Earth’s environment," the South Korean-based company said.Techcross said it will also officially begin sales of HYCHLOR 2.0, a non-filter type indirect electrolysis BWMS that received U.S.

Techcross recently opened the doors for its new training center in Athens, Greece, its 7th training center opened globally in major shipping hubs that offers training on actual equipment.An opening ceremony for the Greece training center, designated as a hub for training in Europe region, was held recently at the newly relocated ARGO NAVIS building. The ceremony was attended by nine representatives, including Park Seog-won, CEO of Techcross, and Ioannis Alevropoulos and Maximous-Ioannis Katsidimas…

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…

Quality Tank Cleaning LLC (QTC) has inaugurated a new industrial tank cleaning facility in collaboration with Harvey Gulf (HGIM).The company has introduced Ivan Galicia as a partner in the new endeavor located at Harvey Gulf’s Operations Facility in Port Fourchon, LA.With an illustrious career spanning over 25 years in the industry, Galicia is esteemed for his unparalleled expertise in tank cleaning operations, earning him recognition as a foremost authority in the field. He and…

Techcross announced its filterless HYCHLOR 2.0 ballast water management system (BWMS) obtained type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard at the end of January 2024.Techcross' HYCHLOR 2.0 is an updated version of the company's  HYCHLOR 1.0 system, which received USCG type approval in 2020. Notably, the filter had been eliminated in the HYCHLOR 2.0 system.BMWS filters, which play a role in initially filtering out sediment in seawater, have been a source of many AS service issues due to clogging or maintenance troubles.While the absence of filters may raise concerns about disinfection capability…

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea have hit world trade. Between November and December 2023, the number of containers travelling through the Red Sea each day fell by 60% as ships moving goods between Asia and Europe diverted their routes around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.This route results in at least ten days more sailing time, so has caused freight prices to surge and has triggered costly delays to production. The region has become a bottleneck for the global economy before.

Greek shipowner Performance Shipping Inc. announced it has signed two shipbuilding contracts with China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd. (CSTC) and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (SWS) for the construction of two 114,000 DWT LNG-ready LR2 Aframax product/crude oil tanker vessels.The newbuilds, expected to be delivered in January and April of 2026, were ordered at a purchase price of US$64,845,000 per vessel, net of third-party commission. 15% of the purchase price is payable upon receipt of a refund guarantee…

Mouawad Consulting, Boll & Kirch, bestUV, KraftPowercon and Lower Lakes Towing, have received CAD 5 million from Transport Canada towards a project aimed at addressing technical challenges surrounding the installation, operation, and maintenance of ballast water management systems (BWMS) on vessels operating within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River (GLSLR) region."The significance of this grant cannot be overstated. Through our partnership with Mouawad Consulting, Boll & Kirch…

A cargo ship that ran aground off St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month has been refloated and towed to a safe mooring location at the Crown Bay Sandfill dock, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Vessel owners and salvors will now coordinate further operations to remove the damaged cargo, remaining oil and conduct further salvage or repair operations for the Bonnie G.The Vanuatu-flagged vessel began taking on water and ran aground on October 4, leading the 12 people on board to be rescued after abandoning ship. No injuries were reported.To refloat the Bonnie G, DonJon-SMIT, Inc.

BIO-UV Group said Thursday it had received a major order to supply its BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system to a pair of drillships scheduled to enter an undisclosed operator’s offshore drilling rig fleet.According to BIO-UV, a modular version from the BIO-SEA B-Series, combining mechanical  filtration and UV disinfection, has been ordered by a United Arab Emirates-based offshore drilling contractor, a returning customer for BIO-UV Group, and will be installed on the vessels…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a supplemental proposed rule to reduce the spread of invasive species though ballast water that occurs with normal operation of large marine vessels.Following public input on EPA’s 2020 proposed rule—including meetings with states, tribes and other stakeholders—the agency is now issuing a Supplemental Notice to share new data and control options raised by stakeholders. This supplemental proposal will bolster the development…

Lloyd’s Register (LR), in collaboration with SDC Ship Design and Consult, has developed a new concept for the use of ballast water tanks in place of cofferdams around methanol tanks, allowing ship operators more space for methanol fuel technology.For retrofits of methanol technology on existing ships, the development is expected to enable shipowners to convert their vessels without a loss of valuable space, by removing the requirement for cofferdams around fuel tanks as required by MSC.1/Circ.1621.

Vale, working in partnership with Oldendorff Carriers, has just commenced its first biofuel voyage on a bulk vessel.The trial is taking place on an Oldendorff vessel performing a laden Vale voyage from Brazil to Asia, carrying a full cargo of iron ore.The Hinrich Oldendorff (209,113 deadweight built 2016) loaded the biofuel in Singapore on October 16 on the ballast voyage to Brazil. The vessel then loaded Vale’s iron ore on November 28 at Guaiba Island Terminal and will consume…

A new EU agreement on waste shipments is set to remove a legal roadblock to make it possible for a raft of non-OECD ship recycling yards to be included on an EU-approved list, which would unleash much-needed shipbreaking capacity for a massive wave of tonnage due to be scrapped over the coming years, according to green recycling consultancy Sea Sentinels.The European Parliament and Council have agreed to allow exports of hazardous waste, including that contained in EU-flagged ships…

ClassNK has released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships dated December 22, 2023.ClassNK is constantly revising its Rules and Guidance in order to reflect the latest results from relevant research and development projects, feedback from damage investigations, requests from industry as well as changes made to relevant international conventions, IACS Unified Requirements (UR), etc. More specifically, some of the amendments made this time are as follows:Responding to requests from relevant industries…