Building Capacity News

WinGD has concluded an agreement with Mitsui E&S Diesel United (MESDU), part of the Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding group, that will see WinGD engines being built at its main Tamano works for the first time.The agreement adds considerable engine building capacity and enables WinGD to meet growing demand in a leading shipbuilding market with a reputation for delivering sophisticated, high-quality vessels.WinGD engines have previously been built only at the company’s Aioi Factory, which was acquired from IHI Group when the Diesel United business was sold to Mitsui E&S earlier this year.

Qatar-based energy shipping company Nakilat said Monday it had assumed the technical ship management and operations of the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) Exquisite from Excelerate.The FSRU is jointly owned by Nakilat and Excelerate through a joint venture established in 2018. This is the first FSRU to be managed in-house by Nakilat, bringing the company's managed fleet to 27 vessels, comprising of 22 LNG, 4 LPG carriers, and 1 FSRU.The FSRU Exquisite has a cargo-carrying capacity of 150,900 cubic meters and a peak regasification rate of 690 million cubic feet per day.

A regional workshop organized by International Maritime Organization (IMO) has provided senior maritime administration officials in Latin America with the latest information on current and future developments at the Organization.The workshop for the regional maritime authorities networks, ROCRAM and ROCRAM-CA was held at IMO Headquarters in London (26 November) in the margin of the 31st IMO Assembly.The 28 participants received detailed information about the activities within the IMO's Integrated Technical Cooperation Program (ITCP) aimed at building capacity in the region to comply with international rules and standards related to maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution.Participants also heard from technical officers on issues such as the IMO Audits Scheme.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported 4th edition of the Adriatic Oil Spill Conference (ADRIASPILLCON 2019), was held in Opatija, Croatia (28-30 May)."Planning for any marine pollution incident requires ongoing communication, collaboration and cooperation. Regional and sub-regional contingency planning is an effective way to share resources and expertise," said the UN body in a press release.The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), the IMO-administered pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean, shared its extensive experience and expertise in building capacity…

Planning for any marine pollution incident requires ongoing communication, collaboration and cooperation, points out the International Maritime Organization (IMO).Regional and sub-regional contingency planning is an effective way to share resources and expertise. This was in evidence at the IMO-supported 4th edition of the Adriatic Oil Spill Conference (ADRIASPILLCON 2019), held in Opatija, Croatia (28-30 May), said the UN body.Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), the IMO-administered pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean, shared its extensive experience and expertise…

A regional workshop has provided senior maritime administration officials in Central America with the latest information on current and future developments at International Maritime Organization (IMO).The training was organized by IMO and the Central American Commission on Maritime Transport (COCATRAM) in Medellin, Colombia (4-6 March), said a press note from the UN Body.The 24 participants received detailed information about the activities within the IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) aimed at building capacity in the region to comply with international rules and standards related to maritime safety and the prevention of maritime pollution.The participants were from Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling countries in the world, has ratified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Hong Kong Convention, the treaty for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.Under the Hong Kong Convention, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship.

The second phase of an International Maritime Organization (IMO)-implemented project to enhance safe and environmentally sound ship recycling in Bangladesh has been launched at a meeting of stakeholders in Dhaka, Bangladesh.According to a press release from IMO, the 19-month project is funded under a US$1.1 million agreement with the Government of Norway. It focuses on building capacity within Bangladesh to develop a legal, policy and institutional reform roadmap towards accession to the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (known as the Hong Kong Convention), and will train a variety of stakeholders within a well-functioning training system.

Non-native species can be spread from ocean to ocean via ship. They may be carried via ballast water or attach to the hulls and other parts of ships, hitching a ride across the oceans. International Maritime Organization (IMO) is addressing this problem through the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, which entered into force in September 2017 and requires ships to manage their ballast water to limit the spread of aquatic organisms. Also, IMO’s Biofouling Guidelines address bioinvasions via ships’ hulls. The joint International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and IMO (ICES/IOC/IMO) Working Group on Ballast and Other Ship Vectors…

As part of its continuing efforts to help African countries improve their maritime security capabilities, International Maritime Organization (IMO)  frequently works with other partners to help support their initiatives. The United States, for example, leads two major annual maritime security exercises in Africa and one of these, Cutlass Express, is underway now (Feb 2018). Cutlass Express puts special emphasis on encouraging different agencies and different countries to work together, as envisaged in existing frameworks such as the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) – a regional agreement against maritime crime in eastern Africa, the West Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, which IMO helped to establish.

The 2016 Polar Code has its first luxury-adventure cruise adherents for the long, new ice-free seasons in the high latitudes. Likewise, many designs winning over owners and explorers target exotic Asia-Pacific destinations. Competition is fierce among “designer-shipyards” seeking to build their designs, but their creations could face fewer hurdles to construction than the designs of independents without a yard. Concepts bound for the slipway have something else in common: new davits for large numbers of water craft.

To say that Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry is passionate about all matters surrounding maritime and seafarers is a bit of an understatement. Prior to taking the helm as president of the World Maritime University (WMU) two years ago, she served as the Director of the International Labor Standards Department of the International Labor Office (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, responsible for developing the Maritime Labor Convention, 2006. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was at WMU…

Australian Maritime Systems Group is entering into a joint venture with one of Europe’s leading marine technology companies as part of a tender for Australia’s next giant defence contract. The Brisbane-based company is partnering with Dutch firm Alewijnse Marine to support the Damen Group’s bid to build the next generation of 12 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Australian Navy. The vessels will be mainly constructed in Adelaide and Perth, but AMSG’s involvement would generate highly-skilled and long-term electrical engineering jobs for the Queensland-based company.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s response to the needs of developing countries for building capacity and facilitating technology transfer to promote low-carbon shipping was highlighted at the Environmental Sustainable Shipping Industry Conference (ESSIC), held in Panama City, Panama (14 March). The international conference was held in parallel with the Panama Maritime XIII World Conference and Exhibition. IMO’s Jose Matheickal talked through the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP) funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), which focus on legal, policy and institutional reforms in developing countries to implement MARPOL annex VI requirements.

Kitack Lim of South Korea has issued a message outlining his priorities as incoming Secretary -General of the IMO a post he assumed on January 1 following endorsement of his mid-2015 election by member states at the IMO Assembly in November. His agenda includes promoting the implementation of conventions, building capacity in developing countries with a focus on small islands and enhancing IMO's global status. "My vision is one of strengthened partnerships – between developing and developed countries, between governments and industry, between IMO Member States and regions. I will also endeavour to strengthen communication between the maritime industry and the general public…

DeepOcean Ghana Limited, a Ghanaian company with 51% Ghanaian owned share structure, has been awarded a contract to provide the services of a multipurpose construction vessel (MPV) to Tullow Ghana Limited. The scope of work for the contract is inspection, survey and subsea construction on the Tullow operated deepwater Jubilee and TEN Fields offshore Ghana. The contract includes subsea tree and jumper installations in approximately 1,100 - 2,000 m water depth. Following the signing of the contract…

The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships GloMEEP), Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia. Georgia is one of the Lead Pilot Countries for the project, which aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The national workshop in Batumi, Georgia (15-17 December), focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in chapter 4.

“You see that ship. That’s our ship,” says Karsten Saevik, as he directs our attention to the virtual image of one of his platform supply vessels on a computer screen in a darkened room. Saevik is one of four shipping bosses whose crew skills needs will be met at the new Faasnavaag Ocean Academy. We arrive five days from its opening, and with the drywall still drying, we look move closer to a giant white sphere indicating a bridge simulator in the wide-open reception. “Definitely, this is our human capital development center for marine skills,” said Saevik.

Alongside partners the Australian Government and Earthwatch, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities today announced a A$6 million contribution to the second stage of the unique species discovery program, Bush Blitz. BHP Billiton’s contribution will be matched by the Australian Government, allowing the program to run until 2017 with A$12 million in funding. Known as Bush Blitz II, the program involves expedition teams conducting flora and fauna surveys across Australia which deepen the scientific knowledge of the country’s unique plants and animals. Bush Blitz II will build on the success of the first stage of the program, which between 2010 and 2013 discovered more than 700 new species of plants and recorded more than 17,000 known species across 65 remote reserves across Australia.

In 2015 Collectivité de Saint Pierre et Miquelon launched a tender for two new Mixt Ferries to operate between the two Islands and Fortune, Canada. The same year the contract was awarded to the Damen Shipyards Group and, in January 2016, the Loan agreement with Rabobank was signed. The project was launched on 11 March at an event in Paris and the vessels will be delivered at the end of 2017. In close cooperation with the client, Damen designed the Fast RoPax 5510, 55 meters long, 11 meters wide, with a capacity for 192 passengers and crew, three trucks or 18 cars, motorcycles and cargo.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed an agreement to allocate US$2.0 million to a two-year global maritime energy efficiency partnership project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping. The so-called GloMEEP project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”, will focus in particular on building capacity to implement technical and operational measures in developing countries, where shipping is increasingly concentrated.

In response to the widespread devastation caused by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities has donated US$400,000 to the Pooled World Health Organisation (WHO) Ebola Response fund. The contribution from BHP Billiton will provide immediate actions to support affected countries and will provide interventions in neighbouring at risk countries until December 2014. BHP Billiton has worked in West Africa for a number of years through its iron ore exploration assets. Business Director West Africa Iron Ore, Graham Reynolds, said: “The West Africa region is in desperate need of international assistance to contain Ebola. BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities is a charity established by BHP Billiton as part of its community investment program.

The Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships Project (GloMEEP), which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, was formally launched on Monday, September 28, in Singapore, at the IMO-Singapore Future-Ready Shipping 2015 conference. This Global Environment Facility (GEF)/United Nations Development Program (UNDP)/IMO project, formally designated “Transforming the Global Maritime Transport Industry towards a Low Carbon Future through Improved Energy Efficiency”…