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Edition News

25 Mar 2024

US Dredging: Plenty of Issues, New WRDA on the Way

(Photo: Janet Meredith / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

25 Mar 2024

Demopolis: A Cautionary Tale for Increased Infrastructure Investment

Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system. (Photo: Chuck Walker / U.S. Army)

Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly. Despite those efforts, lock failures continue, and the risk of failure persists.While…

06 Mar 2024

Posidonia 2024 Exhibitors Anticipate Paradigm Shift as AI Gains Traction

Source: Posidonia Exhibitions

The maritime industry, often viewed as conservative and measured in its approach to technological integration, is on the cusp of a transformative era with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a prominent player. Insights from key exhibitors at the upcoming Posidonia Shipping Εxhibition reveal a new landscape, where industry leaders strategically align with the inexorable rise of AI and consider adopting it already.According to Theodore Vokos, Managing Director, Posidonia Exhibitions S.A.…

01 Mar 2024

US Offshore Wind: Down but Not Out

© Eric Dale Creative / Adobe Stock

“The winds of change are blowing wild and free.” – Bob DylanIn the U.S. offshore wind industry, developments over recent months have placed an exclamation point on the word “wild”. Yes, the wind still blows “free”, but mounting challenges have proven that harnessing its power offshore is anything but. In fact, far from it, as rising materials costs, high interest rates, labor shortages and supply chain delays, among other issues, have delivered heavy blows to the commercial viability of several projects.

26 Feb 2024

Will 2024 Settle the Turbulence of US Offshore Wind?

(Photo: Avangrid)

There is no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. offshore wind market. Citing macroeconomic factors including high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, Ørsted announced on October 31 that they were ceasing the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects, which were scheduled for construction off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the troubling news has continued into the new year, with Equinor and BP announcing on…

03 Feb 2024

Americas Cup Innovation & a Carbon-Free Shipping Future

Image © AYRO  UNI PROD

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) represented by BMW Oracle Racing and the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the Americas Cup defending champion, represented by Team Alinghi were entwined in a 2.5-year legal battle over multiple court cases, including hearings in the New York Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, prior to the 33rd edition of the race, due to take place in 2010.The parties disagreed about the location, format, and restrictions on boat design, all of which were changed by the courts prior to the race.

31 Jan 2024

Navigating Disruption: CMA Shipping 2024 Unveils Agenda and Speaker Lineup

Knut Orbeck-Nilssen, Chief Executive Officer, DNV (Photo: CMA Shipping)

C-Suite leaders of ABS, Panama Canal Authority, BIMCO, INTERCARGO, IACS, DNV, Stena Bulk, Hapag-Lloyd, IBIA, International Seaways and many more have been announced for the conference lineup at CMA Shipping 2024.With just six weeks to go, eager anticipation is growing for the 39th edition of CMA Shipping taking place in Stamford, Conn., from March 12-14, 2024.The conference agenda promises to highlight pertinent issues surrounding the future of shipping, and how the industry can navigate challenges such as the energy transition, crewing and education, safety and compliance.

25 Jan 2024

IACS Launches 2024 Blue Book

© PictureArt / Adobe Stock

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has released the 2024 edition of its Blue Book.The IACS Blue Book is an electronic library of all technical resolutions adopted by IACS as a result of its technical work and remains the core reference work for the Association. It contains all previous revisions of IACS publications and historical data. It is updated and published once a year.It contains:• IACS Unified Requirements which IACS members incorporate into…

17 Jan 2024

ClassNK Gives AiP for Yanmar’s Maritime Hydrogen Fuel Cell System

(Credit: ClassNK)

ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a maritime hydrogen fuel cell system developed by YANMAR Power Technology, marking the first AiP certification for a maritime hydrogen fuel cell system developed by a Japanese manufacturer.The 300kW maritime hydrogen fuel cell system, developed by Yanmar, is designed with key auxiliary components such as gas valve units integrated within the system enclosure, aimed to facilitate easy installation on ships.On top of that, the system allows for parallel connection of multiple units and adjustments to the number of hydrogen fuel cell modules,

02 Jan 2024

Amogy Brings Ammonia Into the Mix

© Forance / Adobe Stock

Ammonia is one of several renewable fuels seen as an option to help the maritime industry decarbonize.One of the companies working to unlock the fuel’s potential is Brooklyn, N.Y. based Amogy, developer of an onboard system that feeds liquid ammonia through a cracking process to create hydrogen on demand for power generation via fuel cell—without carbon emissions.Having already demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, Amogy is currently working to…

14 Dec 2023

Robotics in the EngineRoom

Image courtesy FMD

When talk turns to autonomous ships, a first question always centers on how routine and emergency repair and maintenance will be conducted. Trey Taylor, Director of Digital Innovation, Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), discusses FMD’s research and development on next-gen engine room robotics.The FMD team that Trey Taylor leads is relatively new, kicking off in 2019 with a baseline product that was looking at monitoring equipment, “being able to provide that information back to our…

08 Dec 2023

The Curious Case of the 1,200 MW Transmission Size “Limit” in New England

Copyright Herr Loeffler/AdobeStock

How the Maximum Contingency of 2,200 MW Was Recast to a 1,200 MW CeilingAs policy makers and energy developers look to develop and interconnect large offshore wind projects in the most economically efficient and least environmentally impactful way, an issue has developed. A relatively recent limit, set in place by the grid operator in New England in a planning process document, states that no single system loss of energy, or “contingency”, can be larger than 1,200 megawatts (MW). This 2016 addition to ISO New England’s (ISO-NE) Planning Procedure No.

04 Dec 2023

Marine News' Top Vessels of 2023

Empire State (Photo: MARAD)

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

27 Nov 2023

Report: Container Shipping GHG Emissions Drop

Source: VesselBot

Technology company VesselBot has released the December 2023 edition of its report titled "Decoding Maritime Emissions - Highs, Lows, and Green Leaders across global ocean routes."The report’s key findings include:Downward Trend in Emissions: The average emissions per kg/tonne have improved since last year. Between January and July, 2023 emissions have dropped by 12% compared to the same period last year. This is a big reduction compared to 2022 where the emissions were up 17% compared to the same period (Jan-Jul) in 2021.When comparing the emissions by trade lane…

19 Nov 2023

ASRY Organizes Third Raft Race Competition

Source: ASRY

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) held its third annual Raft Race Competition on the ASRY Beach on Saturday, November 18, 2023.More than a hundred contestants from the company’s employees and subcontractors participated. In addition, SULB Bahrain took part in this year’s competition as a new member, with the participation of two teams.This sporting event, which aims to enhance social bonds, witnessed a wide audience, attended by water sports fans who showed their utmost support and encouragement for their favorite team.

11 Oct 2023

DNV: “The Pace of the Transition is Far from Fast Enough”

Source: DNV

DNV has released the 7th edition of its Energy Transition Outlook highlighting that global energy-related emissions are still climbing and are only likely to peak in 2024. “The pace of the transition is far from fast enough for a net-zero energy system by 2050,” states the report.Over the last five years (2017–2022) renewables met 51% of new energy demand and fossil sources 49%. In absolute terms, fossil-fuel use is still growing.“Our prediction is that emissions from oil use will peak in 2025 and those from natural gas in 2027,” says Remi Eriksen, Group president and CEO.

04 Oct 2023

Markey Machine Acquires JonRie InterTech

(File image: JonRie InterTech)

Seattle based deck machinery company Markey Machine announced it has acquired New Jersey headquartered competitor JonRie InterTech.The two companies design, manufacture and provide support for custom-designed winches and other deck equipment systems for the maritime and offshore sectors. According to Markey Machine, the acquisition will allow it to expand its product offerings, strengthen its technical capabilities and enhance its market presence."We are excited to welcome JonRie InterTech to the Markey Machine family," said Blaine Dempke, CEO of Markey Machine.

27 Sep 2023

Inmarsat Report Identifies Deficiencies in Safety Culture

Source: Inmarsat

The 2023 edition of The Future of Maritime Safety Report from Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, reveals that the number of distress calls from ships at sea remains high, despite a continuing decline in vessel losses. The new report, which analyses Global Maritime Distress and Safety System information captured by Inmarsat, registered 853 distress calls from January to December 2022 – up from 794 in 2021.With the number of losses of vessels over 100 gross tonnage (GT) falling by 65% in the last decade…

20 Sep 2023

Captain McManus Preps to Take the Helm of Empire State VII

Photo courtesy Captain Morgan McManus

Captain Morgan McManus will serve as the Ship’s Master on the Empire State VII, the first in a series of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), which at press time was getting its post-sea trial finishing touches at Philly Shipyard. The project to design, build and deliver the NSMV series is one of the most exciting shipbuilding programs in the U.S. – a government shipbuilding project leveraging commercial shipbuilding efficiencies. For insights, we visited with Captain McManus to discuss the ship, it’s technology suite and its role in helping to educate a new generation of U.S.

18 Sep 2023

Using AI To Advance Engineering Analysis: Not More Data, More Physics

Copyright Kras99/AdobeStock

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…

06 Sep 2023

Shipping Will Need a Third of World’s Carbon Neutral Fuel by 2030

Source: DNV

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.

30 Aug 2023

ChatGPT & Maritime Training: Steps to Harness the Power

Copyright Urupong/AdobeStock

By now we have all heard about ChatGPT, an example of a “Large Language Model” technology which is remarkable in its ability to generate human-like responses to questions we ask of it. But is ChatGPT primarily a novelty, or can it provide real value in terms of its ability to create content? In my personal experience with ChatGPT, the answer is far closer to the latter than the former - but with some caveats. In this edition of Training Tips for Ships, we'll explore the steps required to harness the power of ChatGPT to generate engaging and effective maritime training materials.

30 Aug 2023

"You're gonna need a bigger crane..."

Jan De Nul's Voltaire jack-up sporting Huisman's largest delivered LEC to date.
Credit: Jan De Nul (File image)

Offshore wind turbines are reaching new heights both literally (meters), and figuratively (megawatts). As the demand for larger turbines surges, so do the challenges faced by offshore installation contractors, which need to come up with bigger vessels, and, consequentially, bigger cranes for those vessels.When I took on the assignment to produce a piece focusing on heavy-lifting cranes and deck machinery for OE, I immediately thought of Huisman as a company best suited for coverage in this space…