Outlook for Black Sea Grain Deal is 'Not So Great', Kremlin Says
The Kremlin on Wednesday said the outlook for the landmark U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal was not great as promises to remove obstacles to Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled.The grain deal is an attempt to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has been made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.The agreement was first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in July last year and has twice been extended.On paper…
Hybrid Well Boat Joins Bakkafrost's Faroe Islands Fleet
One of the global aquaculture industry's largest well boats has recently joined Bakkafrost's Faroe Islands fleet.The 109-meter Bakkafossur was built at the Sefine Shipyard in Turkey, and it was completed and delivered to Bakkafrost in December 2022.The highly technological vessel can carry up to 1,000 tonnes of live salmon and is regarded as a huge upgrade to secure sustainable operations in the future. In addition to the five diesel-electric engines, the vessel is equipped with large batteries, ensuring an approximately 20% increase in energy efficiency.
Payment Issues Leave Dozens of Bulk Carriers Stranded Off Iran
Dozens of merchant ships with grains and sugar are stuck outside Iranian ports after weeks of delays as payments snags disrupt flows of goods into the country, according to trade sources and shipping data. Food is exempt from the West's sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, but the impact of the sanctions on Iran's financial system has created complex and erratic payment arrangements with international companies. The latest payment issues have led to ships being unable to discharge cargoes, with at least 40 bulk carrier ships stuck outside the major Iranian ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas, ship tracking data on Refinitiv showed. Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Holland America Line Trials Biofuels on Board Volendam
Carnival Corporation's Holland America Line brand announced it has completed a 20-day trial of cleaner-burning biofuel on board its cruise ship Volendam, reporting a decrease in lifecycle emissions compared to marine gas oil.Wrapping up at Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the long-term test was conducted in partnership with GoodFuels, a producer and supplier of sustainable biofuels for the transportation industry, and Wärtsilä, manufacturer of power and propulsion technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine market.The assessment was completed September 7.
World’s Biggest Port is Returning to Normal, but Supply Chains Will Get Worse Before They Get Better
Shanghai is slowly emerging from a grueling COVID lockdown that has all but immobilized the city since March. Although Shanghai’s port, which handles one-fifth of China’s shipping volumes, has been operating throughout, it has been running at severely reduced capacity. Many shipments have either been canceled, postponed, or rerouted to other Chinese mega-ports such as Ningbo-Zhousan.With the city due to fully reopen on June 1, the port is going to be in overdrive as manufacturers try to fulfil backlogs, with serious knock-on effects around the world.
NOAA helps ID prime Aquaculture Sites in GOM, off California
NOAA released two Atlases compiling the best available science to inform the identification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in the Gulf of Mexico and Southern California. NOAA previously identified these regions for their potential to host sustainable commercial aquaculture development in the United States. Areas in the Atlases will have characteristics expected to support multiple types of aquaculture industries including finfish, shellfish, seaweed, or some combination."The aquaculture Atlases apply the latest ocean data and information to advance sustainable business development…
Samskip to Run Part of Its Fleet on Biofuel
Multimodal logistics company Samskip said it has reached a formal agreement with sustainable cargo initiative GoodShipping to run part of its vessel fleet on cleaner burning biofuels.According to Samskip, the initial usage of biofuels will enable a CO2 emissions reduction of up to 45%, with plans to scale up to a CO2 reduction of up to 80% for any given voyage later in 2021.The Samskip Endeavour, an 800TEU capacity containership which normally runs on traditional fuels, is the first of Samskip's vessels to have started using sustainable biofuels in its recent sailings.Two years ago…
U.S. Sets 30 GW Offshore Wind Target
The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a goal to expand the nation’s fledgling offshore wind energy industry in the coming decade by opening new areas to development, accelerating permits, and boosting public financing for projects.The plan is part of President Joe Biden’s broader effort to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, an agenda that Republicans argue could bring economic ruin but which Democrats say can create jobs while protecting the…
Coronavirus Slows Global Commercial Fishing
Global commercial fishing activity for 2020 fell by around 1 million hours as of end-April, a 6.5% decline over the two previous years, the result of plummeting demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns, according to Global Fishing Watch.Fishing fleets spent 14.4 million hours on the water for the year so far to April 28, a decline from an average of 15.4 million hours for the same year-to-date periods of 2018 and 2019, according to the nonprofit organization that tracks fishing operation worldwide.Global Fishing Watch collects and analyses data from onboard identification systems known as AIS…
Stena Bulk to Run MR Tanker on 100% Biofuel
Swedish based tanker shipping company Stena Bulk will become the latest to run a ship on biofuel as owners and operators explore alternative fuels to help slash emissions.During the coming weeks, Stena Bulk will perform a test running MR tanker Stena Immortal on 100% MR1-100 bio-fuel oil, produced from used cooking oil and supplied by GoodFuels in Rotterdam.The clean fuel made from used cooking oil has been bunkered onto the Stena Immortal and will be used to power the main engine in normal operations to test and prove the technical and operational feasibility…
Nor-Shipping: Opening Oceans in Denmark
Global maritime event week Nor-Shipping is making its first move outside Norway, with a new initiative to help maritime and ocean industry players realize the almost limitless business potential of the ocean space. Nor-Shipping’s Opening Oceans Conference, taking place in Copenhagen from May 2-3, 2018, will bring businesses together to illustrate and discuss key opportunities, equip delegates with the tools to tackle them, and facilitate fresh collaborations. Timed to coincide with Danish Maritime Days…
UTLC Launches Service from China to Europe
Russia's JSC United Transport and Logistics Company (UTLC) jointly with KTZ-Express launched a new transport product for the delivery of non-hazardous chemical goods in tank containers from China to Europe as part of the regular container service U West (Dostyk-Brest). The first train, consisting of 82 twenty-foot tank containers, loaded with butylene glycol produced by XINJIANG MARKOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, departed from Korla Station (China). The cargo transited through the territories of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus and further through Poland through the territories of the EU countries to the terminal at the station Duisburg (Germany). UTLC provided a service on a track of 1520 mm at the section Dostyk - Brest.
Biofuels Can Cut Some Transport Emissions
Growing use of electric vehicles around the world is helping lower climate changing emissions, but some means of transport will be hard to electrify, particularly air travel and shipping, energy experts say. To “decarbonise” those, the world will need to rapidly develop and bring to market biofuels – while trying to ensure they don’t crowd out food production, say the authors of a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). With “the right selection of the right raw material” about 12 percent of transport fuel could come from renewable sources by 2030, said Francisco Boshell, a technology analyst at IRENA and one of the report’s authors.
Georgia Hooks Trident Seafoods
Trident Seafoods has opened a $40 million production and distribution center in Carrollton, Ga., providing 175 full-time jobs and the capacity to produce 50,000 tons of finished products annually for the U.S. market. "We are excited to add Trident to our family of customers, especially within the valuable refrigerated cargo market," said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz. Savannah's Garden City Terminal offers 84 refrigerated container racks and 814 chassis plug-ins, powering 2,830 refrigerated boxes at a time.
World Refugee Crisis to Worsen with Climate Change
A historic 52 million people are fleeing conflict worldwide, a trend that will intensify over the next two decades because of climate change, International Rescue Committee chief David Miliband said on Friday. "One of the drivers of displacement and potential conflict over the next 10 to 20 years will be climate (change) - resource scarcity," said Miliband, a former United Kingdom foreign minister. Miliband said there were 16 million refugees and 36 million people displaced in their own countries, typically by civil war. That is the largest number of people fleeing persecution since World War Two, he said during a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York. "Do I think the current level is a blip or a trend?" Miliband said.
UN: Asia-Pacific Better Prepared 10 Years after Tsunami
Ten years after the Indian Ocean tsunami hit South and Southeast Asia, countries in the region are better prepared to deal with tragedies, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, while stressing that there is still room for improvement. “A decade later, while events marking the remembrance of the tsunami recall the human tragedy, FAO examines the lessons learned in mitigating damage to agricultural livelihoods, food security and nutrition wrought by such natural and climatic events…
Benghazi Port Still Closed, Imports Rerouted
The commercial port in Libya's second city, Benghazi, remains closed due to fighting between pro-government and Islamist forces, forcing wheat imports to make a detour via Tobruk harbour, a port official said. Benghazi has been a battlefield since May, when former army general Khalifa Haftar declared war on Islamist fighters who had been roaming unchallenged. Its commercial port was still closed for wheat and other imports, a port official said. "Some wheat imports, though in small quantities, come via Tobruk," he said. Tobruk lies some 600 km (375 miles) to the east of Benghazi near the border with Egypt. It has much better security and its home to the country's elected parliament, which fled Tripoli after a rival group seized the capital in August.
Jet Edge Celebrates 30 Years in Waterjet Industry
Waterjet systems manufacturer Jet Edge, Inc. celebrated its 30th anniversary Sept. 3 with a special open house celebration. Jet Edge’s anniversary event included a special ribbon cutting ceremony courtesy of the I-94 West Chamber of Commerce, a barbecue lunch, factory tours, and live 5-axis waterjet cutting demonstrations. Jet Edge President Jude Lague and TC/American Monorail President Paul Lague were honored by St. Michael Mayor Jerry Zachman. They also received recognition letters from U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
GPA Sets Tonnage Record
The Georgia Ports Authority moved more than 29 million tons of cargo, 3 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) and more than 700,000 auto and machinery units in Fiscal Year 2014. “The board and staff of the Georgia Ports Authority are to be commended for their outstanding achievements this year,” said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “Our ports’ success is a win for us all, and a direct result of Georgia’s commitment to the GPA and support for critical port infrastructure projects such as the harbor deepening and enhanced access to I-95 and I-16.
Pump Efficiency Restored at Iceland Fish Farm
Located in the Southwest corner of Iceland beside the Atlantic Ocean is one of Stofnfiskur’s salmon broodstockfarms. This farm located in a place called Vogar was originally established in 1986 produces Salmon Ova which are sold to domestic and International hatcheries for fish farming. The facility houses 25,000m3 tanks in 10 massive sheds used for the breeding of salmon and production of salmon ova. Each tank holds tens of thousands of liters of water delivered constantly by an army of centrifugal pumps.
Alfa Laval: Green & Efficient Shipping
When Gustaf de Laval read in 1877 an article in the German periodical ”Milchzeitung” (Milk News Paper) about centrifugal separators, he certainly did not expect that it would lead to his founding of a global acting company with around 16,400 employees nearly 140 years later. His first continuous separator, with a capacity of 130 liters per hour, was demonstrated 1879 in Stockholm; and four years later, in 1883, he and his partner, Oscar Lamm, established the company AB Separator.
Save Oceans, Feed the World
The report explains how implementing science-based fisheries management in the 25 countries that control more than 75% of the world's fish stocks - specifically measures that reduce overfishing, protect habitat and limit bycatch - will increase fish stocks to the point that wild seafood could sustainably feed 700 million people a day. Putting in place these policies in the countries that control most of the world's marine fish catch will also help protect important ocean ecosystems. According to projections by the United Nations, there will be 9 billion people on earth by 2050, a 30 percent increase in the world's population. The UN also estimates that food production will need to increase even further, by 70 percent, to meet a forecasted increased demand for food.
RINA Launches Seven Step Fuel Saving Services
International classification society RINA has launched a co-ordinated range of services to help shipowners save fuel and reduce emissions. There are seven different elements to the services which can be adopted individually or as a complete package. The seven services are: auditing to ISO 14001 Environmental Management certification; auditing for ISO 50001 Energy Management Certification; development of the SEEMP (Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan); EEDI verification; Energy Saving and Energy Conservation Analysis…