Innovative Technologies News

Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard has cut first steel for the first vessel in Samskip's new series of zero-emission, autonomous ready shortsea containerships.The first of two contracted vessels, Samskip SeaShuttle, will also be among the world's first zero-emissions short sea container vessels fueled by green hydrogen.The 135-meter-long containerships were ordered by marine robotics specialist Ocean Infinity for scheduled delivery in 2025 and will be operated under long-term charter by Rotterdam-based shipping company Samskip on its west European routes.

As the IMO prepares for negotiations on regulations to support net-zero by 2050 at MEPC 81 in March, the World Shipping Council (WSC) has proposed a greenhouse gas pricing mechanism it calls the Green Balance Mechanism.The aim is to provide a new approach to greenhouse gas pricing which makes it possible to close the price gap between fossil fuels and green fuels, at the lowest possible overall cost:• Through the Green Balance Mechanism, fees are taken from fossil fuels and allocated to green fuels used…

Offshore installation services company Jan De Nul has ordered methanol marine engines from ABC Engines for its new cable-laying vessel Fleeming Jenkin with ‘unrivalled cable-carrying capacity’.The order includes four 7,200 kW engines and one 1,800 kW engine that can run on (bio)diesel, HVO and methanol.Using green methanol, the engines are also climate neutral and due to the unique combination with the ULEv technology they also meet the strict Stage V standard for particulate matter and Euro 6 standard for nitrogen.According to Jan De Nul…

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…

Bernhard Schulte ordered its first CO2 tanker, a newbuild to be constructed at Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore (DSOC) and to showcase technologies designed to reduce its carbon footprint. Planned for delivery in 2026, the ship is committed to a long-term time charter agreement with Northern Lights.The newbuilding ordered now is the first ship of this type for the Bernhard Schulte fleet and the fourth CO2 carrier for Northern Lights. The joint venture, owned by Shell, TotalEnergies and Equinor…

San Francisco-based hydrogen technology company Zero Emission Industries (ZEI) announced it has raised $8.75 million through the completion of a Series A financing round led by Chevron New Energies, with participation from commodity trading company Trafigura and shipping and logistics company Crowley.ZEI, formerly known as Golden Gate Zero Emission, is best known as the technology team behind the Sea Change ferry, the world’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell vessel launched…

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. based SEACOR Holdings Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its inland river transportation and logistics business to Ingram Barge Company LLC, a division of Nashville-based Ingram Marine Group.Part of the SEACOR family of businesses for over two decades, Inland River Transport Holdings LLC (SCF) includes more than 1,000 covered dry cargo hopper barges, eight 6,000-plus horsepower towboats and a network of terminal and fleeting infrastructure along the Mississippi River.“I am extremely pleased to enter this transaction with Ingram…

ClassNK is taking a leading role in the implementation of safe and efficient maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) through a program of research, rule-development, technology trials and certification.While the regulatory framework covering MASS remains a work in progress, it is clear that autonomous ship technologies are already having a transformative effect on shipping.By autonomously executing certain functions that would typically be performed by crew – especially tasks…

Japanese classification society ClassNK has granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to a Berthing Aid System developed by Furuno.Furuno's Berthing Aid System displays the distance and angle between the ship and the quay to assist in berthing operations.The Berthing Aid System uses LiDAR to calculate the relative distance and angle between the quay and hull, and displays superimposed images for situational awareness. The system aims to improve safety during berthing by measuring and visualizing the positional relation between the quay and ship…

Caterpillar Marine announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Singapore-headquartered shipbuilder Strategic Marine to support emissions-reduction goals for future vessel designs.“Our collaboration with Strategic Marine brings together immense expertise that allows Caterpillar Marine to innovate and support the ongoing energy transition. This is an exciting challenge to tackle, but most importantly it fosters our industry's goal to reach lower-carbon operations,” said Brad Johnson, vice president and general manager, Caterpillar Marine.

Offshore wind developer Ørsted is deploying Rutter’s wave prediction technology on board selected crew transfer vessels (CTV) worldwide within its contracted fleet to improve the safe transfer of personnel to offshore wind turbines.Roots of the initiative stretch back to 2018, when the two companies launched a project to investigate wave prediction applications for improving safety during transfers from CTVs to offshore wind turbines, resulting in the development of wave prediction…

KR (Korean Register) has granted an approval in principle (AIP) for a liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) cargo tank design, developed by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), during this weeks Gastech conference in Singapore.This AIP is the result of a joint project involving the three companies: HMD designed the cargo tank, HD KSOE conducted an engineering critical assessment (ECA), and KR ensured the design’s suitability by reviewing classification rules and international regulations.The demand for LCO2 carriers is projected to rise…

Dave Lee recently joined Louisiana-based maritime leasing and financing company Maritime Partners as its new vice president of technology and innovation. A well-known figure in the U.S. maritime sector, Lee has previously held leadership positions at ABB, American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and Jeffboat. His next task: help guide one of the nation’s leading maritime companies through the next chapter of technological advancement.“Right now, every marine company around the globe…

Spearheaded by the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), Bay Ferry 2050 is a visionary initiative aimed at transforming the San Francisco Bay Ferry service into an eco-friendly and forward-thinking transportation system. With a focus on fleet electrification, community engagement and the exploration of alternative propulsion technologies, the project sets the stage for a more community-minded, sustainable, operationally strong, fiscally sound and environmentally conscious…

Swedish shipping company Terntank announced it has signed an agreement with Neste for time chartering two new lower-emission product tankers.The ships, which are designed with foldable suction sails and dual-fuel engine enabling the use of e-methanol as fuel, are tailored to transport a wide variety of liquid cargoes including renewable raw materials, such as waste and residue oils and fats, to Neste’s refineries. At the refineries, products such as renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will be loaded for transport.“Together with our partners…

We’ve had the means for a while, now we have the incentive to crush the data siloes that are holding back voyage optimization.Like kids in the sandpit, owners and charterers are being forced to share, perhaps more than they really want to. The IMO and the EU, for starters, are setting data-driven decarbonization rules, and those in the sandpit are having to respond.Ship managers and data analysis specialists are developing technical solutions to boost transparency with the aim of facilitating shared responsibility on CO2 emissions, but it’s no easy task.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) held aTechnology Road Show in Europe as an official debut of its new design ship.SHI held its "Samsung Technical Seminar in Athens" at the Marriott Hotel in Athens, Greece, and announcing details on a pair of new designs: an LNG carrier and a container ship.SHI reports the event attracted 70 people from 35 companies, including shipowners such as Minerva, GasLog, Shell and Total."The technology road show is SHI's active marketing method for new design and innovative technologies and is the most effective way to increase contact with customers…

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has tested technology to precisely analyze the radiated noise of ships underwater using sonar.The technique measures the intensity, direction, and distance, and SHI has used it to precisely analyze the cause of noise emitted from a 174,000cbm LNG carrier.SHI is using the technology to forecast noise depending on speed and draft and aims to expand it beyond propellers to include underwater radiated noise from engines and machinery.The IMO is considering regulations on underwater noise, as it can adversely affect animals such as whales.

Shipping and logistics company Samskip said it is “venturing into zero-carbon, emissions-free shipping” through the operation of two hydrogen powered, autonomous-ready vessels from Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Ltd.The containerships were ordered by marine robotics specialist Ocean Infinity for scheduled delivery in 2025 and will be operated under long-term charter by Samskip on its west European routes. Once commissioned for service between Oslo and Rotterdam, the 500 TEU…

The commercial maritime industry is hard at work developing, testing and implementing new and innovative technologies to limit its environmental impacts. While much of the effort has focused on physical solutions such as improved hull design, cleaner burning engines and alternative fuels—all of which are important components of the industry’s decarbonization journey—software firm Signol has its sights set on helping vessel owners and operators reap the rewards of behavioral efficiencies.The…

In the global quest for achieving net zero emissions and slowing down global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology has emerged as an important solution. Among the notable projects being developed in the field is the Northern Lights offshore carbon capture and storage project in Norway, a country with long experience with offshore CO2 storage.The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative solutions that go beyond simply halting fossil fuel projects.

Finnlines’ second new Superstar passenger-freight vessel, Finncanopus, was launched on Friday at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai. The new Superstar class ro-pax vessels, along with sister vessel Finnsirius launched in August 2022—both part of Finnlines’ €500-million investment program—will enter service in 2023, serving the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route between Finland, Åland Islands and Sweden.Both vessels have capacity for 1,100 passengers, which is the double compared with the current vessels on the route. Each vessel has 323 passenger cabins and 64 crew cabins.

ClassNK granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to an object recognition system on machine vision and sensor fusion called Groke Pro developed by Groke Technologies Oy.In order to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, ClassNK has offered Innovation Endorsement as a swift certification service in cooperation with technological front runners to establish appropriate evaluation criteria. Among the certification categories, "Products &…