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Maritime Safety Agency News

21 Feb 2024

EMSA Taps Spire to Continue SAT-AIS Data Services

© owr / Adobe Stock

Spire Global, Inc., a provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, reports it has been awarded two framework contracts by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) with a maximum overall budget of €8.4 million. Concurrent with the framework award, Spire received two specific awards that total multi-million euros under the framework contracts. Under the contracts, Spire will provide space-based automatic identification system (SAT-AIS) data services for ship tracking over a four-year period, including real-time, standard and high-density backup SAT-AIS.

28 Jul 2023

Ocean Shippers Playing Catch Up to Electric Vehicle Fire Risk

Freemantle Highway car carrier burning off the Dutch coast - Credit: Dutch Coast Guard

Electric vehicles are crisscrossing the globe to reach their eager buyers, but the battery technology involved in the zero- emission automobiles is exposing under-prepared maritime shippers to the risk of hard-to-control fires, industry, insurance, and emergency response officials said.That risk has been put under the spotlight by the burning car carrier [Freemantle Highway] drifting off the Dutch coast. The Dutch coastguard said the fire's cause was unknown, but Dutch broadcaster…

07 Jun 2023

ABS Publishes Requirements for Hydrogen-Fueled Vessels

Source: ABS

ABS has claimed a first with the publication of an expansive set of requirements to guide the industry in the use of hydrogen-fueled vessels.The ABS Requirements for Hydrogen Fueled Vessels offers the industry a risk assessment framework for introducing hydrogen as marine fuel to their fleet.The publication is a continuation of ABS' attention to the alternative fuel, building upon projects such as the ABS-classed, Glosten-designed hydrogen-fueled research vessel for the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

13 Apr 2023

China to Ban Vessels from Area Near Taiwan Over Rocket Debris

©Oleksii/AdobeStock

China will ban vessels from an area near Taiwan on Sunday because of the possibility of falling rocket debris, its maritime safety agency said on Thursday, as Japan sought details from Beijing on a reported no-fly zone in the same location. China has not commented on the no-fly zone, but South Korea, which was also briefed on the plans, said it was due to a falling object related to a launch vehicle. The disruption comes during tension in the region over Chinese military exercises around Taiwan…

09 Dec 2022

ICEYE to Deliver SAR Imagery to EMSA

ICEYE SAR satellite nighttime image showing vessel traffic on Mediterranean Sea, nearby Malta. ICEYE’s imaging is particularly effective for maritime domain awareness applications enabling persistent visibility into large sea areas up to 50,000 km2 with a single image, despite clouds and darkness. (Image: ICEYE)

ICEYE announced the start of a multi-year framework contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to support their efforts in managing various aspects of maritime operations with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data.Among its many missions, EMSA, a European Union agency, provides technical expertise and operational assistance in reducing the risk of maritime accidents and assisting in response and recovery from marine pollution from ships and oil installations. The agency…

11 Nov 2022

ABS Examines Alternative Fuels in Reports for EMSA

© Photo Gallery / Adobe Stock

An ABS-led consortium, including CE Delft and Arcsilea, published two of up to six reports studying alternative fuels and decarbonization technologies for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).ABS offered a 360-degree view of biofuels and ammonia, the first two fuels to be published by the consortium. Each fuel was analyzed using various criteria such as greenhouse gas (GHG) impact, sustainability, fuel availability, fuel scalability and human needs.“These two reports are the result of one year of intense activity with our collaborators…

04 Oct 2022

Refurbished Oil Spill Response Ship Enters Service

Photo courtesy Environmental Protection Engineering (EPE)

A refurbished high-spec oil spill response vessel for the Aegean Sea has entered service under a four-year contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a contract with an option for four additional years.Dubbed AKTEA II, the OSRV will be able to reach anywhere in the Aegean within 24 hours and can collect and carry up to 4,500 tonnes of oil.Based in Piraeus, Greece AKTEA II OSRV (IMO 9327516) has onboard capacity of 4,486 cu. m. for recovered oil and is equipped with…

26 Jul 2022

Australia Bans Tanker Over Crew Mistreatment

Australia's maritime safety agency has banned a Liberian-flagged oil tanker for six months for the underpayment of seafarers and onboard welfare issues.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it inspected the AG Neptune in the Port of Gladstone, in central Queensland, on June 17 ,2022 after receiving a complaint about multiple breaches of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC).During the inspection, AMSA found evidence the employment agreement with 21 seafarers on board the ship had not been met and the crew members were collectively owed approximately AUD $123,000. Inspectors also found evidence the food and drinking water were not of appropriate quality, quantity and nutritional value for seafarers.

13 Apr 2022

Drones Monitoring Ship Emissions in the Baltic Sea

© Anna / Adobe Stock

A fleet of high-tech specialized aerial drones will be deployed to monitor emissions from commercial ships in the Baltic Sea.Scheduled to kick off later this month, the large-scale campaign is being led by Germany's the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, together with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).Over a three-month period, specially equipped remotely piloted aircraft will take off from the German Armed Forces' Staberhuk site on the east coast of Fehmarn and…

07 Mar 2022

Consortium to Assess Containership Fire Safety for EMSA

(Photo: Bureau Veritas)

A consortium led by the Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI) will deliver a Formal Safety Assessment study on containership fires to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The project aims to identify cost-effective risk control options for cargo fires on board container vessels.Considering the constant increase in containership sizes and the frequency of fire originating in containers, the study will quantitatively assess the fire risks on board containerships…

21 Sep 2021

Aerial Drones Monitor Ship Emissions in the Strait of Gibraltar

(Photo: Nordic Unmanned)

Remotely piloted aircraft are assisting Spanish authorities in actively monitoring sulphur emissions from ships transiting one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.Over the summer the European Maritime Safety Agency’s (EMSA) aerial drones have been monitoring the level of sulphur oxides released by ships transiting the Strait of Gibraltar. The operation carried out by the Spanish General Directorate of Merchant Marine  â€“ under the direction of the Spanish Ministry of Transport…

01 Sep 2021

Turkey and Cyprus Monitor Oil Sheen After Syria Leak

Authorities in Turkey and Cyprus are on alert for any potential pollution from a 'sheen' of fuel floating across the Mediterranean from a spill in Syria, officials said.Fuel which seeped into the sea from a thermal station off the coast of Syria on August 23 has been snaking across the Eastern Mediterranean, but any potential impact on Cyprus will depend on currents.The latest satellite images of the region provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency showed the oil sheen east of Cyprus breaking down and dissolving, the Cyprus Fisheries and Marine Research Department said.The eastern Cyprus coastline, largely unspoilt, falls within two opposing jurisdictions; an area controlled by the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government and a Turkish Cypriot breakaway state recognized on

29 Jul 2021

EMSA Taps Drone Firm for Long-range Maritime Surveillance Services

Textron Systems' Aerosonde - Credit: Textron Systems

Oslo-listed drone company Nordic Unmanned has received a conditional letter of award from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for a contract worth up to 20 million euros ($23,75 million).The letter of award is related to fixed-wing RPAS (drone) services carrying out long-range general maritime surveillanceThe official value of the framework contract is EUR 20 million over a period of up to 2+1+1 years. Nordic Unmanned is the contractual partner with EMSA. Nordic Unmanned will utilize Textron Systems' Aerosonde as its drone platform and two complete systems…

17 Jun 2021

Spain Detains Tanker for Dumping Oil off Canary Islands

Spain has detained a tanker ship for illegally dumping fuel in waters off the Canary Islands and creating a 55-square km (21 square miles) oil spill, the Transport Ministry said.Spanish maritime authorities ordered the Liberia-flagged Aldan to dock in the southern port of Almeria last Sunday after the European Union's Maritime Safety Agency detected the spill through satellite imagery.Refinitiv shipping data showed the Aldan, which had been heading eastwards through the Mediterranean to Greece, diverted to Almeria on Sunday. As of Thursday evening it was still there.The ship's manager must pay a 600,000 euro ($713,640) fine to release the vessel…

20 Oct 2020

As the Arctic's Attractions Mount, Greenland is a Security Black Hole

File photo: Chinese research vessel Xue Long (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

On a windy August afternoon in 2017, Akitsinnguaq Ina Olsen was relaxing in the old harbor of Nuuk, Greenland's capital, when a Chinese icebreaker sailed unannounced into the Arctic island's territorial waters."I saw it by chance," Olsen, 50, told Reuters. "My first thought was: 'They're already here!' They're pretty cheeky, those Chinese."She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the 167-meter long Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon), before it turned around and disappeared.The…

07 Oct 2020

Drones Deployed for Maritime Surveillance off France

(Photo: EMSA)

Aiming to test the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in enhancing the maritime awareness picture in the French Mediterranean Sea, Secrétariat Général de la Mer requested the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) set up a multipurpose maritime surveillance operation, having the Navy (Marine Nationale) and customs (Douanes) as the operation's strategic and tactical leaders.Operational missions started on September 23 for an initial period of three months. The RPAS…

10 Aug 2020

MSC Will Resume Cruises on August 16

MSC Grandiosa (Photo: MSC Cruises)

Switzerland-based MSC Cruises announced Monday that it will resume "full-experience" cruise operations on select ships in the Mediterranean starting from mid-August.The cruise lines flagship MSC Grandiosa will sail in the West Mediterranean from August 16 and MSC Magnifica in the West Mediterranean from August 29. The ships will be the first to implement a new health and safety protocol that has been approved by the relevant national authorities along the ships’ itineraries.Pierfrancesco Vago…

24 Jul 2020

Aerial Drone Sniffs Out Ship Emissions in Denmark

(Photo: Danish Maritime Authority)

A new aerial drone is being tested to monitor vessel emissions in the Great Belt, a busy shipping lane between the islands of Zealand and Funen in Denmark.Having previously been used for various surveillance tasks, the drone is being provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency to operate over the next four months in a specific area north of the Great Belt, which connects the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait and Atlantic Ocean.The drone will fly into ships' exhaust gas plumes and use its so-called “sniffer technology” to register the sulphur content in the fuel.

29 Jun 2020

Containership Navos Unite Drops Boxes off Australia

At lest three shipping containers were lost overboard from the containership Navios Unite last week off the coast of Australia, the country's maritime safety agency said.The ship reported losing the containers overboard in rough weather about 33 kilometers southwest of Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia at 8 p.m. AWST, Thursday.The Liberian-flagged vessel, which had been traveling from Fremantle to Adelaide in South Australia at the time of the incident, is currently at berth in Port Adelaide, AIS ship tracking data shows.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) tasked its Challenger jet from Perth to search an area of about 1…

06 Oct 2019

Workshop on Implementing MARPOL

What are the barriers to implementing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations to cut emissions from ships and how can these be overcome?These were key questions explored during an IMO regional workshop on effective ratification and implementation of MARPOL Annex VI and the  initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, held in Viña del Mar, Chile (30 September-2 October).Participants identified existing barriers preventing ratification of MARPOL Annex VI, such as concerns about associated costs for the refinery industry and ship owners, and identified ways to overcome these barriers, building on the…

26 Sep 2019

Authorities Gather to Discuss Enforcement of Sulphur Limits

Photo: Danish Maritime Authority

This week, the Danish Maritime Authority is hosting the 6th annual meeting for international sulphur experts who will combine forces to cooperate on further developing effective enforcement.The purpose of the meeting is to exchange knowledge and best practice for surveillance and enforcement. Many of the experts have experience from enforcing local sulphur regulations, particularly the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA). The discussions will further develop these learnings…

11 Aug 2019

ASMA Opens Coffs Harbour Office

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack, officially opened AMSA’s new office in Coffs Harbour on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia.According to a government press notification, the new office will bring much needed access to AMSA’s services in the northern New South Wales region. Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the Coffs Harbour office will serve as a suitable location for the commercial vessel industry in the region."It makes perfect sense for our national maritime safety agency to expand its footprint into regional areas such as Coffs Harbour…

26 Jul 2019

Interferry Charts a Course for Growth

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan explains why the global trade association is poised to take its work to the next level.

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan explains why the global trade association is poised to take its work to the next level.While I respect the mantra of cautious optimism, I can’t help feeling genuinely excited that 2019 could prove to be a milestone year in the continuing growth of Interferry’s influence as the global voice of the ferry industry. We’ve come a long way since our US origins in 1976 as what was essentially a networking movement, but developments in recent months already suggest we are on course for yet more enhancement of our present-day worldwide networking and lobbying relationships.

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