Mitigation News

Babcock has been awarded the contract to manage the Type 23 class frigate Refit Support Group, allowing the company to take end-to-end responsibility for vessel upkeep and regeneration in preparation for handover to the ship’s crew.This innovative change follows more than five years of close working between the Royal Navy-led Refit Support Group and Babcock.It frees up UK Royal Navy personnel for front line operations and creates new and exciting roles for 40 Babcock engineering technicians and managers at its Devonport facility…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its latest report in the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff series, describing how the U.S. offshore wind sector is adapting to challenges and poised for continued progress, with a path to deploying over 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2050.The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Offshore Wind report finds that the sector today is poised for liftoff, enabled by continued efforts to adapt to recent market challenges. The projects that move forward in the next several years will lay the foundation for consistent long-term deployment…

An obstructed check valve on a bilge pump led to the flooding and partial sinking of a towing vessel last year while moored at a shipyard near New Orleans, the National Transportation Safety Board reports.Marquette Transportation's vessel Joanne Marie was found partially submerged a day and a half after being moored and deactivated at the Bollinger Quick Repair Shipyard on the Harvey Canal. The vessel was unattended at the time. No injuries were reported and damage to the vessel was over $176…

“Wind Turbines: The Bigger, the Better” -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.

The Maritime International Advisory Panel (IAP) held its third annual meeting on April 16, 2024, during the Singapore Maritime Week 2024. This year, the Maritime IAP held in-depth discussions on the key developments in the maritime sector, including decarbonization, green financing, digitalization and cybersecurity.Established in 2022 by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Maritime IAP aims to seek international perspectives on key long-term trends and developments that will shape the maritime industry.

For 15 years the Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), an annual three-day event, has brought together government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, international and domestic researchers and solution providers to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. World events highlight that maritime security is increasingly at risk during the current period of great-power competition and ongoing conflicts. The active competition between nations who are not…

A large number of ports across the United States are making headway toward ambitious decarbonization targets, but many are running up against significant challenges that threaten their progress, according to a new report from classification society ABS and trade group the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).Financial constraints, low technology readiness and physical space limitations are among key obstacles identified the ABS and AAPA report, "Port Decarbonization Survey: Trends and Lessons Learned"…

A study commissioned by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), in collaboration with Lloyd’s Register and ARUP, has identified low port readiness as a major hurdle bottlenecking the adoption of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) systems as a practicable decarbonization solution.Whilst the technologies required for offloading onboard captured CO2 exist at high levels of maturity, safe operationalisation of captured CO2 transfer by trained personnel has not been demonstrated.The report…

Galveston-based dredging contractor Callan Marine has been awarded a $136 million contract from Port Houston to dredge segment 1C of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion, under the port's Project 11 program.Callan will use its recently christened 32-inch cutter suction dredge, the General Arnold, among the newest, largest and most environmentally friendly cutter suction dredge in the U.S. fleet for the undertaking. The dredge features four EPA Tier 4 engines developing a combined 24…

The Singapore government has recounted the achievements of Maritime Singapore to date to highlight the nation’s successes as a maritime hub in 2023:Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA exceeded S$4.8 billion, up from S$4.3 billion in 2022. Twenty-five maritime companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore last year. These included maritime services companies and companies setting up sustainability desks in Singapore as part of their…

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed new guidance on several key environmental issues.Meeting from February 19 to 23, 2024, the following guidance will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval this March (MEPC 81) and October (MEPC 82):• the safe transport of plastic pellets by sea• best practices for cutting black carbon emissions from ships operating in or near the Arctic• reducing risks of use and carriage…

The IMO Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-Committee PPR 11 was held February 19-23, and agreement was reached on guidance for the prevention of pollution in the Arctic marine environment.The guidance will now be presented to the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).Lloyd’s Register reports the following was agreed at PPR 11:• Draft guidance on best practice for goal-based control measures to reduce the impact on the Arctic of black carbon emissions from international shipping (expected to be approved at MEPC 82…

Glasgow boatbuilder Ultimate Boats has delivered a recyclable patrol boat to fellow Scottish organisation Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority.The bespoke vessel is 11 meters in length with a 3.1 meter beam. It features six permanent shock mitigation seats and two fold-down shock mitigation crew seats. Powered by two 350 HP Suzuki outboard engines, it has a 2,050kg payload, 1,000 litre fuel capacity and range of 400 miles.The vessel is built from Ultimate Boat’s patented Danu recyclable boat building material including its hull…

African Heads of State have agreed a landmark moratorium on the donkey skin trade. The agreement was reached on February 18 during the 37th African Union Summit in Ethiopia.Over the last decade, Africa has seen its donkey population decimated due to Chinese demand for ejiao, a gelatine used in traditional Chinese medicine that is made from boiling down donkey skins. Believed to have unsubstantiated health benefits, demand for ejiao has obliterated China’s own donkey population…

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…

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) in December issued a final rule updating its financial requirements for the Federal Ship Financing Program, commonly referred to as Title XI. While the move applies to the U.S. maritime industry as a whole, it is seen as especially helpful for players looking to serve the U.S. offshore wind sector.Designed to promote the growth and modernization of the U.S. merchant marine and U.S. shipyards, Title XI provides for a full faith and credit guarantee by the U.S. government. The program essentially aims to encourage U.S.

European renewable ethanol producers have launched a legal challenge to the EU’s FuelEU Maritime Regulation on the grounds that it fails to properly recognise the proven benefits of sustainable crop-based biofuels and has therefore violated several key EU legislative procedures.Companies representing nearly all of the EU’s production of renewable ethanol are seeking to annul a section of the legislation that considers crop-based biofuels to have the same emission factors as the least favourable fossil fuel pathway.

Alternative fuels, green steel and renewable energy are fundamental to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction during the life cycle of a vessel, an industry-first cradle-to-grave study on a newbuild LNG carrier has revealed.Carried out by Lloyd’s Register, Knutsen, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the analysis has highlighted the environmental output at each stage of a vessel’s life.Namely, the six-month study, which began in June 2023…

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries have released a final joint strategy to protect and promote the recovery of endangered North Atlantic right whales while responsibly developing offshore wind energy.The strategy builds on existing mitigation measures to protect North Atlantic right whales from the potential impacts of offshore wind development and was developed to support the Biden-Harris administration's goal of deploying 30GW of offshore wind by 2030.North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction.

Fincantieri signed a "green" construction loan for a maximum amount of $461m with Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), the proceeds of which will be used to cover the financial needs linked to the construction of the Mein Schiff Relax, the first of two newly designed dual-fuel inTUItion class cruise ships (Liquid Natural Gas - LNG and Marine Gas Oil - MGO) that Fincantieri is building for TUI Cruises, a joint venture between the TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has recently announced an amendment to the Federal Ship Financing Program, commonly referred to as Title XI. The amendments have aligned the program’s financial requirements and tests with common current federal credit and maritime lending best practices. In particular, the amendments aim to move away from inflexible static metrics and Title XI’s limited amortization requirements. The amendments respond to concerns that previous terms acted as a barrier to some companies seeking to apply for Title XI support.

Alfa Laval and WinGD established a partnership in which Alfa Laval will deliver two fuel supply systems (FSS) for testing WinGD’s ammonia-fuelled engine in early 2024, a step in the development of ammonia as a future fuel for marine vessels.Alfa Laval will deliver the FSS for the injector test system and FSS for the engine test bench in early 2024. The project is in the framework of WinGD’s and Alfa Laval's earlier agreement for cooperation on methanol and ammonia, signed in 2022.

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, introduced Canada’s draft framework to cap pollution from the oil and gas sector on December 7. The aim is to reduce emissions and remain competitive in a shifting global market. “No sector of the economy should be allowed to emit unlimited pollution, not when we are all driving toward the same goal of net zero by 2050 to ward off the worst impacts of the climate crisis,” said the ministers in a statement.