Responsible Shipping News

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…

ProMarine AG has launched an industry-first sustainable shipping fund with an initial portfolio of four methanol-fuelled MR tankers led by Proman and Stena Bulk.Low Emission Methanol Shipping Company S.C.A. SICAV–RAIF (LEMSCO) is the result of a collaboration between Proman and Stena Bulk. The fund is backed by equity investors and benefits from a green loan from ABN AMRO. LEMSCO's seed assets consist of four methanol fuelled vessels acquired from Proman and Stena Bulk: Stena Pro Patria…

Nokian Tyres has made a commitment to the not-for-profit Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) covering, 2023–2026, to cooperate on BSAG's Ship Waste Action initiative.The goal of the initiative is to establish an operating model in which wastewater from cargo ships is discharged on shore in the harbor and the utilization of nutrients is enabled by circular economy solutions."The discharge of wastewater from cargo ships into the sea is still legal, and many shippers may not even know that wastewater from their transports is likely to end up in the Baltic Sea.

Iran denies Israel's accusation that Tehran targeted an Israeli tanker on Feb. 10, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.The captain of the Liberian-flagged Campo Square said on Saturday it had been lightly damaged by an airborne object on Feb. 10 while sailing through the Arabian Sea.

ABB signs Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hydrogène de France to jointly manufacture megawatt-scale fuel cell systems capable of powering oceangoing vessels.The MOU between ABB and hydrogen technologies specialist Hydrogène de France (HDF) envisages close collaboration on the assembly and production of the fuel cell power plant for marine applications.Building on an existing collaboration announced on June 27, 2018 with Ballard Power Systems, a global provider of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell solutions…

A group of world leading shipping companies including NYK, Sovcomflot, Knutsen OAS and Ardmore, ship builders, including DSME and the mining company Vale, have therefore teamed up with Denmark based Maritime Development Center to develop such an on-board carbon capture and storage solution in a project named decarbonICE.DecarbonICE is based on two new main ideas for the capture and storage part, respectively. The CO2 and other GHG's in the ship exhaust are captured on board in a cryogenic process and turned into dry ice.Proven offshore technology is then applied during normal ship operations to transport the dry ice into the seafloor sediments.

UK-based engineering company Anemoi Marine Technologies, the Flettner Rotor innovator, has appointed Kim Diederichsen as CEO with the aim to take the company’s wind assisted propulsion systems to the global market.Anemoi was the recent recipient of the Lloyd’s List “Ship of the Year” Award for the world’s first successful installation of a Flettner Rotor system on a geared dry bulk carrier – the MV Afros.Now with a fully tested and proven solution, the company is widening its reach to offer its patented energy saving technology to a global audience of tanker, bulker, roro and other vessel owners.Diederichsen joins Anemoi with a wealth…

Babcock International is celebrating the completion of its ‘first of its kind’ and the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supply vessel, M.V. Kairos, as it is delivered to Babcock Schulte Energy (BSE).BSE is a 50:50 joint venture between Babcock and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM)."This achievement follows the success in meeting a series of critical programme milestones after initial ship award in December 2016 and highlights the strength of the relationship between the two organisations," said a press release from the UK-based company.A major point in any shipbuilding project, the first cut of steel was completed in November 2017 at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supply vessel began its voyage from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in South Korea to the ship’s primary area of operation in Northwest Europe, on Wednesday.The 7,500 m³ capacity Kairos is the world’s largest LNG bunker supply vessel. It will be ready for operations before the end of 2018.Mahinde Abeynaike, CEO of Nauticor, which holds 90 percent of the joint venture that charters the vessel, said, “The arrival of the Kairos in the Baltic Sea will set a milestone for LNG as a ship fuel.

Shell delivered its first ship-to-ship bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from specialized LNG bunker vessel Cardissa in the Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday, marking a number of key milestones as the maritime sector increasingly turns toward cleaner burning LNG fuel.The bunkering of the Sovcomflot's Aframax tanker Gagarin Prospect with LNG is the first operation under a fuel supply agreement between Shell and Sovcomflot signed in 2017, which helped pioneer the expansion of LNG fuel into the tanker industry and…

Canada's Arctic is a vast and diverse region that is an integral part of this country. Marine transportation in the Arctic connects Canada to other countries and provides an essential lifeline for northern communities. To uphold the Government of Canada's high standards for marine shipping in the north, Transport Canada has introduced new Arctic Shipping Safety and Pollution Prevention Regulations. The regulations incorporate the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (the Polar Code) into Canada's domestic legislation. The Polar Code addresses the unique hazards encountered by certain vessels that operate in the Arctic and Antarctic.

ABS has joined the Green Award certification network. As an incentive provider, ABS offers Green Award Certificate holders discounts on software and training courses to encourage high safety and environmental standards in shipping. “ABS is proud to join forces with the Green Award to improve shipping safety and environmental performance,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS President, Chairman and CEO. In his welcome address, Captain Dimitrios Mattheou, Chairman of the Green Award Foundation…

AET has unveiled its two new long-range (LR2) petroleum tankers from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) at HHI’s Gunsan Shipyard, Korea, on Thursday, 8 June 2017. The Singapore flagged 114,000dwt Eagle Lyon and French-flagged Eagle Le Havre, are owned by AET, and have been taken on long-term charter by French oil major TOTAL. The sister vessels were ceremonialised at a naming ceremony in Gunsan, which was graced by Yee Yang Chien, AET Chairman and President/Group CEO of MISC Berhad, and Capt. Rajalingam Subramanian, President & CEO of AET, along with senior representatives from TOTAL’s Trading and Shipping Division. The vessel was blessed by Godmother to the vessel, Mrs Helle Kristoffersen, Senior Vice-President, Strategy and Corporate Affairs Gas Renewables and Power Division, TOTAL.

The transportation system is something Canadians rely on every day, from getting us to work, or bringing us the products we use in our homes. The Government of Canada is working to ensure that goods are transported in a safe and responsible way while protecting our marine environment and clean water. "The Government of Canada is committed to demonstrating a clean environment and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand. Tabling this legislation is another step towards fulfilling our promise to formalize the tanker moratorium on British Columbia's north coast. This, and other actions we are taking to improve marine safety through the Oceans Protection Plan, will protect the coasts and waterways that Canadians depend on for generations to come, " said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.

Leading marine coatings manufacturer, Hempel, announces - after only two and a half years on the market -  its award winning innovative fouling defence product Hempaguard has now been applied as a full vessel coating to 500 ships. This milestone was reached yesterday with the coating of a 61,614 dwt, 2011-built, container vessel. Environmental obligations are at the top of the agenda for all responsible shipping companies and Hempaguard was introduced to the shipping industry against a backdrop of rising bunkering costs, tightening environmental regulations and the introduction of mandatory Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP).

Today, the European Commission (EC) publishes technical guidance for ship recycling facilities that want to be approved under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. The European Union (EU) mirrors with this step the call by environmental and human rights NGOs for a relocation of ship recycling to platforms that can ensure sustainable practices. Facilities that intend to be listed as EU-approved will need to ensure safe working conditions, pollution control including proper downstream waste management and enforcement of international labor rights.

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s largest container ship ever built, the MSC Oscar, makes her maiden call at Port of Wilhelmshaven today. Since its inauguration in January at Daewoo’s Shipbuilding and Maritime Engineering (DSME) Shipyard in South Korea, record-breaking MSC Oscar represents the first in its class and will be followed by additional vessels in the same class during 2015-2016. In true MSC family tradition the vessel was named after Oscar, the son of Diego Aponte, MSC’s President and CEO. The 45,300 ton steel MSC Oscar, which cost US$140 mio to build, is 395 metres long, 59 metres wide with a draught of 16 metres. The…

Construction of the first of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships for Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group reached another milestone, with the installation of three LNG fuel tanks. The double-walled, stainless steel tanks – which are 110 feet in length and 20.6 feet in diameter – weigh 225 metric tons and will hold more than enough LNG fuel for two round-trip voyages between the vessel’s future ports of call, Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Shipboard testing to be conducted on the vessel APL England as NEI takes the next step towards full USCG Type Approval for its Venturi Oxygen Stripping (VOS) Ballast Water Treatment System. NEI Treatment Systems announced that the container vessel APL England will be used for the shipboard testing phase of their VOS Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS), to begin in the early summer of 2015. The APL England is a 67.9K DWT container vessel, trading between China and multiple ports on the U.S. West Coast. The vessel utilizes a VOS system operating at 1,250 m3/hr., and was installed seven years ago. The retrofit project was completed as an in-service “riding” installation.

Shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. has officially started the construction of Taíno, the second of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships for the Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group. VT Halter Marine and Crowley entered into a contract for the pair of ships in November 2013 and construction began on the second ship with the first steel plate cutting in Pascagoula, Miss., this morning. A similar ceremony took place for the first ConRo, El Coquí, when its construction began in October 2014.

VT Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), has commenced construction on the first of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination Container Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) vessels for Crowley following the signing of the contract, which took place in November 2013. “We have waited with great anticipation for the Commitment Class build program to start,” said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico/Caribbean liner services.

The keel for the second Commitment Class liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ship for Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group was laid yesterday during a ceremony at shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc.’s facility in Pascagoula, Miss. The keel laying ceremony marked the next step in the construction of Crowley’s two Commitment Class ships, which will exclusively serve the U.S.-Puerto Rico trade lane. “The keel laying marks the ceremonial beginning of the construction and formation of the backbone of a ship…

The keel for the first of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships for Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group was laid during a ceremony at ship-builder VT Halter Marine, Inc.’s facility in Pascagoula, Miss. The keel laying ceremony marked the next step in the construction of Crowley’s first Commitment Class ship, which will exclusively serve the U.S.-Puerto Rico trade lane, replacing the company’s towed triple-deck barge fleet in the South Atlantic trade which served the trade since the early 1970s.