Sustainable Technology News

As maritime faces transcendent changes in terms of decarbonization and automation, Juha Kytölä, Director of R&D and Engineering, Wärtsilä, discusses how this Finnish maritime technology powerhouse is investing in the technologies and facilities that will drive the maritime industry for the coming generation, including insights on its unique arrangement for a future fuel engine testbed onboard Wasaline’s MS Aurora Botnia.To start off, can you give a scope of the Wärtsilä R&D investment?We invest heavily in research and development, about 4.1% of our annual turnover.

“If we are to state our strategy in one word, it’s decarbonization,” said Juha Kytölä, director of R&D and engineering at Finnish tech company Wärtsilä. “What we are going toward is to supply the market with a portfolio of products that are ready for zero-carbon fuels.”In order to achieve its sustainability goals—including a 2030 target for carbon neutrality in its own operations—Wärtsilä has been taking big strides in research and development, having ramped up its investment on this front in recent years, Kytölä said.

KBR has been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design (FFED) contract by Fidelis New Energy for Project Fyrkat, a liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) receiving terminal at the Port of Aalborg, Denmark. KBR will provide engineering to support the LCO2 handling and storage facility, as Fidelis New Energy aims to help global decarbonization.Project Fyrkat is one of the first onshore CO2 sequestration facilities, and is part of a larger initiative, Project Norne, which expects to store more than 20 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. This equates to around half of Denmark's yearly emissions.

Vard Accommodation said Wednesday it had changed its name to Vard Interiors. The company also said it had secured a new contract with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding."Vard Accommodation is changing its name to Vard Interiors to show more clearly the full range of products within the company, covering the full interior of the ship—decoration, furniture, piping, and HVAC-R," the company said."With the new name Vard Interiors, we strengthen our position as a deliverer of the complete interior of the ship…

Dutch offshore installation contractor Van Oord on Saturday held a christening ceremony in Rotterdam for its new cable laying vessel Calypso."The Calypso is equipped with the latest sustainable technologies and will be a key strategic addition to Van Oord’s offshore wind fleet," Van Oord said.The vessel was christened by Ms. Inca Cerutti. She is the wife of Niek Hoek, chairman of the Supervisory Board. After the ceremony, the  christening lady and employees and guests had the opportunity to board the vessel for a guided tour.The Calypso Van Oord’s second cable-laying vessel.

BYD-Naval Architects has secured a contract to develop the design for a new electric 27-meter passenger catamaran for Ottawa Boat Cruises as part of their initiative to continue delivering zero emissions tourism to Canada.Robert Taillefer, president of Ottawa Boat Cruises, said, “Ottawa Boat Cruises is a leader in sustainable technology innovation. They built the first certified 100% electrical boat in the world in 2016. Their second electrical boat was built in 2022 and they are now building two new electrical vessels.

New York City is set to receive its first public hybrid-electric ferry, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday.The first-of-its-kind vessel—currently under construction at Conrad Shipyard’s facility in Morgan City, La.— will begin transporting passengers to Governors Island in summer of 2024. It will replace the diesel-powered Lt. Samuel S. Coursen, the Trust for Governors Island’s current vehicle and passenger ferry, which was commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1956 and has been…

YSA Design, an architect and design studio for cruise ship interiors, announced it has formed a division to improve sustainability across its internal operations and cruise projects.The Norway-based firm said it has appointed Fabiana Vale Dornelas and Trond Sigurdsen as Head of Sustainability & Implementation and Head of Sustainability & Technology, respectively, to lead the division. “The creation of a sustainability department reflects our commitment to achieving the highest environmental standards in our design work as well as in our internal processes…

Supporting hydrogen propulsion and foiling technologies development to reduce emissionsLogistics provider Marinetrans is now partner of the foiling hydrogen boat project of Delft Technical University. Together with other maritime companies Marinetrans now supports this diverse team of students to compete with a foiling hydrogen-power boat in the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, a project to exhibit viable sustainable propulsion solutions.At Marinetrans, several emission-reduction schemes are currently unfolding…

Ecochlor and SINOTECH have announced a new agreement to advance long-term sales, marketing and technical assistance and to foster mutual maritime relationships worldwide.The recent signing of a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), has formalized the alliance between Ecochlor, Inc. (USA) and SINOTECH, CCS Co., LTD (China) in sales, marketing, after-sales support and technical assistance in engineering for the SINOTECH carbon capture and storage (CCS) unit.

Engineering and construction services giant  KBR has won a contract with Nigeria's UTM Offshore to support the development of Nigeria's first Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility.Acting as Owner's Engineers, KBR will be responsible for a multi-disciplined due diligence review of the Pre-Front End Engineering Design, being completed by Japanese engineering company JGC.UTM Offshore is leading the development of the 1.2 million tonnes per year FLNG facility in collaboration with LNG Investment Management Services…

Thordon Bearings has received an order to supply a water-lubricated propeller shaft bearing solution to Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard for installation to MSC Seashore, the third Seaside Class cruiseship to which Thordon’s COMPAC system has been specified.As part of a scope of environmentally-sustainable technology to feature aboard the 339m long, twin screw vessel – the first of two enriched Seaside Evo Class ships scheduled to enter services in 2021 – Thordon will supply two 628mm (24.7in) diameter COMPAC propeller shaft bearings…

German manufacturer GEA has developed a new, transcritical CO2 technology especially for use on seagoing vessels.GEA signed a contract last year with P&O Cruises, part of Carnival Corporation & PLC, the world's largest commercial cruise ship operator, for its new transcritical CO2 refrigeration technology.The environmentally friendly refrigeration technology has already been installed on board the Arcadia, a 2,000-passenger ship from P&O Cruises, where it provides energy-efficient refrigeration for all the ship's food and beverage refrigeration systems.Further orders for its transcritical CO2 refrigeration technology have now been received by GEA for two new cruise ships to be built in China and for a Dutch fishing trawler…

MMC Green Technology AS will be renamed Norwegian Greentech AS.In connection with the sale of MMC First Process, it was agreed that MMC Green Technology would change its name. The new name is Norwegian Greentech AS, and Havyard Group ASA is the company's majority owner with 77.78% of the shares. The remaining shares are still owned by key employees who have been with the company since its formation.Ballast water treatment system – a requirementShips built after September 8, 2017 are bound by the requirements of the IMO convention concerning treatment of ballast water, while existing ships must have a ballast water treatment system installed by September 8, 2024. Also, all ships are already required to have an approved ballast water management plan in place.

Swedish power company Vattenfall and compatriot electric ferry propulsion systems and marine consultancy platform Echandia Marine cooperate on electric ferry with superfast charging.Vattenfall and Echandia Marine have developed a new solution for electric ferries that is designed to minimise emissions and noise and at the same time lower operational and maintenance costs and provide superfast charging.The systems are installed on E/S Movitz that operates in central Stockholm and can be fully charged within 10 minutes with up to 500 kW charging power.The companies have together developed a new concept that can contribute to a more sustainable…

The technology group Wärtsilä and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the development of local production resources, thus ensuring further development and support of Wärtsilä’s exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) in the region. The agreement was signed in June 2019.By combining the experience, expertise and competence of the two companies, both of whom hold strong positions in the marine market, this partnership will create a ‘one-stop-shopping’ service for exhaust gas cleaning systems…

Six new ships are joining the CLINSH (CLean INland SHipping) sustainable pilot project. With 41 ships from three European countries participating in the pilot project, the fleet is complete. CLINSH aims to improve sustainability in the inland shipping industry. The ships were selected as part of a European tender process.Measuring equipment is being installed on every ship that is participating in the CLINSH practical trials, after which ship emissions will be monitored and measured on a continuous basis.

GE’s Marine Solutions has once again been selected by MSC Cruises and Fincantieri to provide the marine electric propulsion technology for two new Seaside EVO ships, further driving the evolution of the Seaside Class next-generation mega cruise ships.This follows the delivery of the first and second ship – MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview – in the Seaside Class by the Fincantieri shipyard of Monfalcone.With a gross tonnage of 169,400 GT and a total guest capacity of 5,632, Seaside EVO ships will be the largest cruise ships ever built by the Fincantieri shipyard. The two ships will adopt a range of innovative design features and maritime technologies…

Starting in April, Waterfront Shipping Company Ltd. (WFS), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), Westfal-Larsen Management (WL), and Marinvest/Skagerack Invest (Marinvest) will welcome innovative, clean-burning, fuel-efficient vessels to the sea. These seven 50,000 dead weight tonne vessels are built with the first-of-its kind MAN B&W ME-LGI 2-stroke dual fuel engines that can run on methanol, fuel oil, marine diesel oil, or gas oil. This ship technology will significantly reduce emissions while giving ship owners a viable, efficient and convenient fuel alternative.

The acquisition of Imtech Marine by Pon Holdings and Parcom Capital has been finalized. The European Commission has approved the takeover of the leading maritime service provider. Imtech Marine will continue to operate independently and will, in the coming period, further focus on its growth ambitions. René ten Brinke, CEO of Imtech Marine: ‘’Now that the acquisition is completed, a new era arises for Imtech Marine. The coming years, our aim will be to further strengthen our leading position in the maritime sector, with dedicated focus on our customers, employees and suppliers. Imtech Marine is a  company in the global maritime market, operating as a full-service provider and system integrator of tailor-made, innovative and sustainable technology solutions covering the whole ship.

Pon Holdings BV will take over part of the bankrupt Royal Imtech, a leading company in the global maritime market. Dutch engineering services company Imtech Marine will continue to operate independently after the acquisition. Parcom Capital is also partnering in this acquisition. The acquisition price is not disclosed. The ailing Imtech was formally declared bankrupt on Thursday. The takeover creates peace of mind and security amongst employees, customers and suppliers. Imtech is  operating as a full-service provider and system integrator of tailor-made, innovative and sustainable technology solutions covering the whole ship. The company employs nearly 2500 staff at almost 100 offices in 30 countries, close to shipbuilding centers and along the shipping routes.

As of 1 June 2015 the port of Antwerp will grant a discount to seagoing ships that use alternative technology to reduce emissions of particulates. The new discount comes on top of the existing ESI discount, which means that in some cases ships can benefit from a 30% reduction in the port dues that have to be paid whenever they call at Antwerp. With this additional environmental discount Antwerp Port Authority seeks to encourage investments in green technologies for more sustainable shipping, by supporting and rewarding these technology pioneers. The discount is being introduced for a period of three years and will be gradually reduced. Despite all efforts so far, shipping still makes a significant contribution towards local pollution, mainly in the form of SOx, NOx and particulates.

Imtech Marine operates as a full-service provider and system integrator of tailor-made, innovative and sustainable technology solutions covering the whole ship. Imtech Marine specializes in automation (platform and engine room), navigation, communication and connectivity solutions, propulsion systems, power generation and distribution, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), ship motion control, information technology, entertainment, water management and port services.