Term Solution News

Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot has transferred dozens of ships into a new Dubai based management company aiming to boost trade through this entity amid growing pressure from financial restrictions, according to maritime industry data and shipping industry sources.State-owned Sovcomflot (SCF) is subject to sanctions and other restrictions by the UK and the European Union, while Washington has restricted its financial activities. Sovcomflot - whose fleet in the region of 80 vessels including crude, oil products and liquefied natural gas tankers - has had to deal with these capital restrictions over the past year. It has also had to rebase its overseas operations from Cyprus to Dubai.Since July…

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean is conducting a comprehensive cooperation project to train and recruit Vietnamese workers.Hanwha Ocean signed an MOU with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT) in Hanoi, Vietnam on July 22. The aim is to meet the recruitment needs of Hanwha Ocean in the future by supporting programs for strengthening the capabilities of vocational training institutions under the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade. Through this, Hanwha Ocean expects to be able to establish a stable recruitment plan for skilled foreign technical personnel.

Volvo Cars has announced that it is switching delivery of its production material to container ships using renewable biofuel.The company will use renewable fuel for inbound ocean container transport of production material destined for manufacturing plants based in Europe and the Americas, as well as all spare parts distribution made globally by ocean container transport.Volvo Cars says that it is the first global car maker to announce such a switch which will achieve an immediate reduction in fossil CO2 emissions from intercontinental ocean freight by 55,000 tonnes a year.

An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch…

Kongsberg Maritime has launched the Direct Trunk Support (DTS) system for rudders. According to the company, the new system transfers the manoeuvring forces from the rudder through the headbox and the steering gear deck directly into the hull structure, promising improved manoeuvring, propulsion performance and weight savings that can ultimately save fuel and help cut emissions.The DTS rudder has no upper size limit and works for vessels of any size, from container ships to fishing vessels…

The most important of all international maritime safety conventions is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The first version was adopted at a conference in London in 1914. The catalyst for this conference was the sinking of the Titanic on her first voyage in April 1912, which cost the lives of more than 1,500 passengers. This was the beginning of the journey that put in place a regulatory framework to protect those who work and travel by sea.Whilst the sinking of the Titanic was not fire-related…

For 21 years, Fort Prinzenstein's caretaker James Ocloo Akorli has watched the Gulf of Guinea's tempestuous waters eat away at both his livelihood and his heritage.The 18th century Danish citadel, set along Ghana's palm-fringed coastline, was once the last stop for captured Africans before they were forced onto slave ships bound for the Americas.Today, three-quarters of the UNESCO World Heritage site has been swallowed by the sea."There have been mornings after a storm when I have come to find large parts of the fort have just disappeared…

The technology group Wärtsilä and Danish ship operator A.P. Moller - Maersk have provided a means for preventing corrosion in scrubber discharge pipes. The permanent in-pipe solution is designed to solve corrosion problems associated with open-loop scrubber washwater discharge.The majority of the estimated 5,000 scrubber systems installed across the global fleet are of open-loop configuration. With this system, seawater is used to scrub SOx from the exhaust gas, with the used water then being discharged back to the sea after cleaning.Under IMO Guidelines…

RWE, Germany's largest power producer, said Europe needed more investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on land to secure shipped fuel supplies from global gas producers in the long term.But RWE Chief Executive Andree Stracke told the Gastech conference in Milan that he did not think Europe would abandon Russian gas forever because of the cost to industries and households.Europe is facing its worst gas supply crisis ever, with energy prices soaring and German importers…

Indonesia's coal supply situation remains critical, the state utility said, following the country's ban on exports of the fuel that drove up prices in top customer China on Tuesday.Indonesia, the world's top exporter of the coal used in power plants and China's largest overseas supplier, on Saturday announced the ban on exports during January to avoid outages at domestic generators. Indonesian authorities are set to reexamine the export ban on Wednesday.Late on Monday, Indonesia's state-owned electric utility Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN) warned that "this critical period is not yet over"…

The maritime industry is establishing its own approved international network of quarantine facilities to ensure safe crew changes as the Omicron variant spurs governments to close their borders to seafarers needing to leave and join ships.The Crew Enhanced Quarantine International Program (#CrewEQUIP) is a partnership between the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC); the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)…

After being very much on the margins of the offshore wind industry, floating offshore wind now appears to be ready to hit the mainstream. With gigawatt scale developments already on the horizon, what will the infrastructure needed to build and support them look like? Over the past 12 months, the floating offshore wind sector appears to have had a major dose of adrenaline. While the largest development, to date, is the relatively small-scale 50MW Kincardine project off northeast Scotland (which will be outdone by the 88MW Tampen project in Norway later next year [2022])…

When the first cruise ship since the start of the pandemic sailed through the Venice lagoon last month, hundreds of people rallied on land and small boats in protest.A few weeks later, the government seemed to listen, announcing that to defend Venice's ecosystem and heritage, cruise liners would be banned from the lagoon from Aug. 1.The move ended years of political hesitation, apparently putting the demands of residents and culture bodies above those of port workers and the tourist industry."For us it's a big victory…

The investment outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has improved this year but project go-aheads will not match the bonanza of 2019, as the fight against climate change clouds the prospects for gas demand growth longer term.Renewed optimism as the industry emerges from the pandemic, rapidly rebounding oil and gas prices and a better economic outlook is building confidence in short and long term LNG demand in Asia and spurring companies to look at new LNG projects, most of which were shelved last year when prices slumped.However, they need to take into account the ever tighter carbon emissio

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced on Tuesday that it has placed orders for an additional six ultra large containerships amid continued strong demand in the box shipping market.The 23,500+ TEU newbuilds are in addition to six of the same size and type ordered from Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at the end of 2020. The fist six vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2023, followed by the next six in 2024.Hapag-Lloyd and its peers…

Climate change and reliable, clean, low emission fuels are the important factors for ship operators since January 1, 2020. Twelve months into the IMO2020 transition and the climate change debate is increasing as the primary discussion point on the world agenda – from industry events to the board rooms of the global corporations. Relative to this is the reliable supply of fuel since changing marine fuel represents a large investment that requires major changes to a typical ship that has a lifetime of approximately 30 years.

Dutch marine contractor and offshore installation services company Van Oord will install a combustion conditioning system with hydrogen and methanol on its subsea rock installation vessel Bravenes, in a push to cut emissions from its fleet.The system, called FUELSAVE FS MARINE+,  is a patented solution used to reduce both fuel consumption and harmful emissions of marine diesel-powered engines. "This solution enables Van Oord to achieve substantial carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx)…

A global network of crew change hubs would help alleviate the humanitarian crisis seafarers face at present, according to the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ).They could offer a short-term solution to the barriers presented by global travel restrictions, ensuring vital crew changes could take place and facilitating trade and logistics to the benefit of the world economy, the Flag State advised.Rear Admiral (ret’d) Peter Brady, MAJ Director General, explained, “In the Caribbean for example…

The U.K. government announced Thursday it will host an international summit next month to address crew change challenges caused by the COVID-19 health crisis.Led by U.K. Maritime Minister Kelly Tolhurst, the virtual event will bring together UN, political and business leaders from across the globe to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the global shipping industry, and what governments and industry must do to protect the welfare of crew workers around the world. Secretary…

The Panama Canal has emerged from its fifth driest year in 70 equipped to ensure a competitive draft, and thus steady operations, after draft concerns led to the implementation of water-saving measures.Having an operational level of water and transit reliability in the second half of 2020 will be critical for the waterway as it advances its search for long-term water solutions and prepares for coronavirus-driven shifts in trade, as the Panama Canal Administrator outlined earlier this month.The waterway has carefully monitored its operational water usage since the end of 2018…

Mexican liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Enestas is planning to build the first first dual LNG and liquid ethane port terminal in Mexico.The new facility is located on the Gulf Coast and unloads directly from vessels up to 22,000 m3 in size. The facility features an automated storage and unloading system. Subsequently, Enestas transports the cryogenic product to the customer's facility."Based on this success, the company is planning to build more LNG terminals along the Mexican coastlines to further promote and facilitate the use of LNG as a marine fuel and for domestic distribution," said the company.Enestas believes LNG is the most cost effective and ecological long-term solution for complying with the IMO 2020 sulfur cap.

The largest and most versatile fleet of semi-submersible accommodation vessels in operation worldwide Prosafe SE has missed its final payment to China’s Cosco shipyard for the Safe Notos flotel.Offshore accommodation specialist  informed last November that it had re-evaluated its outlook and revised its forecasts resulting in a $341 million write down of assets and consequently a marginalized book equity amid a prolonged downturn and weaker outlook in the North Sea.Prosafe further informed that although the company had sufficient liquidity until early 2021, it would in light of the market outlook commence discussions with its lenders with a view to ensure sufficient financial flexibility for the longer term.The discussions with its lenders are ongoing and constructive.

The renewable energy major Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has finalized the acquisition of Senvion's European onshore service assets and intellectual property (IP).The German-Spanish manufacturer said in a press release that it has a “robust integration plan” for the assets, which will add 9GW of machines in 13 countries to its service book, bringing the total to 69GW.The addition of the Senvion assets marks an important step in the company’s growth strategy, part of the company’s L3AD2020 strategic program, and strengthens its competitive position in its multibrand portfolio.Siemens Gamesa will now service an even broader range of wind turbine technologies.