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Transportation Research News

08 Dec 2023

ORNL, Caterpillar Collaborate on Methanol as Fuel for Marine Engines

Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy.

A collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Caterpillar Inc. will investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for marine vessels.Members of the research team kicked off the project with the installation of a 6-cylinder engine at the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL.The ORNL and Caterpillar collaboration focuses on a four-stroke internal combustion marine engine that will be modified to run on methanol.Although methanol has many advantages, it is more difficult to ignite than diesel.

31 Jul 2023

Greening the U.S. Federal Fleet

(Credit: U.S. Navy)

The international shipping industry as a whole is responsible for 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and if nothing changes, those will increase by 250% by 2050, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Sobering numbers like these have made reducing emissions across the sector a focus for governments, shipbuilders, environmentalists, vessel owners and technology suppliers alike.The United States federal ship fleet, excluding combat ships, consists of various types of vessels utilized for civilian purposes. This fleet of vessels makes the U.S.

11 Nov 2022

Maritime Risk Symposium: Full Program Released

Image courtesy MRS 2022

The 2022 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), scheduled to be held Nov. 15-17, 2022, hosted by Argonne National Laboratory at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois, recently unveiled the full conference program, packed with experts with insights on the challenges facing the inland waterway systems.Click here to read the fulll program for MRS 2022MRS is an annual international event focused on risks involving the global maritime transportation system (MTS). For the MRS, the U.S. Coast Guard partners with the sponsor…

15 Sep 2022

Maritime Risk Symposium 2022: The Importance of Inland Systems to the MTS

Russia's invasion of Ukraine emphasizes the importance of efficient maritime traffic to national security and the world economy. Pictured is an aerial cityscape of Kiev and river Dnipro at sunset, with a tugboat and barge heading down river Dnieper. Copyright Kirill Gorlov/AdobeStock

The 2022 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) is scheduled to be held Nov. 15-17, 2022, hosted by Argonne National Laboratory at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois. MRS is an annual international event focused on risks involving the global maritime transportation system (MTS). For the MRS, the U.S. Coast Guard partners with the sponsor, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and the hosting agency. MRS began in 2011 and has grown in size, scope and interest. The MRS event will be followed by the U.S.

13 Jun 2022

Maritime Risk Symposium 2022: The Importance of Inland Systems to the MTS

Copyright Jon/AdobeStock

The theme of Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) 2022 is â€śThe Importance of Inland Systems to the MTS.” The global MTS consists of numerous inland networks that connect the major transnational and inland ports. The United States has more than 25,000 miles of navigable waters, which can carry around 630 million tons of cargo annually. Barges carry the bulk of the commodities on the inland river networks while freighters carry the commodities on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway. About 60 percent of the U.S. farm exports travel through inland waterways.

20 May 2022

Eagle Bulk's Scrubbers Investment Pays Off

(Photo: Eagle Bulk)

U.S. shipowner Eagle Bulk's 2018 decision to outfit the majority of its dry bulk fleet with scrubbers has proven to be an environmentally sound and profitable decision, with an expected payback on investment by the end of 2022.The company's CEO Gary Vogel and Chief Strategy Officer Costa Tsoutsoplides said in a recent trade press interview that Eagle Bulk answered the MARPOL 2020 0.5% emissions ceiling with a $100 million investment to equip 47 ships—89% of its fleet of supramaxes and ultramaxes—with CR Ocean Engineering (CROE) scrubbers.Having already recorded $60 million of fuel savings…

04 Mar 2021

Marine Transportation System Innovative Conference Set for March 15-17, 2021

The 6th Biennial Marine Transportation System Innovative Science and Technology Conference, hosted by the CMTS and the Transportation Research Board, will be held virtually from March 15-17, 2021. The theme of the upcoming conference is “Advancing the Marine Transportation System through Automation and Autonomous Technologies: Trends, Applications and Challenges," and it will showcase current and emerging innovative science and technologies related to maritime transportation. This conference will be held virtually.Join your colleagues from government, industry, and academia to examine the rapidly evolving applications of autonomous and automated technologies.

14 Jul 2020

Chinese Study Examining Methanol as a Marine Fuel

© ibreakstock / Adobe Stock

The Methanol Institute (MI) has joined a study led by the China Waterborne Transportation Research Institute (CWTRI), the think tank of the Chinese Ministry of Transport, which will consider the technical and operational requirements for the use of methanol as a marine fuel. The study is supported by methanol producers and distributors Methanex  and Shanghai Huayi Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.Based on the characteristics of China’s energy and shipping industries, the study will create comprehensive guidance and policy suggestions for the use of methanol as a marine fuel…

18 May 2020

The Unsung Benefits of the Inland Waterways

© Paul D. Lemke / Adobe Stock

With developments in the current health crisis almost entirely consuming nearly all news reporting, one could be forgiven for thinking that the members of Congress are thinking about and working on little else, and that even if they were, the divisive partisanship of recent years would doom the prospects of much else getting done. Happily, that is not the case for the nation’s inland waterways. Both houses of Congress are diligently working on maintaining the momentum of passing a Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) every two years…

11 Oct 2019

SHORTSEA SHIPPING: All the Right Moves (Finally)

The Baton Rouge-NOLA container on barge service / (CREDIT: Port of New Orleans)

Marine Highways Gain Traction in the Intermodal Supply Chain.In the United States, landside infrastructure is at a crisis point. Congestion at the big hub ports, exacerbated by imperfect intermodal interfaces with surface transport serving cargo hinterlands is at the heart of the matter. As politicians bicker over a possible infrastructure package, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, has continued its downward journey towards further deficits (now $144 billion). And, where countless U.S.

16 Oct 2018

2018 Maritime Risk Symposium – Energy and Maritime Risk

Energy.It seems that energy touches every aspect of our lives from heating our homes to ensuring that fresh produce is available at grocery stores. It powers our cars and allows industry to move products around the world. The connection between energy and risk to the maritime environment has been a growing area of discussion, research and analysis. The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, within its Joint Doctrine Publication (JDOP 0-10) 5th edition UK Maritime Power, captured this issue superbly: “Fossil fuels and minerals are an important resource in the maritime environment. New deposits of oil and gas, as well as mineral wealth, are discovered under the seabed each year, and improvements in technology will facilitate future exploitation.

17 May 2018

An Unlikely and Remarkable Safety Journey

(Credit: Gregory Thorp)

Late last year, the Transportation Research Board released a major study that was undertaken “in response to the rapid development of domestic sources of energy and questions about the safest ways to move these products.” The Study Committee examined the operational responses of the three primary modes impacted by the fracking revolution – rail, pipeline and maritime. A primary observation of this work was that that the “Marine Transportation System Offers a Model for Robust Safety…

01 Nov 2017

What’s the Cost of Unscheduled Lock Outages?

(Photo: USACE)

Unscheduled lock closures burden the shipper supply chain by more than $1 billion annually, according to estimates from two Tennessee universities. A study, “The Impacts of Unscheduled Lock Outages”, released today by the National Waterways Foundation (NWF) and the Maritime Administration (MARAD), looks at the economic impacts of unscheduled lock outages and highlights economic benefits associated with reliable inland waterways navigation. The Center for Transportation Research…

23 Jun 2017

MOL-MES Joint Development Next-generation Vessel Monitoring System

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced an agreement with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES) to jointly develop next-generation vessel monitoring and support systems for practical applications and commercialization. Based on the real time data, for example from navigation and machinery, acquired by data collecting units (products of MES), the joint development will encompass the next-generation vessel monitoring and support system, utilizing MOL's own operation experience and technologies as well as the experience of MES as a shipbuilder with the latest technologies, ICT, and system integrators. Short cycle data and big data will also be analyzed from various aspects.

28 May 2017

MOL Introduces Autonomous Ocean Transport System

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that its joint project with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. on developing a technological concept for autonomous ocean transport system, was selected by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT) for its FY2017 Transportation Research and Technology Promotion Program (Note) on May 16, 2017. The research consortium of the project is comprised of MOL, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, the National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), Japan Ship Technology Research Association, and Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen) Inc.

10 Feb 2016

No Need to Change Tug Workers’ Hours -Study

File photo

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed a study conducted for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine which concludes that “[t]here is currently no scientific data to support […] a change in hours of service” for towing vessel crewmembers. Instead of regulatory changes to hours of service, which “are not likely to be the most effective way to increase sleep durations and improve sleep quality…

12 Jan 2016

Port Execs to Discuss Shifting Trade Patterns

Photo: Port of Tampa Bay

Shifting international trade patterns at America’s seaports – with mega-size vessels requiring higher capacity road and rail connections serving ports, along with deeper harbors, bigger cranes and sturdier berths – can bolster a region’s economy while straining its infrastructure. Because there’s no stopping these trade shifts, ports – and the communities they serve – must learn to adapt in order to bolster job growth, prevent traffic snarls and remain competitive. To address these issues…

25 Aug 2015

AWO Working Hard for the Domestic Workboat Market

Higman Barges by Capt. Darren Istre

The year 2015 has been a busy year for The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, and for the industry AWO is privileged to represent. It’s a dynamic time for a vital industry that constitutes the largest segment of the U.S. domestic fleet, as companies throughout the industry are investing heavily to meet evolving customer needs; the industry stands on the verge of historic regulatory change; and AWO pursues an active public policy agenda to support members’ needs for predictable and practicable government policy.

17 Jun 2015

Arkansas Maritime Center gets Federal Grant

The Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center, based at the University of Arkansas, has received a federal grant of $923,700, reports AP. The center, known as MarTREC, is a consortium of researchers focused on maritime and multimodal transportation research. It has received $3.7 million since 2013. The latest grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will support research and programs through September 2018. The Fayetteville-based center is part of a consortium of researchers from Arkansas, Jackson State University, Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans. They focus on the development of sustainable infrastructure and emergency management systems for coastal and river valley communities.

08 Apr 2015

Jenkins Elected Chairman of CG Foundation Board

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that William E. Jenkins has assumed the role of chairman of the board after being elected at a meeting of the directors and trustees on March 13. Joining the Foundation's board in 2009, Jenkins served as treasurer and vice-chairman prior to being elected board chair. Jenkins is a director on the Board of American Bureau of Shipping, Inc., a trustee of Webb Institute, and was president and CEO of ExxonMobil affiliates providing worldwide shipping and marine transportation when he retired from ExxonMobil in 2012.

13 Mar 2015

Aleutian Islands Gets Shipping Protection Zone

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved protective buffer zones (“Areas to be Avoided”) around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, approximately 10 years after a shipping disaster occurred off its coasts. In December 2004, the M/V Selendang Ayu foundered off the Aleutians amidst severe weather and was blown to shore, eventually breaking into two pieces and causing more than 300,000 gallons of toxic heavy fuel oil to spill into pristine marine waters and resulted in the deaths of six crew members. Shipping in and around the Aleutian Islands is significant. In 2012, nearly 2,000 individual vessels made more than 4,600 transits through Unimak Pass at the eastern end of the island chain.

23 Jan 2015

FMC Commissioners Meet with China Transport Officials

Wang Jianmin, Vice President of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange and Commissioner Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr.

Federal Maritime Commissioners Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr. and William P. Doyle met with transportation officials from China on January 14, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Members of the delegation included Professor Yu Shicheng, Chairman of the Shanghai Maritime University Council and Director of the Shanghai International Shipping Institute (SISI); Wang Jianmin, Vice President of the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE); Chen Jihong, Associate Professor at the Shanghai Maritime University (SMU); Luo Kai, a researcher at the China Academy of Transportation Sciences (CATS). Accompanying the visitors was Dr.

12 Jan 2015

Ferry Safety in the Developing World

Ferry Design Winner in the 2013 Contest

A convergence of forces makes for market opportunities for new safe ferry systems in the developing world. Need, policy, and funding are poised to provide a moment of opportunity. The expanding global economy has resulted in economic and population growth in developing world cities, resulting in horrendous road congestion. In response, governments and businesses have begun planning for intra-urban ferries wherever possible. Ferries in the developing world have a deserved reputation for being unsafe.