Maritime Value Chain News

INTERCARGO brought shipowners, charterers, insurers and service providers together in Athens on March 31 to tackle a growing issue in dry bulk shipping: how ship-to-ship (STS) transfers are actually carried out.STS in dry bulk is no longer occasional. It is becoming part of day-to-day operations as larger vessels and limited port infrastructure force cargo to be moved offshore. However, the sector has reached this point without a clear, shared way of performing STS safely and efficiently.In tanker shipping, STS follows established practices for over twenty years.

Germany’s maritime sector is poised for significant growth, but industry leaders warn that clearer political priorities and stronger policy support are needed to fully capitalize on the opportunity.That was the message delivered jointly by the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association (VSM) and IG Metall Küste during a press conference in Hamburg on March 16, where both groups called for a decisive national action plan to support shipbuilding and marine technology.“Shipbuilding…

Amidst a more complex and uncertain operating environment, Singapore’s MPA is charting the long-term direction for Maritime Singapore. This includes developing strategies to seize growth opportunities and strengthen Singapore’s position as a key node in global trade, while continuing to drive innovation, accelerate technology adoption, and develop a future-ready workforce.MPA is developing the Maritime Singapore Master Plan, an industry-wide blueprint to guide the sector’s longer-term development.

The European Commission has adopted a comprehensive Industrial Maritime Strategy to drive competitiveness, innovation and technological leadership in Europe’s maritime manufacturing and shipping industries. The strategy sets out a vision and concrete actions to reinforce Europe’s industrial sovereignty, trade and economic security, while supporting the sectors’ clean and digital transition.EU shipbuilding and shipping are vital to the Union's strategic autonomy, trade flows, mobility…

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) and CIMAC have signed a two-year Coalition partnership agreement aimed at improving the maritime industry’s readiness for the deployment of alternative marine fuels.The partnership combines GCMD’s experience in executing pilots and trials across the maritime value chain with CIMAC’s technical expertise in ship propulsion, engine performance and fuel systems. Insights from GCMD’s operational trials will feed into CIMAC’s technical working groups to help inform the development of standards and guidance related to engine performance…

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), AIM Horizon Investments, and their partners have announced the successful closing of the Fund for Energy Efficiency Technologies (FEET), securing total commitments of up to $35 million, exceeding its initial target.As the world’s first fund for vessel retrofits leveraging a pay-as-you-save repayment mechanism, FEET directly addresses the long-standing financial barriers hindering the sector’s uptake of vessel retrofits.The fund has drawn strong interest from across the maritime value chain…

Leading shipping companies are joining forces to combat ocean plastic pollution through the launch of the Maritime Association for Clean Seas (MACS): a new industry alliance driving measurable reductions in plastic and operational waste at scale.Founded by Seven Clean Seas (SCS), an ocean impact organisation, MACS unites founding members including Berge Bulk, X-Press Feeders, and others from across the global maritime value chain.While the maritime sector contributes only a small fraction of ocean plastic pollution…

A.P. Moller – Maersk is reinforcing its long-term commitment to India's maritime sector and is intending to significantly expand its operational footprint in the country through port infrastructure investments, vessel reflagging, and enhanced local partnerships across the maritime value chain.APM Terminals Pipavav (Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited), part of A.P. Moller - Maersk, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Gujarat Maritime Board outlining a proposed expansion with an investment scope of $2 billion.Subject to a long-term concession agreement with Indian authorities…

Singapore's Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Transport of China have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Singapore–China Green and Digital Shipping Corridor.The MoU elevates Singapore and China’s cooperation to the national level, building on the earlier established municipality-level and provincial-level corridors with Tianjin and Shandong, established in 2023 and 2024 respectively.Under the MoU, Singapore and China will work with industry stakeholders to advance maritime decarbonization…

Australia’s BHP Group has signed contracts with COSCO Shipping Bulk, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, for the charter of two ammonia dual-fueled Newcastlemax bulk carriers.The new vessels to be built under the arrangement will be two of only a handful of vessels in the world capable of using ammonia as a marine fuel.The two vessels, expected to be delivered from 2028, will primarily transport iron ore from Western Australia to Northeast Asia.When run on lower or low to zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ammonia…

The SASHA Coalition, together with six other NGOs and industry alliances, together representing 82 clean maritime and green hydrogen industry stakeholders, has written a letter to the European Commission and European Union Presidency urging it to strengthen clean shipping policy in the wake of what they say are disappointing regulations agreed last month at MEPC 83.It says the IMO agreement fails to adequately boost green hydrogen and derived e-fuels.A stronger price on all shipping…

Eni, Fincantieri and RINA have produced a new report: “Sustainable Maritime Transport Outlook” which is focused on the maritime sector and developed with the technical support of Bain & Company Italy.The study aims to contribute to accelerating the decarbonization of the maritime transport sector, in line with the Net Zero target for 2050. It forms part of the broader framework of the agreement signed on March 25, 2024, by Eni, Fincantieri and RINA, with the shared goal of establishing…

Under current and prospective policies from the IMO, EU, and US, the business case for green shipping corridors could improve markedly - but not sufficiently - according to a new report published by UMAS, UCL, and the Global Maritime Forum (GMF). Titled ‘Building a Business Case for Green Shipping Corridors,’ the report looks at the significant commercial challenges associated with green shipping corridors, how these could change under future regulation, and what additional support…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Transport and Logistics Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board, convened for a trade summit on November 18.The Hong Kong Global Trade Summit drew nearly 300 delegates from 28 countries, including ministers and senior policymakers from 12 nations, the European Commission and international organisations and CEOs of companies from the maritime value chain.The Summit addressed the challenges facing maritime trade including growing political tensions…

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) and RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute) are launching Katalist, a not-for-profit ‘book and claim’ registry designed to accelerate the shipping industry’s decarbonization journey.Regulations to reduce the carbon intensity of the marine industry are being introduced by both the EU and the IMO. Katalist aims to accelerate the process by connecting shipping companies adopting lower emission fuels with cargo owners…

A new report published by DNV has revealed that the majority (61%) of maritime professionals believe the industry should accept increased cyber risk from digitalization if it enables innovation and new technologies.The sector’s appetite to take on emerging risks arising from digital transformation is notably higher than other critical infrastructure industries including energy, manufacturing and healthcare, according to DNV.The industry’s increasing appetite for cyber risk comes at a time when it must manage a growing volume of vulnerabilities.Namely…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has launched a new report identifying that heavy Industry sector are expected to dominate global hydrogen demand to 2050, with South Korea, Japan and Europe being the first markets for hydrogen.The report titled “Turning hydrogen demand into reality: Which sectors come first?” highlights that to meet just 30 million tonnes of annual global green hydrogen demand, the world would require up to 411 new hydrogen vessels and the equivalent…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Chamber of Marine Commerce, Canada (CMC), convened over 120 industry leaders from 90 organisations and nearly 30 different countries to the Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit on Thursday 13 June. The summit focused on the challenges and risks to global trade.During the closed-door summit industry leaders discussed the emerging concern of increased protectionism across the world.Emanuele Grimaldi, International Chamber of Shipping…

A. P. Møller-Mærsk's newly developed design for an ammonia-fuelled 3,500 TEU container vessel has earned approval in principle (AIP) from classification societies Lloyd’s Register (LR) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).Led by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the design project also involved MAN Energy Solutions, Deltamarin, Eltronic FuelTech.“To unlock the potential of sustainable ammonia as an alternative, low-emissions marine fuel, we must…

The Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonization Hub is collaborating with five leading shipowners as founding members in the establishment of a not-for-profit Athens-based global Maritime Emissions Reduction Center (M-ERC) that will focus on optimizing the efficiency of the existing fleet.The M-ERC is being created with the goal of removing technical, investment and community barriers for the uptake of solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the existing global fleet…

Ammonia-to-power solutions company Amogy Inc. has released a white paper titled "Ammonia as a Clean Energy Solution for Maritime Use."Ammonia has emerged as a promising fuel source for a wide range of vessel types, but realizing its potential requires a combination of production incentives, sector-specific policies, and standardized ammonia usage practices throughout the maritime value chain.The white paper examines ammonia's pivotal role in decarbonizing maritime applications.

ABS and Pelagus 3D Pte. Ltd., a joint venture company of thyssenkrupp and Wilhelmsen, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance the technologies and adoption of on-demand additive manufacturing (AM) of marine and offshore spare parts.During a three-year term, ABS and Pelagus 3D will collaborate on a variety of initiatives including the incorporation of ABS testing requirements through the Pelagus Platform for AM parts. This project will also support the continued development of industry guidelines and standards for AM…

The Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) has released a new report titled, Roadmap to Net-Zero Emissions: North American Waterborne Transportation, which envisions industry-wide decarbonization by 2050 and identifies the guiding principles and key actions that will help the maritime value chain meet that vision.By understanding what success in 2050 looks like for each stakeholder, the roadmap works backwards to identify the steps and pathways needed to bring that future to reality.