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Shipyard order books show that more and more ships are being built that can run on methanol or liquified natural gas (LNG). Major shipping companies are investing in green fuels for their fleets, and researchers around the world are working intensely to find new solutions that can make the shipping industry greener.This is all good news that strengthens the belief that shipping is reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases, among others. While there is reason for some optimism, as shipping is becoming more sustainable, there is no doubt that we are still very far from the goal.

French container shipping group CMA CGM has taken delivery of the CMA CGM Mermaid, the first ship in a series of 10 new 2,000 TEU containerships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will be progressively deployed in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.CMA CGM Mermaid containership is the result of collaboration between CMA CGM, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, and Hyundai Heavy Industries.The delivery is part of CMA CGM's fleet renewal program, in which the group invested more than $15 billion…

Furetank adds another two Vinga vessels to the order line. Upon delivery, Furetank’s fleet will consist entirely of environmentally proven, top standard vessels with an average age of two years, the company said."We did our homework. This development towards sustainability has been an amazing journey," said Furetank CEO Lars Höglund.The vessels are number 20 and 21 in the Vinga series of intermediate size product tankers and will be fully owned by Furetank Rederi AB. They will replace older tonnage.The Vinga series has been rapidly expanded in the last few years…

The Rhenus Group announced it has upgraded two canal push boats operated by Deutsche Binnenreederei (DBR) with new stage V engines.While the new construction of more sustainable hydrogen-powered vessels is a long-term project, the Rhenus Group is retrofitting its older vessels with modern and therefore more environmentally-friendly technology in the short term. The two canal push boats, RSPSB146 and RSPSB153, which were built in 1978 and 1979 respectively, are the first to undergo this process.It has taken about ten months to convert the two vessels.

Furetank and Algoma Central Corporation announced further expansion of their FureBear joint venture with orders for two additional vessels. The two ships will be constructed at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou, China, with delivery expected in second and third quarters of 2026.The new order for Vinga series vessels grows the FureBear joint venture to a total of 10 intermediate product tankers under construction, with the first vessel slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2024.

Laser systems quickly remove corrosion and scale from metal surfaces with less preparation and mess than traditional techniques.In the maritime industry, corrosion and scale (where rust penetrates a metal surface) can quickly become an issue in an outdoor, salt sea spray laden environment. When sea spray evaporates, it leaves salt behind, leading to saltwater staining and accelerated corrosion.So, most shipbuilders as well as those responsible for maintenance and repair understand the value of treating metal surfaces to remove corrosion…

Wärtsilä and Swedish shipping company Furetank are co-developing and testing two technologies showing the potential to halve the methane slip.Running vessels on LNG or bio-LNG reduces emissions of CO2, NOx, SOx and harmful particles, but the downside is methane slip: the release of unburned gas fuel, not fully combusted in the engines.Although the fraction released is small, methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.Two technical solutions have been tested in Furetank’s Vinga series tankers.

The French engineering company GTT has received an order from the Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang, to design the cryogenic fuel tanks of ten ultra large container vessels fueled with liquefied natural gas (LNG)."Used as a marine fuel, LNG is today the best available industrial tool to preserve air quality, a major public health issue. It reduces sulphur oxide emissions by 99%, fine particles by 91% and nitrous oxide emissions by 92%. It also reduces ship CO2 emissions by up to 25% compared to a conventional ship…

Swedish Furetank and Canadian Algoma Central Corporation expand the FureBear joint venture to include eight climate-friendly, dual-fuel product tankers to trade in Northern Europe.The 50/50 owned joint venture was announced in August and is now extended with four additional 17,999 DWT tankers, bringing the total investment to eight vessels.Like the initial four vessel order, the additional four ships will be constructed at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou, China. Two of them have already been ordered by Furetank in September and will be transferred to FureBear…

Furetank Rederi AB said it has signed an agreement to sell two 17,999 dwt dual-fuel product tankers Fure Valö and Fure Ven to the Finnish company Neste, a producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. The vessels will be delivered in October and December 2023, when the first of the seven new-buildings already ordered by Furetank and partners are scheduled to be delivered from the shipyard in Yangzhou."It is good news for us that we can continue to advance our environmental efforts and develop new vessels.

Canadian shipping company Algoma Central Corporation announced it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Furetank AB of Sweden to construct four dual-fuel ice class 1A 17,999 DWT climate friendly product tankers to trade in Northern Europe. The 50/50 joint venture will be named FureBear.The tankers will be constructed at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou, China, with delivery expected between 2023 and 2025. Upon completion, all four vessels will be entered into the Gothia Tanker Alliance, and will be operated by Furetank out of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sweden-based Furetank said it has signed a contract for a new dual-fuel tanker to be built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou for scheduled delivery in July 2024. The deal includes an option for additional vessels.The 17,999 dwt vessel will be number 11 in the Vinga series of sister vessels designed with special focus on minimum environmental impact. Furetank owns four of the vessels already delivered and commercially operates all.The Vinga vessels all have dual-fuel capability and run on LNG/LBG.

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri on Wednesday announced it has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Explora Journeys, the luxury travel brand of the MSC Group's cruise division, for the construction of two hydrogen-powered luxury cruise ships.EXPLORA V and EXPLORA VI will feature a new generation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines that will tackle the issue of methane slip and will also be equipped with industry first environmental technologies and solutions, including a containment system for liquid hydrogen that will enable them to use this promising low-carbon fuel.

MAN Engines said it has approved all marine engines from its current product range for use with renewable diesel fuel in line with the standard EN15940 in Europe and the US-American specification ASTM D975 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) with immediate effect. This will allow customers to replace conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel with "green" or renewable diesel fuel. Renewable diesel fuel is obtained from waste and residues of animal and plant origin…

Attracted by the environmental mission of Terragon Environmental Technologies, Dr. Ramona Pristavita, Terragon’s Vice President of Engineering, discusses the operational advances and advantages that Wastewater Electrochemical Treatment Technology (WETT) offers to shipowners.Handling a variety of shipboard waste water efficiently, effectively, is a central tenant to ship operations.Operating in the harsh saltwater environment, with a broad spectrum of ship movements and vibrations…

French engineering firm GTT said it has been chosen in April 2022 by Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries to design the cryogenic fuel tanks of six liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled containerships.The vessels for the unnamed owner are scheduled to be delivered between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025.These six vessels will have a capacity of 7,900 containers each and will be equipped with LNG tanks, holding up to 6,000 m3 of LNG used as fuel. The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III Flex membrane containment technology…

Wärtsilä and the Grimaldi Group have unveiled a system that uses exhaust gas scrubber washwater to tackle microplastics in the world’s oceans.According to the association Plastic Europe, 368 million tonnes of plastic were produced in 2019 worldwide, and around 3%, or 11.4 million tonnes, of this plastic ultimately ends up in the ocean. To tackle the growing amount of microplastics in the world’s seas, Grimaldi has developed and patented a system that filters out microplastics from open loop scrubber washwater.Wärtsilä, in partnership with the Neapolitan group, will take the microplastics filtration system - which traps plastic particles before the washwater is returned to the ocean - to market.

Swedish shipping company Furetank announced it has signed a letter of intent with Eskilstuna Biogas, enabling the development of a new biogas plant producing around 5,000 tonnes of LBG annually.Furetank commits to buying at least 75% of the produced fuel for 10 years. The gas will be extracted from manure and food waste from the municipalities of Eskilstuna and Strängnäs. It is upgraded to a 100% waste-based, fossil-free and renewable biofuel, LBG.For Furetank, the move is a big step toward its switch from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to LBG as a marine fuel…

EveRé, Elengy, TotalEnergies and the CMA CGM Group are engaged in a study of a BioLNG production plant project at Marseille’s port, aiming to to turn household waste into clean energy and serving as another plank toward the maritime industry's decarbonization.This will be France’s first production unit for liquefied biomethane (BioLNG), a low-carbon alternative fuel dedicated to energy transition in the shipping industry, and when operational is intended to be used primarily for the CMA CGM Group’s LNG-powered vessels.BioLNG…

French engineering firm GTT said it has been chosen by South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to design the cryogenic fuel tanks of six liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled container vessels.Each LNG fuel tank will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment technology developed by GTT. The vessels deliveries are scheduled to occur between the third quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024.In addition to the engineering services and technical assistance at the shipyard, GTT will assist the operator through every step of its first LNG-fueled projects: commissioning of the LNG tank, first LNG bunkering operations, as well as further specific LNG operations and maintenance of the vessels.

Highlighted in Marine Technology Reporter's MTR100 is the work and technology ongoing in the halls of academia. The most recent report released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized our warming planet, an expected announcement for many in the scientific community. Faced with the confirmation that human activities have caused an increase in global temperatures, research has turned to seeking answers in the planet’s natural systems. How does each part of the global carbon cycle work and how may it be impacted by the changing climate?

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products has launched the Robust Feed AVS voltage-sensing feeder, which eliminates the need for a power supply/control cable between the power source and the feeder. The design simplifies cable management in portable applications, eliminating a cable that could potentially get damaged. Voltage-sensing feeder technology also enables the feeder to work with either constant current (CC) or constant voltage (CV) power sources for greater flexibility.Robust Feed improves durability…

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index eased on Friday and posted its biggest monthly fall since January 2020, hurt by a decline in rates across all vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, fell 111 points, or 3.1%, to 3,519, its lowest since Aug. 12.The index fell more than 30% this month and was down 20.2% this week.Concerns over the health of the Chinese economy have led to a sharp decline in the dry bulk sector…