Wendy Laursen
Contributing Writer-
28 Aug 2025
Robots are Getting Very Good at Understanding the Environment Around Them
The July/August issue of Offshore Engineer includes an update on patrolling robots. They are increasingly being used for inspection, maintenance and repair, and they are increasingly being operated, human-in-the-loop, in a cyber world that is a detailed digital twin of their offshore environment.Energy Robotics, for example, has built a software platform for operating all available oil and gas ATEX certified robots, including those of ExRobotics, Taurob, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
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28 Aug 2025
Biological Hydrogen Offers Alternative to Electrolysis
Biological hydrogen is a wildcard technology that could change what Roy Allegra calls the current hydrogen cold war.Allegra, based in London, is founder of RA Energy and Green H₂ Systems Modeling.He sees Europe scrambling to lock in alliances and signing deals in the Middle East and Africa to secure green hydrogen supply. These countries are aiming to lead production.Meanwhile, China is already leading in electrolyzer manufacturing capacity…
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21 Aug 2025
Making Hydrogen Work as a Fuel
Around 50 vessels have operated on hydrogen as fuel since the pioneering ferry Hydra set sail in 2000.Whether it’s used in fuel cells or combustion engines, its capex and opex are still much higher than an equivalent diesel system, and it’s expected to stay that way until at least 2040.But the real problem with using hydrogen as a fuel is that it takes more energy to make, compress/liquify, transport and store than it provides to a ship.The expectation is that technology will come to the rescue.
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15 Aug 2025
Asian Nations Battle for Shipbuilding Share
China’s share of the tanker orderbook rose from 32.4% in 2022, to 62.6% in 2023 and then 71.2% in 2024. Its share of the container ship orderbook has shown a similar growth trajectory. The nation has ranked first in the world for new orders since 2012. Labor costs are about half of what they are in Korea and Japan, and China is the world’s cheapest steel manufacturer.Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO…
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14 Aug 2025
One Bio-LNG Step Forward, One Back
This week, Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Ariane completed its first bunkering of bio-LNG.The move follows the July news that NYK has started the continuous use of bio-LNG fuel on its LNG-powered car carriers.There’s been more firsts this year. In February 2025, Furetank conducted its first bio-LNG bunkering. In March, Titan and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) completed the first bio-LNG bunkering operation of a multi-year contract.
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14 Aug 2025
Wine Down Under
Brad Adams, co-founder of Subsea Estate in Western Australia, has just retrieved vats of his latest wine from the seabed just off the coast of Augusta.Partnered with wife and co-founder Jodee Adams and chief wine maker Emmanuel Poirmeur, he is creating a product unique in the southern hemisphere.For the last two years, Subsea Estate has produced Semillon and Shiraz that has undergone its secondary…
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07 Aug 2025
Algorithm Accountability
When the maritime trade union Nautilus International asked memberswhat they thought of AI at a forum in January, there was some positive sentiment:“We shouldn’t automatically assume there will be problems with AI, as we’ve adopted other tech over the years without it being too intrusive for crew.”Others were not so sure:“There are worrying issues around liability and culpability if an incident happens involving a vessel operated using AI.
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31 Jul 2025
AI Agents: Like Owning a Pet Tiger
Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, has compared developing AI agents to owning a pet tiger.Speaking this week at the World AI Conference (WAIC 2025) in Shanghai, Yicai Global reported him saying: "Our current situation is like someone keeping a tiger as a pet. A tiger cub can indeed be a cute pet, but if you continue to keep it, you must ensure that it does not kill you when it grows up.”He says there are two choices: either train it so that it doesn't attack you or eliminate it.“For AI…
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24 Jul 2025
Good Ocean, Good Business
There is an estimated 3.5 million square miles of ocean space suitable for finfish mariculture and about five times that suitable for seaweed production. It’s a potential that is being realized around the world as new projects generate benefits for rural communities, cities and the environment.In Papua New Guinea, the UN Sustainable Development Group is focusing on creating meaningful, sustainable livelihoods for women and youth in Kimbe Bay…
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24 Jul 2025
The Challenges for Watchkeepers Continue
This week MarineLink reported on the NTSB’s analysis of a 2024 collision on the lower Mississippi that resulted from a tow pilot’s distraction caused by personal cellphone use.While navigating the tow for about 1.5 hours before the collision, the pilot engaged in non-operational, secondary tasks, including taking an administrative phone call from the company’s safety officer, making a personal phone…
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10 Jul 2025
Persevering with Hydrogen as a Maritime Fuel
Hydrogen fuel cell power plants for ships face the challenge of hydrogen’s low volumetric energy density at normal temperature and pressure and its low electricity-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency compared to batteries.The justification for persevering with hydrogen as a marine fuel, though, is that other leading candidates for future fuels (such as e-methanol and e-ammonia) require a hydrogen feedstock for production.
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02 Jul 2025
S-100 has Value Beyond ECDIS
The S-100 framework is a new global standard created by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), in collaboration with other hydrographic offices around the world, that enables the integration of diverse datasets within a single Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).Mariners will be able to combine various data layers with Electronic Navigational Charts including detailed…
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02 Jul 2025
Ship Design, Maritime Accidents and There’s a Master on the Run
There’s a master on the run right now.It was 4am, about 10 years ago. Two crewmembers died, 15 others were hospitalized. The master didn’t receive prior notification of the cargo fumigation that occurred, yet it is the master who is being held accountable.Captain Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General of InterManager, recounts the story as he explains why he is pleased about some of the outcomes of MSC…
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26 Jun 2025
Humans Versus Robots
The outlook could be bleak or bright depending on how we view the rise of humanoid robots.Think of this quote from a book by Jacob Morgan:“While many futurists and business leaders believe that robots and automation are taking jobs from humans, I believe that it's the humans who are taking the jobs away from robots.”Or this one from a book by James Barrat:“A powerful AI system tasked with ensuring your safety might imprison you at home.
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19 Jun 2025
You Cannot be a Leader if…
“You cannot be a leader if you don’t know what is going on,” says Rik van Hemmen, President of marine consulting firm Martin & Ottaway.van Hemmen, writing in the June issue of Maritime Reporter magazine, recounts of some of his experiences in oil spill response to demonstrate that it’s a truth that is not always recognized.On one salvage operation, a high-ranking government official was laughed out of the room after loudly proclaiming: “I am in charge now…
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12 Jun 2025
The Best First Step for Shipowners Interested in Electrification
Ed Schwarz, Head of Marine Solutions Sales for Siemens Energy in the US and Canada, says education is the best first step for any shipowner interested in electrification.“Talk to someone who’s done it. Go aboard a vessel. Visit a hybrid ferry. Owners love sharing their stories and their hard-won insights.”The June issue of Maritime Reporter magazine has an in-depth interview with Schwarz where he says…
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12 Jun 2025
Ice “Memory” to be Protected in Antarctica
The Ice Memory Foundation is preparing for the upcoming transport of ice cores from mountain glaciers to the Ice Memory Sanctuary in Antarctica.The announcement was made as part of the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034) during the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice on June 8.Preserved in the Ice Memory Sanctuary at Concordia Station, the cores will be available for…
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11 Jun 2025
Maritime Propulsion: Expanding Options for Waterjets
It’s no surprise that waterjets are great for shallow-draft, highly maneuverable craft, but vessel designers are busting out of the old stereotypes.Vessel designer Aircat Vessels has developed a surface effect ship (SES) crew transport catamaran, AIRCAT 35 Crewliner, that can sail at over 50 knots and manage offshore transfers in 2.5-meter seas. The air cushion system from ESNA dynamically adjusts to sea conditions so the vessel can reduce transit times…
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09 Jun 2025
Video: ATBs Unlock Stranded Iron Ore Down Under
Australia’s unique enclosed self-discharging transhippers ensure a dust-free supply chain for the Onslow Iron project.Onslow in north Western Australia is a desert. It receives less than 10 inches of rain a year, and for much of the year temperatures reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s known for dust storms that can turn the town red.It’s iron ore country, but the lack of a deepwater port meant that…
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05 Jun 2025
Ammonia Gets Popularity Boost
Before MEPC83, Höegh Autoliners CEO Andreas Enge had decided to commit to ammonia as the company’s new fuel of choice. Speaking to reporter Charlie Bartlett in the Maritime Reporter Norway Supplement, he said: “Ammonia is more scalable and will be cheaper than methanol, full stop.”He’s not alone in thinking that. A Global Maritime Forum study released this past week indicates that under the parameters principally agreed within the IMO Net Zero Framework at MEPC83…
