Itochu, U-Ming Mull Ammonia-Fueled Ships
Japanese trading house Itochu Corp will study joint ownership and operation of ammonia-fueled ships with Taiwan's U-Ming Marine Transport Corp, Itochu said in a statement, as Japan is bets on ammonia to cut emissions.The shipping industry transports about 90% of world trade, and accounts for nearly 3% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions; and installing ship engines that burn cleaner fuels could help slow global warming trends.The IMO has set a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by around 2050ā¦
Study Demonstrates Need for New Fire Safety Rules for Methanol-Fueled Ships
A new fire safety study by survival technology solutions provider Survitec finds that existing fire-fighting methods used to extinguish machinery space spray and pool fires on conventionally fueled vessels are inadequate when dealing with methanol-based fires.This follows extensive comparative fire tests on dual-fuel marine engines using diesel oil and methanol.āOur tests confirm that traditional water mist fire suppression mechanisms do not perform as expected on methanol pool fires and methanol spray fires.
Securing Our Ports: Where to Start
As dusk descends upon our nation's ports, casting shadows over the waterfront, another shadow looms in the digital landscape ā the threat of cyber warfare. In an era where connectivity reigns supreme, our maritime infrastructure stands at a critical juncture, balancing vulnerability and resilience. The recent White House announcement of a Presidential Executive Order, and a hefty $20 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funding proposal to fortify our ports, underscores the gravity of the situation.It is a fact that at this time China has manufactured 80% of our nationās ship-to-shore cranesā¦
NYK Receives Data Management Award
NYK received the grand award at Data Management 2024 hosted by the Japan Data Management Consortium (JDMC) on March 8.JDMC established the Data Management Award in 2014 to publicize data management's role and importance and share pioneering know-how.NYK has been developing and utilizing data lakes - a data management system for data utilization and analysis. They are suitable for collecting and storing vast amounts of data, regardless of the format or scale of the data to be stored.NYKā¦
Iridium Acquires Satelles
Iridium Communications has entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, Inc., a leader in secure satellite-based time and location services that complement and protect GPS and other GNSS-reliant systems. The service, named Satellite Time and Location (STL), is designed as an easy-to-adopt, secure solution that increases the efficiency and reliability of timing systems for digital infrastructure like 5G base stations, data centers, and other critical infrastructure and protectsā¦
MAN to Offer Ammonia-Fuelled Ship Engines After 2027
MAN Energy Solutions plans to deliver later this year its first-ever engine fuelled by ammonia for installation on a new vessel in Japan and will be ready to offer ammonia-powered engines to its clients after 2027, its chief executive said.Ammonia is among several alternative fuels that shippers are exploring to reduce emissions. The shipping industry transports around 90% of world trade, but accounts for nearly 3% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, and installing enginesā¦
Jozwiak Joins GLO Marine as Green Transition Lead
Maciej Jozwiak joined the GLO Marine team, with his experience expected to enhance the company's technical capacity to deliver high-end services to the retrofit and vessel upgrade market, with a focus on green technologies and decarbonization measures.Jozwiak brings more than six years of engineering project management at DAMEN and more than nine years as senior approval engineer at DNVās Oslo Headquarters. His knowledge in structural engineering, adept project management, andā¦
Preparing for Change, ABS Enhances the Marine Vessels Rules Book
As maritime faces transcendent changes in regards to decarbonization, digitalization and automation, innovators from inside and outside of the industry will be challenged to deliver new applications and technologies with increased speed and frequency. Sitting at the center of the innovation storm are classification societies, and earlier this year the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) became the first classification society to incorporate goal-based standards throughout major rule sets, enhancing its ability to handle the increasing flow of novel concepts and new technologies.
Many Different Vessels but One Goal ā Passenger Safety
Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.
Hanwha Ocean Secures $258M Order for Two VLCCs
South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has received an order to construct two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for a shipping company in Oceania.The order for VLCCs, worth $257.8 million (342 billion won), is the first such order for Hanwha Ocean in the last three years. This is also the highest price for the vessels in 16 years, since the 2008 global financial crisis, the company said.The ships will be built at the Geoje plant and delivered to the shipowner in the first and second half of 2026ā¦
OPINION: Seeing the Ship as a System Changes Everything
Shipping must engage with the decarbonization realities that lie ahead by changing the way it crafts maritime legislation to reflect its place in the interconnected, interdependent world economy, says Eero Lehtovaara, ABB Marine & Ports.ABB Marine & Ports Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, Eero Lehtovaara has carved out an unusual - and possibly unique - role in the maritime industry over recent years, as a āstakeholderā simultaneously mindful of the perspectives of owners, seafarersā¦
Survitec Saftey System Earns Type Approval
Dry chemical powder solutions have long safeguarded LNG and LPG cargo vessels, but as the industry embraces liquefied gases as a propulsion fuel, the unique requirements for protecting bunkering stations on a wider range of vessels, such as large cruise ships, containerships, and tankers, is becoming increasingly important. In response to the growing demand for advanced fire safety solutions to support the maritime's energy transition, Survitec has reconfigured and enhanced its Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) fire extinguishing system.
NYK Stolt Tankers Orders Six Chemical Tankers
NYK Stolt Tankers, a joint venture between NYK Line and Stolt Tankers, has placed an order with Nantong Xiangyu Shipyard in China to build six 38,000 deadweight tonne stainless steel chemical tankers for delivery between late 2026 and 2029.The newbuilds will be sisters to a series of six vessels Stolt Tankers ordered at Wuhu Shipyard in November. The ships feature 30 cargo tanks, offering a range of cargo flexibility and are designed to maximize fuel efficiency using a wide range of energy savings devices and shore power connection, Stolt Tankers said.
NTSB Issues Safety Alert on Personal Locator Devices for Mariners
A new safety alert issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urges vessel owners and operators to provide each crewmember with a personal locator device. These devices improve a marinerās chance of rescue during an emergency.During an emergency at sea, a marinerās chance of survival decreases if search and rescue cannot quickly and accurately identify their location. Personal locator devices, such as personal locator beacons (PLB) or satellite emergency notification devices (SEND), can accurately pinpoint a personās location.
Californian Port Gets $427M Boost for New Offshore Wind Infrastructure
The U.S. government has awarded a major grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District for the construction of a new marine terminal to be primarily used for floating offshore wind-related activities.The grant for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind MVP (Minimum Viable Port) project comes through the U.S. Department of Transportationās Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program, which received a substantial funding increaseā¦
Nakilat Grows Fleet with Six New LNG and LPG Carriers
Qatar-based energy shipping company Nakilat has placed orders to with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) of South Korea for the construction of six new LNG and LPG carriers.The order includes two LNG carriers with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters each and four very large LPG/ammonia gas carriers, with a substantial cargo capacity of 88,000 cubic meters.The vessels are set to be delivered between 2026 and 2027, Nakilat said.Upon delivery, Nakilat's LNG fleet will expand to 71 vesselsā¦
Bulk Carrier Hits Mine in Black Sea, Two People Injured
A Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was headed to a River Danube port to load grain has hit a mine in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.It was the latest incident of a civilian vessel hitting an explosive in the Black Sea in what Kyiv says is stepped-up Russian attacks on shipping and port infrastructure."A Panama-flagged civilian vessel was blown up on an enemy sea mine in the Black Sea...The vessel lost its course and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deckā¦
ClassNK Amends Class Rules
ClassNK has released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships dated December 22, 2023.ClassNK is constantly revising its Rules and Guidance in order to reflect the latest results from relevant research and development projects, feedback from damage investigations, requests from industry as well as changes made to relevant international conventions, IACS Unified Requirements (UR), etc. More specifically, some of the amendments made this time are as follows:Responding to requests from relevant industriesā¦
Anschütz Advances the Autonomous Bridge System
As part of the Clean Autonomous Public Transportation Network (CAPTN) initiative, Anschütz' research into autonomous systems and assistance systems onboard ships that support navigators has made progress in 2023. In the Remote Operating Centre (ROC) which is set up on land at Anschütz, the MV Wavelab -- a research catamaran that is operating on a maritime test field on the Kiel Fjord in Germany -- is monitored. Part of the ROC is a complete digital twin with all the data provided by the various existing and experimental sensors and systems on board the Wavelab.
GTT Designing Tanks for Purus VLECs
GTT has received an order from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the tank design of two new very large ethane carriers (VLEs), on behalf of shipowner Purus.GTT will design the tanks of these two vessels, which will each offer a capacity of 98,000m3. The tanks will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system developed by GTT.Delivery is scheduled between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027.The vessels will feature dual-fuel ethane engines and optimized cargo handling systems, enabling lower CO2 and SOx emissions.
ASGARD: Developing an Anti-Spoofing Weapon
Saab and GMV are collaborating in ASGARD, an EU-funded project that aims to improve maritime security when using GNSS and OSNMA. The project addresses the growing threat of GNSS spoofing and other cyberattacks on navigation systems used in the maritime industry.The ASGARD project, run by Saab and GMV, is an ambitious European Union (EU) initiative that aims to develop advanced technologies to improve Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) security in maritime environments.
New Wave Data Underpins Ship Structural Integrity
The loss of the Stellar Daisy in 2017 was a tragic reminder of the importance of wave data to ship design and operation. The vessel sank in the South Atlantic Ocean, with 22 of 24 crewmembers lost. The structural failure of the vessel was attributed to several factors including material fatigue and the forces imposed on the hull as a result of the weather conditions.Survey requirements for some vessel types have since been tightened, but even before this tragedy, work was underway to evaluate the wave data used to determine ship structural integrity requirements.
US Coast Guard Responds to Another GoM Oil Spill
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was responding to an oil discharge near the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) Co's pipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico, while the main pipeline and several surrounding ones remained shut in."The reported sheen is being investigated and has not been confirmed to be associated with the November 16 observed initial discharge," the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard had not yet identified any damage or indication of a leak after surveying the entire length of the pipeline along with 22.16 miles (36 km) of surrounding pipelines.