Energy Efficiency News

When arriving at a destination port, ships can remain anchored for many hours or days until getting a berth. During this time, fuel is still being used – which can have a significant impact on port air quality. Could Just-In-Time (JIT) ship operation be part of the solution to reducing ship emissions? This is the question being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO)-led roundtable meeting of the Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) and relevant industry stakeholders, at IMO Headquarters, London (29 June).

Virgin Voyages has reportedly selected ABB Azipods to drive a trio of cruise ship newbuilds currently being built in Italy at Fincantieri's shipyard in Genoa. The 110,000 gt vessels, each measure 278 x 38 m and accomodating 2700 passengers and 1,150 crew, with the first due for delivery in 2020, the last in 2021. ABB is tasked to supply the complete electric power and propulsion package for the Virgin Voyages’ new fleet. Each oship will feature ABB’s Azipod propulsion, a gearless steerable propulsion system where the electric drive motor is in a submerged pod outside the ship hull.

The Project Forward initiative, which is led by Athens-based Arista Shipping, has produced an energy efficient dry bulk carrier vessel that features liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion.Finnish clean-tech software engineering company Eniram, a Wärtsilä company, said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to assist in the development of monitoring and optimization tools.“Our input will help ensure that operational visibility will be maximized, and that the new ships can operate at optimal efficiency…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) based in Yokohama, held a christening and launch ceremony yesterday for Taiheiyo Ferry Co., Ltd's "Kitakami". The vessel will replace the old Kitakami, one of three large ferries providing regular service between the ports of Nagoya, Sendai, and Tomakomai (Hokkaido). By eliminating the large shared cabin, the new ship-carrying on the Kitakami name-will ensure passenger privacy and offer enhanced comfort features.

For ports to cut emissions to ensure cleaner air and contribute to the battle against climate change, they first need to quantify emissions and then identify measures to reduce port-related emissions in a cost-effective way. The on-going strategic partnership between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) -run GloMEEP project on energy-efficiency and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is helping selected countries to develop port emission inventories and subsequently draw up a port emission reduction strategy.

Monaco has acceded to the  International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty covering emissions from ship exhausts and energy efficiency (MARPOL Annex VI). The instrument limits the main air pollutants contained in ships exhaust gas, including sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides, and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. It also includes energy-efficiency measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Mrs. Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Permanent Representative of Monaco to IMO…

Global maritime contractor Van Oord has signed a five-year partnership agreement with Shell Marine covering the lubrication needs for its entire fleet of vessels.The all-inclusive agreement was acknowledged in a special ceremony, staged at the Van Oord headquarters in Rotterdam, where Jaap de Jong signed on behalf of Van Oord and Inbar van de Burg reciprocated on behalf of Shell Marine. The final deal evolved to reflect Shell Marine’s commitments to time-critical delivery of lubricants for use on Van Oord vessels worldwide…

Malaysian maritime officials are touring the Port of Bintulu on Borneo island as part of an International Maritime Organization (IMO)  training package helping countries to reduce emissions in ports.Thirty participants from authorities and ports across Malaysia are taking part in the event (24-26 July), with the aim of gaining improved expertise on assessing emissions in ports and devising strategies to address those emissions.The result – better air quality for local populations…

India is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s new three-day training package on assessing air emissions in ports and strategies to address emissions from various sources. Thirty-five Indian maritime officials from maritime administrations, port authorities, port terminals and academia are taking part in the workshop in Mumbai (15-17). The training package was developed under IMO's GloMEEP energy-efficiency project, in collaboration with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH).

First stop: the Dalian Maritime University. International Maritime Organization (IMO)  Secretary-General Kitack Lim marked the start of the Master's degree programme on Maritime Safety and Environmental Management – a joint programme with the World Maritime University (WMU) during a busy visit to China (10-11 July). Lim told students the course will help to equip them to make their own contribution towards achieving key IMO objectives: helping ensure shipping can continue to serve the global population in a safe and sustainable manner.

How can ports cut emissions to ensure cleaner air and contribute to the battle against climate change? An International Maritime Organization (IMO)  training course is supporting countries to help find the answers, which include the need to first quantify emissions and then identify measures to reduce port-related emissions in a cost-effective way. Maritime officials in Morocco are the latest to undergo the training, at a workshop in Casablanca (19-21 June). The event is being…

The build-up of aquatic organisms on a ship’s underwater hull and structures is known as biofouling. This can introduce potentially invasive non-native aquatic species to a new area. Fouling can also slow down a ship and impact on its energy efficiency. An International Maritime Organization (IMO) regional workshop in  Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (20-22 June) aims to provide participants with a greater understanding of the requirements and implications of ratifying, implementing and enforcing the anti-fouling systems (AFS) convention and implementing biofouling guidelines.

As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates its 70th anniversary, Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, sits in his London office with a sense of satisfaction that in his two plus years at the helm of IMO tremendous strides have been made toward significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, punctuated by the recent MEPC meeting where the target was set for a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. But the Secretary- General’s sense of satisfaction is tempered with the fact that his job has just begun and his plate is full.

Ship owner Stena said it has decided to exercise its option to order its seventh and eighth E-Flexer vessels from Avic Weihai Shipyard. The two new vessels will be deployed within Stena Line’s route network with a planned delivery in 2022.Additionally, Stena RoRo has taken an option on the construction of a further four E-Flexer vessels that would also be built at the same Chinese shipyard.Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line, said, “We foresee increasing demand for freight capacity…

Oil and gas will be crucial components of the world’s energy future, according to DNV GL’s forecast of the energy transition. While renewable energy will grow its share of the energy mix, oil and gas will account for 44% of world energy supply in 2050, compared to 53% today.Gas will become the largest single source of energy from 2034.DNV GL’s Energy Transition Outlook (ETO), a forecast that spans the global energy mix to 2050, predicts that global demand for energy will flatten in 2030, then steadily decline over the next two decades, thanks to step-changes in energy efficiency.

Carnival Corporation, the world's largest leisure travel company, released its eighth annual sustainability report, announcing that in 2017 the company achieved its 25 percent carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule and is on track with its nine other 2020 sustainability goals.Looking to the future, the company continues to chart its sustainability journey, using the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to identify new environmental management…

SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, announced that it has welcomed Mexico-based LNG company Enestas to its membership coalition.With the addition of Enestas, the SEA\LNG coalition bolsters its efforts to drive forward LNG as a marine fuel, and to progress its vital role as a viable solution in the energy transition within shipping.As the largest private LNG company in Mexico and with the largest LNG distribution network…

HullWiper Ltd’s eco-friendly hull cleaning technology is now available as a flexible onboard solution that allows all types of vessels to clean hull fouling on demand.The onboard version of the diver- and brush-free remotely operated vehicle (ROV) gives vessels on a tight schedule the means to perform a partial or full hull clean on a planned rotation, as and when needed. Cruise ships and super yachts can clean at every stop without interruption to their timetables or inconvenience to passengers.The onboard solution…

In an increasingly complex, fast changing, and challenging market, the role of the classification society is more relevant than ever, said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime, at a press conference ahead of Posidonia trade fair in Athens. Class enables innovation in shipbuilding, guides owners and operators through a demanding regulatory landscape, and helps the industry tackle cyber-crime, he underlined.Leading off the press conference, DNV GL Group President & CEO Remi Eriksen explained that two megatrends are impacting the maritime industry: decarbonization and digitalization.

The European shipowners together with MEP Wim Van de Camp yesterday organised a seminar in the European Parliament to discuss the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategy for shipping. The initial strategy was adopted in the 72nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the IMO in April this year, said a release from  European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA). Van de Camp opened the well…

A naming ceremony was held Monday at Japan Marine United Corporation’s (JMU) Kure shipyard for the first newly built containership painted in Ocean Network Express' (ONE) corporate color.The new magenta box ship, named ONE Stork, is the 10th of 15 new 14,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels ordered by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK). It will be chartered by Singapore-based ONE, which began operations on April 1 by integrating the container businesses of Japanese ocean carriers Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Mitsui O.S.K.

Finnlines, part of the Grimaldi Group, signed a 200 million euro ($240 million) order for three new ro-ro vessels to be delivered from China’s Jinling Shipyard from 2020-2021.The 17,400 DWT vessels will be 238 meters long and have a cargo capacity of 5,800 lane meters plus 5,600m2 of car decks and a capacity of about 300 TEU on the weather deck. The ships are designed to carry all types of ro-ro cargoes, with tank top and main deck areas are shaped with strengthened bulkheads and are free of pillar areas to accommodate paper and sto-ro.“We continue to modernize our fleet further…

Located at the confluence of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, the Ohio River and the Cumberland River and just upstream from the Mississippi, the City of Paducah is an important hub in the inland waterways network. In 2015, newly appointed Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority Executive Director Bill Miller’s first priority was to upgrade the port’s infrastructure.“Our 20 year old lattice boom crane was past its useful service life,” he said, adding, “So the Board for the Riverport Authority authorized a bid spec to replace it with the best available equipment.” Today…