Maritime Industry News

Classification society ABS has published the Guide for Sustainability Notations aiming to help marine and offshore operators meet the environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ABS has also launched two new sustainability notations, SUSTAIN-1 and SUSTAIN-2, to help marine and offshore operators demonstrate alignment with the SDGs and establish a pathway for sustainability certification and reporting.“We are responding to the growing interest in the SDGs from the maritime industry.

Maritime Payment Solutions, LLC (d/b/a ShipMoney), a provider of payment solutions for maritime companies, announced two new hires. Vanessa Torres has joined as Strategic Client and Business Development Manager in Manila, and Theo Tsokos is the Client Account Manager in Athens.Torres will be responsible for managing clients in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, including Maersk and V. Ships, among others. With more than 20 years of professional experience, she will act as liaison between ShipMoney and regional client offices.Tsokos will be responsible for managing clients in Greece and Cyprus, including Scorpio and Tsakos-Columbia.“We are very pleased to welcome Vanessa and Theo…

MAN Energy Solutions announced that it will offer its proprietary EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system as an emissions solution for its new, low-speed ME-GA engine, the Otto-cycle variant of its established ME-GI dual-fuel engine. EGR is a NOx-emissions-reduction technique that ensures IMO Tier III-compliance in both diesel and gas mode.The company has long experience with the emission-reduction technology and reported the first order for an EGR system in 2011 when it was fully integrated within the MAN B&W 6S80ME-C9 main engine of a 4,500 teu containership newbuilding.Thomas S.

Marine electrical systems provider Vard Electro Canada’s said it is setting up new operations in Houston to serve the North American maritime industry. Vard Electro US Inc. will offer the same marine electrical engineering, procurement solutions, and vessel system integration as Vard Electro, a subsidiary in the Vard Group majority-owned by shipbuilding giant Fincantieri.Andrea Qualizza, general manager for Vard Electro, said, “Vard Electro has over decades served shipyards and shipowners all over the world.

Marine and offshore survey company Ocean Infinity, which recently announced plans to build the world's largest fleet of unmanned surface vessels - the Armada, is now adding what it says are "world's largest marine robotic vessels" to the Armada fleet. Apart from being large—78 meters long—these new robotic vessels will be optionally crewed. Ocean Infinity has ordered eight vessels from Norway's VARD. The first large vessel is expected to launch in mid-2022."Designed for today’s tasks but with tomorrow’s in mind…

Stream Marine Training has boosted its management team as Katy Womersley, former General Manager of Clyde Marine Training, moves over the River Clyde where she takes up the role of Operations Director at Stream Marine Careers.Womersley brings her extensive experience in the maritime industry where, as a former seafarer, she began her career as a deck cadet before qualifying and working in the offshore and short sea trade. Upon moving ashore Katy Womersley was initially responsible for the delivery…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) s aid it has hired two new employees to fill positions of retiring employees.Joseph Cardella joins the company as a project manager and is based out of the Covington, La. office. He will lead and manage diverse marine projects along the Gulf Coast, supporting clients with their engineering needs.Cardella has over 13 years of experience as a naval architect and project engineer within the maritime field.

As attention increasingly turns to ocean health and sustainability, an innovative new fish farm solution was deployed earlier this year when the De Maas’ Semi-submersible Spar Fish Farm (SSFF) became the world’s first offshore farm installed at an open ocean location exposed to tropical storms. MTR recently visited – virtually – with co-founder Philip Schreven for insight on the design and operation particulars of their innovation.How did you became involved in this unique niche of the maritime industry?Mark van Leeuwen and I founded De Maas in 2007 as an offshore oil and gas services company.

A new medical advisory service has been launched to deliver health care services to seafarers, passengers and onsite guests in the maritime industry.OCL Oceanic Catering Ltd, Marine Medical Solutions GmbH and Tritan Software Corporation, in collaboration with Allianz Care, have teamed up to offer SeaMed24, a comprehensive medical advisory service for all types of vessels, from merchant to offshore, leisure and niche expedition cruises.“SeaMed24 has been developed to provide a…

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping on Tuesday announced its management team. to join CEO Bo Cerup-Simonsen in building an organization capable of facilitating the transition to a carbon free global shipping industry.Made possible by a DKK 400 million ($63.5 million) donation by the A.P. Møller Foundation, the Center was formed in June by a group of global shipping entities committing themselves to decarbonizing the maritime industry. The Center, which recently revealed its Board of Directors and a location at the heart of the Danish Shipping cluster in Copenhagen…

By the time this article is published, voting will have concluded in the 2020 United States presidential election. Based on the possibility of legal challenges to the election, however, it may be some time before we know who will be occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2021. Additional uncertainty may linger with regard to control of the Senate. However, beyond the general spectacle of American politics, an important question remains: What does this election mean for the U.S.

A methanol-operated fuel cell system from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has received approval in principle (AIP) from classification society DNV GL, setting the course for further testing aboard the cruise ship AidaNova as soon as 2021.Converting the approximately 100,000 commercial ships on the world’s oceans to CO2-neutral propulsion systems is one of the maritime industry's greatest challenges. Since a large part of this fleet is operated on the high seas, the range of any new propulsion systems must be able to cover vast distances.

A new roadmap developed by leading maritime research institutes in Norway and Singapore examines the path ahead for smart and autonomous sea transport systems.Unveiled at the SMI Forum in Singapore on October 22, by Senior Minister of State for Transport and Foreign Affairs, Chee Hong Tat, and the Ambassador of Norway to Singapore, Anita Nergaard, the roadmap has been developed by SINTEF Ocean in Norway and Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), with input from Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI)…

Classification society ABS reports it has scheduled its 100th Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) Certification for Seaspan Ship Management, 98% of which are remote surveys.ABS says it is on course to ultimately certify more than 100 vessels for the world's largest containership lessor as part of a huge increase in demand for ABS remote surveys of around 300% since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic.“COVID-19 has provided the maritime industry with unprecedented challenges. But it has also forced the industry to embrace the opportunities arising from digitization and technology.

One Norwegian shipyard has opted to focus on ship repair and service versus newbuild -- and downsize too -- to ride out COVID-19 and its impact on the world economy.New Havyard Ship Technology announced that it will restructure its operations into a repair and service yard and reduce the number of staff, as employees were informed today at the yard in Leirvik."The strategy of becoming a service and repair yard is absolutely necessary to keep as many jobs as possible," said Gunnar Larsen, CEO, Havyard Group.

Citing a spike in second-wave COVID-19 infection numbers SMM, where the world meets in Hamburg every two years for the latest updates on shipbuilding and ship machinery technology, has opted to take the event planned for February 2021 digital.SMM 2020 was originally scheduled to be held live in September 2020, initially postponed to early 2021 as a hybrid live and digital event. But in the face of a rampant second wave of COVID-19 infections and the decision by several governments…

The maritime industry is undergoing a massive shift as vessels transform into sophisticated sensor hubs, generating data and connecting through satellites in an expanding interconnected web. To enable the uptake of these systems and unlock the associated efficiencies, DNV GL is launching a new chapter to its rules for ship classification: Digital Features. The new chapter was launched with three new notations (D-INF, DDV, REW) on October 28 and will enter into force on January 1, 2021.

Aker Arctic Technology Inc announced Tuesday it has signed a contract with the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) to develop new icebreakers to meet new challenges in Baltic Sea escort operations.The “next generation” icebreaker design will be capable of assisting the larger merchant ships entering Finnish and Swedish ports, incorporate latest environmental technologies and be ready for future fossil-free fuels, the Finnish engineering firm said. “Our foreign trade and competitiveness are based on year-round security of supply.

While there is no consensus on what will be the maritime 'fuel of the future', developers across the world are for the first time testing the use of hydrogen to power ships as the maritime industry races to find technologies to cut emissions and confidence grows the fuel is safe to use commercially.To reach goals for the shipping industry set by the United Nations, industry leaders say the first net-zero ships must enter the global fleet by 2030. Ships powered by green hydrogen…

Former Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas has been appointed as DNV GL’s new chair of the board, the Norwegian-headquartered classification society announced.Best known for his 13-year tenure as president and CEO of the telecoms firm, Baksaas started his career with DNV (as it was then known) and spent six years at the company before leaving in 1985. He has also served as member of the DNV Council for 12 years.“DNV GL is a company that is well positioned to take a role as a trusted voice to tackle the global transformations the world is facing.

KONGSBERG’s ship-to-cloud data infrastructure service Vessel Insight has been qualified by technical advisor to the maritime industry DNV GL. Safety and cyber security were the critical parameters in the recently completed Technical Qualification.The subscription-based service is designed to help operators to begin standardizing their data collection and contextualization, leveraging KONGSBERG’s long history as a system integrator and provider of automation and information management  systems.

The Virginia Port Authority Board (VPA) of Commissioners today introduced Stephen Edwards as the next leader of The Port of Virginia. He succeeds John F. Reinhart who for the last seven years has led the VPA as its CEO and executive director.Edwards has extensive experience in the global transportation industry most recently as the president and CEO of TraPac, LLC (TraPac), which operates container terminals in Los Angeles, Oakland and Florida. His tenure with the VPA begins on January 19, 2021.“I am delighted to be joining the Virginia Port Authority team in January,” Edwards said.

Canadian headquartered naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. announced that its Executive Chairman, Robert G. "Rob" Allan, has been made an Honorary Member by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), making him one of only 50 living individuals to enjoy this privilege. This membership is awarded to a person as result of their dedicated service to the maritime industry and the Society and is a symbol of recognition offered as a token of the high esteem in which their colleagues hold them.SNAME has previously honored Rob Allan with many accolades.