Plastics News

The Guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of plastic litter and microplastics in the ocean have been published by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP).GESAMP is a body that advises the United Nations system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection.The new set of publicly-available guidelines for monitoring plastics and microplastics in the oceans will help harmonize how scientists and others assess the scale of the marine plastic litter problem…

Profiled in the March 2019 "cruise" edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News is Sven Lindblad, intrepid explorer and wildlife photographer Sven Lindblad blazed the trail for environmentally sensitive travelers to Antarctica on Lindblad Expedition’s fleet of cruise ships with National Geographic.You can tell a lot about a man by whom his heroes are, whether famous athletes, virtuoso musicians, brave warriors or movie stars. As we age, we choose our heroes by their moral compass…

Breakbulk and project heavy lift specialist AAL Shipping has shipped 22 petrochemical plant modules from Wison Heavy Industry’s facilities in China for the an ethylene-glycol plant expansion project in Point Comfort, Texas on behalf of Pacific Ocean Group.The shipment of 22 modules – 26,000 cbm in total and weighing 1,280 t – was loaded in Nantong and transported on a single sailing to Point Comfort aboard the mega-size MPV, the A-Class 31,000 dwt AAL Pusan.The project made good use of her 700 t max heavy lifting gear in loading and discharge operations…

Understanding the impact of plastic litter found at sea and how to get rid of it was at the heart of discussions in Nairobi Kenya, (11-15 March) at a side-event called Sea-Based Sources of Marine Litter, in the margin of the UN Environment Assembly.Sea-based sources of marine litter, in particular from the fishing and shipping industries are a significant component of marine litter with severe impacts on the marine environment, food security, animal welfare and human health, safety and livelihoods.International Maritime Organization (IMO) addressed the audience…

As Oceanology International celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Marine Technology Reporter explores half a century of subsea technology development and discovery. Oceanology International Americas runs February 25-27, 2019 in San Diego.When Oceanology launched in 1969 in the seaside resort of Brighton the world was a very different place. For a start, Brighton was home to the mods and rockers, who would square off against each other on the town’s elegant seafront. The British currency included shillings and ha’ pennies and man had yet to step foot on the moon.More crucially…

It was 6pm when an unusual rainbow-colored boat, made of recycled plastic waste and discarded flip-flops gathered from beaches and roadsides, dropped anchor off the beach at Mtwapa, near Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa.The 9-meter-long dhow, "The Flipflopi", was sailing south along East Africa's coast to raise awareness of the threat plastics pose to the oceans, said chief boat-builder and captain Ali Skanda.Beaches and marine ecosystems have been badly affected by plastics, Skanda said…

Strength, Safety and Sustainability are at the heart of this Homeland Security stakeholder’s mission set.For over 30 years, high performance fiber rope manufacturer Phillystran has worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to supply mooring and towing lines. As innovations in fiber rope technology have enabled lighter and stronger ropes, the Coast Guard has not been slow to take advantage of these and other developments.In step with most maritime stakeholders, NAVSEA approved fiber ropes are widely used by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Hurtigruten orders third hybrid-powered expedition cruise shipGrowth in the global cruise sector continues, as Hurtigruten, the world’s largest expedition cruise operator, signed an MOU with shipbuilder Kleven Verft AS for the construction of a third hybrid-powered expedition cruise ship. Tom Mulligan, Maritime Reporter’s Science & Technology writer, reports from Norway.“We are thrilled to introduce yet another revolutionary hybrid-powered expedition ship,” enthused Hurtigruten’s CEO, Daniel Skjeldam.

The circular plastics hub in the Port of Amsterdam is expanding through the construction of a new plastics recycling plant. Plastic Recycling Amsterdam (PRA), a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, commenced construction of a plant this week.The Dutch port said that this plant, which can be expanded on a modular basis, will initially process 17,000 tonnes of plastics annually and prepare them to be reused.In the plant, the collected plastics are first washed, shredded and then routed through a magnetic bath.

McDermott International, the fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry, announced a contract award for CB&I storage tanks from Nan Ya Plastics Corporation.McDermott's scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction of four internally framed stainless-steel umbrella roof tanks in Point Comfort, Texas.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is reporting strong performance in domestic markets following long-term deals with local refineries and traders including ORPIC and OTI.OSC’s growth in the region is being driven by a 20-year contract to transport condensate for ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) and a 15-year deal transporting methanol for OTI (Oman Trading International) from Salalah Methanol plant.The company is further supporting the export of LPG from Sohar Refinery to Yemen, Sudan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) will be deployed to investigate containers lost from a cargo ship in heavy seas off Australia.The YM Efficiency, operated by Taiwan shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, was sailing from Taiwan to Sydney in early June when it lost dozens of containers overboard amid five-meter swells in the Tasman Sea, about 30 kilometers off Australia's east coast.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), citing serious potential impacts to local fishing and the environment…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has pledged to address the significant problem posed by plastics to the marine environment, with the adoption of an action plan which aims to enhance existing regulations and introduce new supporting measures to reduce marine plastic litter from ships.A press release from the UN body said that Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) adopted (on 26 October) the action plan, to contribute to the global solution for preventing…

Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals), Tata Steel and the Port of Amsterdam have joined together to study the feasibility of a large green hydrogen cluster in the Amsterdam region.According to a press release, the three parties consider green hydrogen as vital for reaching climate targets and building a more circular economy, for example by combining it with emissions from steel manufacture to make new products.As a first step, the parties will study the feasibility of a 100 megawatt water electrolysis facility to produce up to 15…

Kenyan islanders have built a boat made entirely of recycled plastic collected during clean-ups of the ocean to highlight the growing menace of plastic waste that ends up in the sea.Last year, the Kenyan government imposed the world’s toughest law against plastic bags, with offenders - including producers, retailers, and ordinary Kenyans - risking imprisonment for up to four years or fines of $40,000, in a bid to reduce plastic pollution.Many bags drift into the ocean, strangling turtles, suffocating seabirds and filling the stomachs of dolphins and whales.The construction of the boat has been

Offshore services provider Maersk Supply Service has signed onto a project that aims to collect tons of plastic waste littering the world's oceans.In the comping months, the Denmark based firm will provide marine support to the Dutch nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup, which will install its first cleanup system in the North Pacific as part of the planet’s first large-scale initiative for collection of floating ocean-plastic debris.Global plastic production has risen steadily since the 1950s. It is estimated that more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic waste now litter all major ocean basins.

New legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday aims to address maritime transportation safety issues raised by the El Faro sinking, promote the U.S. Coast Guard’s awareness of technologies that could help improve service mission performance, and reduce marine debris.The Save Our Seas Act (S. 756), which was approved in the House by voice vote, combines several pieces of bipartisan legislation recently approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A steel cutting ceremony held today at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente (Genoa) shipyard marked the official start of construction for the second of three cruise ships on order for Virgin Voyages (part of Virgin Group). During the event, Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Voyages President and CEO Tom McAlpin, welcomed by Giampiero Massolo and Giuseppe Bono, Chairman and CEO of Fincantieri, also revealed the name of the series’  first ship, which is currently under construction at the yard: Scarlet Lady…

In the Port of Amsterdam, a new factory is being built that could revolutionize the way we dispose of plastic waste. Utilizing groundbreaking technology, the facility will use previously unrecyclable plastic to create fuel for diesel powered cargo ships. The group behind the facility is Bin2Barrel, a Dutch company founded in 2012 by waste management entrepreneurs Floris Geeris and Paul Harkema. While the chemical recycling technology used in the past has worked, Bin2Barrel is the first company to utilize it commercially.

Nippon Foundation is a philanthropic organization active globally with a simple mission, social innovation. While its activities today cross many activities and borders, when founded in 1962 its efforts focused largely on the maritime and shipping fields. Last month in Houston we spoke with Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, focused specifically on Nippon Foundation’s activities in and around the world’s oceans.(all images copyright and courtesy Nippon Foundation)Please explain the most important activities today for the Nippon Foundation…

Inspired by yacht owners and crews and to coincide with World Environment Day, AMELS announced that it is designing drinking water purification systems into all new AMELS Limited Editions yacht projects. These systems can tackle the global plastic waste problem, while providing pleasant-tasting and safe drinking water. The new drinking water system is a great way to reduce the plastic footprint of yacht ownership.The AMELS yard has now designed remineralization and purification systems into its new Limited Editions yachts, to give crews and guests access to carbonated or chilled water – made by the yacht itself – wherever in the world they are. Remo Mayer, build captain of the 242 New Secret Yacht, said, “On NEW SECRET we came up with a system so we can drink our own tap water.

The damaging build-up of plastic litter in the oceans is increasingly recognised as a major threat to the global environment. Harrowing images of marine wildlife being trapped by plastic litter, or even ingesting it, are becoming tragically familiar. International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s long track record of engagement in the fight against this insidious form of pollution was reinforced last year, when its governing Assembly of Member States placed the issue of marine plastic litter from shipping on the agenda of its leading environmental technical body…

ADNOC Logistics and Services, the shipping and services arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has signed a contract with Borouge, a leading provider of value creating plastics solutions, to handle its Ruwais container terminal operations. The five-year contract, awarded through a competitive bidding process, is the first deal signed between Borouge and ADNOC Logistics and Services as a new integrated entity, following the integration of IRSHAD, ESNAAD and ADNATCO into a single ADNOC operating company.