Required Infrastructure News

Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) and CLEANCOR Energy Solutions LLC (CLEANCOR), a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc. (SEACOR), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on August 17, 2021, to collaborate on ways to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling solutions to ship owners and operators within Port NOLA’s jurisdiction that would benefit from reduced environmental emissions. CLEANCOR, an alternative energy company, will work with Port NOLA to help provide LNG to Port customers and marine operators in Port NOLA’s jurisdiction.

Shipping association BIMCO is encouraging states and the industry to start a dialogue on how to create a global ruleset for market-based measures (MBM) to support the use of low carbon fuels and to create a level playing field for the industry.“One way we can make the current low emission technologies competitive with traditional fuels is through some form of market-based measure. We need a mechanism that equalizes the cost between using low carbon fuels and traditional fossil fuels…

As the global maritime community collectively is slowly pushed toward decarbonization, it is generally agreed that there is no ‘silver bullet’ technical solution and that progress will come in steps, led by public/private collaboration and funding.A recent development following that script is the awarding this week of federal funds to a Washington State team working to accelerate ferry technology, with the joint innovation project selected for funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration.

A group of public and private partners in Washington have come together to accelerate the design of a fast foil ferry to provide zero-emissions, high-speed passenger ferry service in the Evergreen State.Participants in the Joint Innovation Project include three Washington ports that have joined forces to support the effort: Port of Anacortes, Port of Bellingham and Port of Skagit. The vessel is under design by Glosten, a naval architecture and marine engineering firm, and Bieker Boats, a performance marine craft designer.

Some forecasts expect 10% of the global fleet to be powered by LNG by 2030, a proportion that could rise to just under a quarter of the fleet by 2050. Will your vessels be among them?The year-end sulfur cap on marine fuels and recent industry commitments to reduce its collective carbon footprint are behind a surge of interest in LNG as fuel; widespread adoption, however, still faces strong headwinds on several fronts.After a period where the costs of transitioning to LNG as fuel – at the operational and capital expenditure (Capex) levels – had appeared to constrain demand…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy signals a true game changing moment for the shipping industry. External pressure was building, but the IMO strategy sets a time line and goals for shipping to tackle one of the great challenges of our time. The GHG strategy gives our latest Maritime Forecast to 2050 its focus, and with this publication we attempt to set out the different strategies and pathways the industry can take to reach these goals.The first conclusion from the report is a sobering one.

Leading ports, banks, oil and shipping companies on Monday launched an initiative which aims to have ships and marine fuels with zero carbon emissions on the high seas by 2030, in another step by the maritime sector to reduce CO2.International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.Achieving this target will…

Natural gas is quickly becoming the “fuel of choice” for the maritime industry, not only for its potential in reducing environmentally hazardous gas emissions, but also for its reduced cost when compared to other fossil fuel-based alternatives.For natural gas to become a preferred marine fuel, its availability needs to improve, and this fact alone has hindered its growth in some parts of the world. Some of Robert Allan Ltd.'s clients are actively engaged in developing the required infrastructure to make natural gas more readily available.Robert Allan Ltd.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, Romania's plans to grant EUR27.4 million investment aid to the Port of Galați, the largest sea-river port in the country.In April 2019, Romania notified the Commission of its plan to grant investment aid to the Port of Galați. The project consists of building a new multimodal platform with a capacity of 150,000 TEU/year in the area called Port Bazinul Nou.The total investment cost amounts to €89.9 million. It will be co-financed by the Romanian State, regional funds allocated via the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (LIOP) and private money coming from concessionaires of the platform…

German utility Uniper SE signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited in respect of a long-term booking of a substantial share of regasification capacity in Uniper’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) project Wilhelmshaven for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG).According to a press release, the parties will continue their discussions in the coming months with the goal to enter into binding agreements soon.Keith Martin, Chief Commercial Officer of Uniper SE, says: “The Heads of Agreement is an important step towards the realization of the Wilhelmshaven FSRU project. The FSRU will provide LNG companies from the US, but also other countries from around the world with the opportunity to deliver LNG into the German and European market.

German energy group Uniper and Japanese shipping group Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) have agreed to intensify efforts on the Wilhelmshaven FSRU (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit) project in Germany, which could start up as early as H2 2022.The FSRU has a planned send-out capacity of 10 bcm/a and liquefied natural (LNG) storage capacity of 263,000 m³, said a press release from Uniper, the international energy company with operations in more than 40 countries.The project benefits from the existing site in Wilhelmshaven where required infrastructure is already in place. Wilhelmshaven is the only German deep-water port and can be reached without any tidal constraints.

As shareholders in the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Ministry of Finance have approved the participation in the Port of Pecém, a rapidly growing port in Northeast Brazil.The participation involves an investment of some 75 million euros and, in addition to holding 30% of the shares, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will have joint control of strategic decisions and positions at Executive Board, Supervisory Board and management level.The Port of Rotterdam Authority and Ceará State are expected to sign the decision next month, and the following months will be used to further finalise the participation.Allard Castelein…

If you want to book a plush river cruise vacation in America’s heartland – say on the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers – you can do it. The American Queen Steamboat Company’s website offers as many as 13 river cruises in 2018. Certainly, the ‘bourbon cruise,’ aboard the lavish American Duchess sounds like fun. Or, maybe next year you can sign up for the nine-day ‘Derby Cruise.’ And, next year means 2019 because the 2018 cruise is sold out. Maybe the most fun is that passengers themselves…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that its joint project with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. on developing a technological concept for autonomous ocean transport system, was selected by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT) for its FY2017 Transportation Research and Technology Promotion Program (Note) on May 16, 2017. The research consortium of the project is comprised of MOL, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, the National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), Japan Ship Technology Research Association, and Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen) Inc.

As the pushed back the date - the Dec. 21 deadline - for the submission of binding bids for the sale of its biggest port Piraeus (OLP) approaches, the pace is picking up with binding bids, reports WSJ. Three of the world’s biggest port operators expected to submit their binding bids next week. Greece’s leftist government had pushed the move back for a year, upsetting potential investors and ​the country’s international creditors. The deadline has been postponed three times since Oct.

The Linde Group, via its Swedish Engineering subsidiary Cryo AB, has been awarded a contract by Meyer Turku Shipyard of Finland to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel gas system for the next-generation high-speed ferry being built for AS Tallink Grupp. The ferry will operate in the Baltic Sea between Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia and has been designed to comply with the European Emission Control Area (ECA) limits thanks to the use of LNG as fuel. Lars Persson, Managing Director of Cryo AB, said: “With this project, AS Tallink Grupp and the marine industry takes an important step to contribute to a green Baltic Sea. The advanced LNG fuel gas system consists of two horizontal, vacuum-insulated 300 m³ tanks plus gas handling and control systems.

The decision of the two leading shipping consortia, to choose Malta Freeport Terminals (MFT) as their main transshipment hub in the central Mediterranean came as shot in the arm for Malta. Recently, the ‘2M’ Alliance made up of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the ‘Ocean Three Alliance’ composed of  CMA CGM, China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) have chosen Malta Freeport Terminals as their main transshipment hub in the Central Mediterranean. A total of 128 ports across the globe can now be reached from Malta Freeport Terminals. “This was truly a crucial achievement for…

Malta Freeport Terminals have been chosen by two mega shipping alliances -  2M Alliance and Ocean Three Alliance - as their main transshipment hub in the Central Mediterranean. The '2M' Alliance is made up of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company and the 'Ocean Three Alliance' is composed of  CMA CGM, China Shipping Container Lines and United Arab Shipping Company. Malta Freeport statement said that this was a significant accomplishment for its terminals which clearly attests that the Freeport's facilities offer carriers the required infrastructure and equipment to operate the largest vessels. Alex Montebello, CEO of Malta Freeport Terminals commented on this fresh business, "Malta Freeport Terminals is pleased to welcome the 2 Mega Alliances at our facilities.

Foreign players continue to dominate several segments of the Indian maritime industry: from salvage to dredging, chartering to ship management and ship manning, to name but a few. And the list of foreign firms setting up shop in India is growing as the country is hurriedly putting in place the required infrastructure to meet the huge demands of India’s growing international trade. Globally, India is the 7th largest country in area, 2nd in population and 11th in GDP, with the expectation that it will ascend to the top five in GDB by 2020. The country is blessed with a 4,700 mile coastline, making it one of the longest in the world not forgetting the 14…

One of the key hurdles to the increased global use of ships fuelled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the lack of harmonization of bunkering operations. “DNV GL is therefore today launching a Recommended Practice for authorities, LNG bunker suppliers and ship operators which provides guidance on how LNG bunkering can be undertaken in a safe and efficient manner,” said Lars Petter Blikom, DNV GL’s LNG director. LNG-fuelled ships have logged over 130 ship-years of operation in Norwegian waters and LNG’s attractiveness and stability as a fuel have been thoroughly demonstrated. Globally too, operators, suppliers and regulators have gained significant experience in all aspects of LNG-fuelled ship operations in recent years.

The Arctic Institute sees agreement the China-Iceland trade agreement as a clear sign of China's drive to gain a foothold in the Arctic region. " ... Iceland's strategically valuable location at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean and its year-round ice free waters make it a natural ally in China's goal to gain access to the Arctic's shipping routes. The signing of the agreement today is a further indication of the importance China places in the development of Arctic shipping routes”. “Iceland's role as a potential Arctic shipping hub may be further strengthened by future mining and mineral activity in neighboring Greenland.

Premiere in Hamburg: First LNG-powered ship in the Port of Hamburg – A challenge for the port and initial experience from Norway. At the Überseebrücke pier, the Port of Hamburg has for the first time been able to welcome an LNG-fuelled ship. The KV BARENTSHAV belongs to the Norwegian Coastguard fleet, and is deployed on fisheries controls, sea rescue, policing, Customs inspections and environmental checks within Norwegian territorial waters. The speciality of the ship is its environmentally…

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has welcomed the major effort made by Governments and the shipping and port industries to improve maritime security in the weeks and months leading up to the entry into force of the ISPS Code and related security measures today, 1 July 2004. Mr Mitropoulos said that, all over the world, a huge amount of work has been undertaken in the period leading up to the entry-into-force date to ensure the highest possible level of compliance.