University Of Greenwich News

For a week the world was gripped by the extraordinary sight of a massive container ship that had run aground in the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Ever Given is 400m long (1,312ft) and weighs 200,000 tonnes, with a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers. It was carrying 18,300 containers when it became wedged in the canal, blocking all shipping traffic. Efforts to free it finally paid off when it was partially dislodged in the early hours of Monday 29 March. Adejuwon Soyinka asked maritime…

Pirate attacks against merchant ships off the African coast have been reported regularly over the past decade. And despite measures to suppress it, Somalia-based piracy remains a concern. On the other side of the continent, the Gulf of Guinea is now viewed as presenting a much more serious piracy problem.Last year a record 130 crew members were kidnapped in 22 separate incidents, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The cluster of attacks in November and December has…

After a year of intense activity, Marine South East’s GLEAMS (Glycerine Fuel for Marine Sustainability) project has concluded that Glycerine is a viable, exceptionally clean alternative marine fuel. Over the course of the initiative the project consortium gathered evidence and conducted analysis to prove that glycerine is a technically viable, very low emissions alternative fuel for the marine market. The factors, both positive and negative, influencing the adoption of the technology have been teased out and assessed and found favorable in significant defined markets.

The world’s first marine engine to be run using the exceptionally clean fuel of glycerine will be on display at Seawork 2014 together with a seminar session entitled ‘Will my ship/workboat run on this?’ where interested parties can find out more about the fuel’s possibilities for use in the marine sector. The Cummins marine engine will be on display throughout the exhibition on the Alicat workboat on berth V28, courtesy of Gardline Marine Services, who are partners in the GLEAMS (Glycerine Fuel for Engines and Marine Sustainability) project, and Dalby Offshore, the vessel’s new owners.

A national maritime charity is set to publish a commemorative book in celebration of its 150th anniversary and is calling for people to come forward with their stories and memories. The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, based in Banstead in Surrey, is currently in the planning stages of producing a special book, which will be published in time to celebrate the landmark birthday in May 2015. Members of the public with family and friends who have received help from or are connected in some way with the Society, both past and present, are encouraged to share their memories and anecdotes, which could be included in the book. The book ‘Home from Sea’…

Develops an understanding of maritime security through topics such as ports, ships at anchor, ships at sea, and the extraction of energy from or via the sea. Historical events are put into context by a trip to Normandy (included in the tuition fee). Individual modules include: Maritime Business Environment; Maritime Crime; Environment and Energy; Marine Insurance; Global Maritime Security. Explores private and public policy, the economics of maritime transport ports and terminals, national and international regulation, security, maritime labour, oceanic law, policy and management. Individual modules include: Current Issues in Maritime Policy; Economics of International Shipping; Defence & Security; Public Shipping Law.

The new China Maritime Centre will promote, disseminate and study the role of China as a major maritime nation in the 21st century, with the aim of contributing to the understanding of China’s rise as a maritime power. It will provide a focus for research and consultancy into a wide variety of maritime activities in which China is prominently involved. This research and consultancy, embracing both current and historical trends, will promote a deeper understanding of how China’s greatly enlarged role relates to, and is a key component of, the global maritime industry. Benefiting from a strong connection with the maritime industry and academic institutions in China, especially Shanghai Jiao Tong University, there are plans for a range of studies.

A research team led by the University of Greenwich has carried out an experiment in ship evacuation and safety procedures which could set the benchmark for future maritime law. The research team was made up of 11 members of the European Union, Framework 7 funded project SAFEGUARD. The University's Fire Safety Engineering Group ran its unprecedented research project on board the Royal Caribbean international cruise ship Jewel of the Seas, in which more than 2,300 passengers took part in a live assembly drill while at sea.

Safe, fast and efficient vessel evacuation has long been a top concern of the marine industry, a fervor sure to be renewed with vigor in the wake of last month's terrorist activities in the U.S. and heightened securities being formulated for all transportation industries. New research being carried out by British Maritime Technology (BMT) and the University of Greenwich could give ship designers and owners vital new information on how humans react when evacuating from ships. The hope is that this unique study will help to prevent future shipping disasters, helping to save thousands of lives. Transport Canada commissioned BMT's affiliate, Fleet Technology to develop a ship evacuation simulation program.

Pioneering trials measuring the ship evacuation performance of passengers in conditions including smoke and rolling motion, are being conducted as part of a research project led by British Maritime Technology Ltd (BMT) and co-funded by the European Union FP5 Competitive and Sustainable Growth program and Precarn (funding for Canadian partners). The aim is to produce a FIRE-EXIT simulation tool that will equip the marine industry with a ship evacuation, fire and abandonment simulation tool that is a significant improvement over the level of reliability…