Nominees Announced For Three Nor-Shipping Awards

Nor-Shipping announced the nominees for the 2013 Nor-Shipping Awards which recognize achievements in three different areas – energy efficiency, innovative ship design and young entrepreneurship. HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway will present the awards when they are announced at the Opening Conference on June 4.

The Energy Efficiency Award (previously Clean Ship Award) pays tribute to the ship with the greatest contribution towards energy efficiency in relation to its function or operation. Partnering with Nor-Shipping for this award is the International Maritime Organization (IMO), developer of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships that came into effect this year.

The nominees are:

Viking Grace – Owned by Viking Line, Viking Grace is the first LNG-fuelled large passenger ship and meets all known emission regulations. Her advanced hydrodynamics give a maximum speed of 23.4 knots with only 21 megawatts of propulsion power; the diesel-electric power plant, while minimizing installed power reserves, provides optimal loading for the engines over the whole speed range.

CMA CGM Marco Polo – CMA CGM Marco Polo is the world’s largest containership. She is nearly 400 meters long and can load up to 16,020 TEUs. Her optimized hull form, twisted leading edge rudder, pre-swirl stator and electronic engine with exhaust gas bypass and turbochargers optimized for main engine low load results in an EEDI that is about 30 percent lower than the current limit.

Stavangerfjord – Fjord Lines’ Stavangerfjord and its sister ship Bergensfjord will be the only ferries in the world designed and built to serve two quite different market segments – the day and night ferry markets. To optimize their service, the ferries will operate as night ferries on the Bergen-Stavanger-Hirtshals route and as day ferries on the Hirtshals-Langesund route. They will be the first international service passenger ferries in the world to run on pure LNG engines.

Dina Star – ABB has equipped the new PSV with a full onboard DC grid system, including all power, propulsion and automation systems. This results in highly efficient power distribution and electric propulsion for a wide range of vessels. The main advantage is that the ship’s generator engines no longer have to run at a fixed speed; the speed can be adjusted to optimize fuel consumption. Myklebusthaug’s Dina Star is the first example of a ship built with this system.

The Next Generation Ship Award recognizes the yard, designer or owner with the most promising design idea for a ship that will be at sea in the coming decade. DNV returns as Nor-Shipping’s partner for this award, lending its industry expertise.

The nominees are:

TOTE 3,100 TEU container ship – The first two vessels will be delivered and enter service between Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2015 and 2016 and represent the first order for LNG-powered containerships, dramatically reducing CO2, NOx, SOx and PM emissions. Built by General Dynamics NASSCO, its design will include DSME's patented LNG fuel gas supply system and a MAN ME-GI dual-fuel, slow-speed engine.

 Norled ZeroCat – The ZeroCat is an aluminum car ferry developed in association with Norled. The lightweight construction reduces energy consumption to less than half of conventional ferries, while using energy from the power grid in combination with smart-grid components and onboard batteries totally removes the use of fossil fuels during operations. Shipyard Fjellstrand built Zerocat.

Edda Ferd – The PSV is the result of the owner’s MIndSET (Marine Industry Superior Environmental Thinking) program launched at Nor-Shipping 2011. It features a new propulsion concept including diesel generator sets with variable rpm developed together with Siemens’ BlueDrive Plus C concept. A hybrid solution with two battery packages further reduces fuel consumption and emissions. The companies behind the Edda Ferd include Astilleros Gondan, Siemens Norway, Skipsteknisk AS, Carl J. Amundsen Consulting Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, and Østensjø Rederi.

B.Delta – B.Delta is a new set of energy efficient optimized new generation standard bulker designs. Developed by Deltamarin, they can provide 45 percent higher energy efficiency over conventional designs, comply with EEDI requirements for new ships and have the lowest daily fuel oil consumption (DFOC) given a 15 percent sea margin and design speed. B.Delta designs can be adjusted to owners’ requirements. Derivative designs include Cape-size bulk carriers, chemical carriers, product tankers and container designs.

The third award, the Young Entrepreneur Award, is new this year and part of efforts to further develop Nor-Shipping as an arena for the next generation. The award honors an entrepreneur under the age of 40 who has come up with new concepts and solutions, innovative technical or commercial solutions, or new logistical solutions – or who has taken on the industry or the environmental challenges facing the industry in a new way.

YoungShip, the fast-growing international organization for young maritime professionals, is Nor-Shipping’s partner and the administrator of the award. The winner will receive free advice from BW Venture and will also be given a display area at the exhibition free of charge.

The nominees are:

Tor M. Østervold, ECOsubsea (Norway) – Based on his experience from working on board a commercial vessel and completing his master’s in international shipping in Plymouth, Østervold came up with an innovative idea: cleaning the hull without damaging paint and at the same time collecting debris, sparing the environment damage. Born into a family of fishermen, he is CEO of ECOsubsea, a company he founded in 2008 and whose partners include Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and Innovation Norway. Their technology, approved for use in five ports, increases ship energy efficiency and reduces operational costs, invasive species and emissions.

Rainer Sternfeld, Marinexplore (USA) – Sternfeld is the founder and CEO of Marinexplore, whose technology helps the offshore industry reduce risk and cut data processing time five-fold. He got his epiphany for Marinexplore while working on a profiling buoy at Flydog Design, an engineering design company he co-founded. Marinexplore’s open-source data platform is designed to share data and analysis of the ocean space without having to relocate the data. Sternfled also led ABB to win and establish the world’s first nationwide, fast-charging infrastructure for electric cars, now being built in Estonia. Rainer got his epiphany for Marinexplore while working on a profiling buoy at Flydog Design, an engineering design company he co-founded

Styrk Bekkenes, Noreq AS (Norway) – Named “Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year” for western Norway in 2011, Bekkenes is now Managing Director of Noreq. Together with five former colleagues, Bekkenes started the long process of establishing a new company in the maritime industry. Founded in 2006, Noreq is now one of the key players in the lifesaving industry with nearly 130 employees in eight countries. Its clients include major shipyards, navies, and leading offshore and shipping companies. Bekkenes is known for his strong spirit of entrepreneurship and bold leadership.

Christoffer Thorsheim, WTL Logistics (United Arab Emirates) – Voted one of Norway’s top 100 young talented leaders in 2012 and 2011, Thorsheim is passionate about his work, both in and outside the workplace. He is the founder and Managing Director of WTL Logistics, an independent logistics and transport service provider. His accomplishments include establishing a land bridge linking the port of Karachi to US and ISAF military bases in Afghanistan, allowing for the safe delivery of military and humanitarian cargo. Thorsheim also started YoungShip Dubai, which has gained traction in the Middle East due to his commitment, entrepreneurial spirit and proactive attitude.