United Kingdom (UK) News

The European Parliament, Council and Commission have reached a preliminary agreement on maritime elements of the EU ETS. Including the maritime sector in the EU ETS will encourage shipping’s journey towards decarbonisation, as well as accelerate emission reductions among non-maritime sectors. The provisional agreement on shipping is subject to an overall agreement on the ETS revision, which is scheduled for later this year or next. EU ETS for maritime Liner shipping is already investing...

Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are increasingly becoming affordable, marking an exciting time for global connectivity solutions. 1,200 LEO satellites were launched in 2020 and 1,400 in 2021. Satcom capacities are set to further develop in the coming years, especially due to falling airtime prices. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to decline by 21% between 2022 and 2028. Modern cloud-based applications Besides being more affordable, LEO satellite networks are als...

Tokyo-based Classification Society – ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a dual fuel generator engine using hydrogen gas as fuel and related machinery systems and arrangements for a 160,000 m3 liquefied hydrogen carrier developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI). This marks ClassNK’s first AiP for a dual fuel generator engine using hydrogen gas as fuel. As hydrogen is expected to be used as a clean energy source to realise a decarbonised society, ClassNK ha...

Crews from Blue Water and Semco Maritime are in the process of preparing the vessel Aurora Storm, poised to take a key role in Project Greensand. Aurora Storm will transport special containers filled with CO2 safely from Belgium to the Nini West platform in the North Sea. It happens as part of the advanced pilot project in Project Greensand which aims to deliver a significant contribution to the green transition in Denmark. Rebuilding and upgrading Aurora Storm "In the coming weeks, we will w...

Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) business unit in Misamis Oriental, has acquired a mobile harbor crane (MHC) to further enhance capacity and boost productivity. The MHC will augment the terminal’s existing quay cranes to enhance overall vessel handling capability by enabling the simultaneous handling of two longer ships. The MHC will be operational by December. Efficiency  Earlier in March, MCT deployed two new r...

The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) was present at the 20th Annual Conference of the Spanish Association for the Promotion of Short Sea Shipping (SCP Spain) which was held last week in Madrid. The PAV’s Head of Business Intelligence, Manuel García, participated in this event organised by this Association, which aims to facilitate the development of competitive multimodal transport chains with the relevant participation of the maritime mode. Short-sea shipping Valenciaport is p...

The world’s first large-scale Battolyser factory will be constructed in the port of Rotterdam to meet soaring demand for green hydrogen and electricity storage. “This partnership will develop the first industrial green hydrogen equipment manufacturing facility in The Netherlands,” said Mattijs Slee, CEO, of Battolyser Systems. “With our offshore wind potential, strong infrastructure, and world-class heavy industry, The Netherlands can now develop a sustainable and resili...

ABB has secured a breakthrough contract with the shipyard COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd., to equip 10 China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited container vessels with its permanent magnet shaft generator systems. The deal re-affirms the growing appeal of the systems as a market-ready route to greater ship efficiency. Due for delivery by the end of 2025, the order comprises systems for six 14000TEU vessels and four 16000TEU vessels. The International Maritime Organization (IMO...

The conclusion of a successful five-year initiative to protect the marine environment in South-East Asia from the negative effects of ships and shipping has been marked at a high-level meeting (25-27 October) in Viet Nam with the adoption of a MEPSEAS-Halong Statement by the participating countries.   The Marine Environment Protection of the South-East Asian Seas (MEPSEAS) project has seen seven partner countries - Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Na...

Gard is happy to announce that they have entered into partnerships with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) in Singapore and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping in Denmark. As decarbonisation transforms the maritime industries, ship owners will increasingly have to convert their operations to alternative fuels and low-carbon technologies, exposing them to new risks and operational challenges. As a leading marine insurer, Gard wants to support t...

Propspeed, an innovator of underwater foul-release coatings, announced its attendance at WorkBoat together with CMP. The combination of Propspeed’s expertise in foul-release coatings and CMP’s experience in corrosion control results in the best underwater protection for marine craft. Together they offer the commercial marine industry convenient and reliable access to an unrivaled product range. Customers can trust that these products meet their propulsion performance and corrosion p...

Inmarsat, a pioneer in global, mobile satellite communications, has unveiled a major innovation to its maritime safety portfolio: a next-generation terminal that will allow quick and easy access to connectivity services, including the recently launched Fleet Safety. With trials scheduled for 2023, the standalone hardware promises ultra-resilient connectivity across the full satellite footprint of Inmarsat’s ELERA L-band network, which will be supplemented with two new satellites scheduled...

Maritime UK is launching its national awards programme for 2023, celebrating a sector worth over £116bn to the UK economy and supporting over 1 million jobs. Held for the first time in September 2019, the Maritime UK Awards are run by the industry for the benefit of the industry. From a judging panel of internationally recognised maritime leaders to an awards evening at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hull, the Maritime UK Awards are a unique and impactful way to showcase a business,...

The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Kitack Lim commissioned the ultra-modern headquarters of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), located at Victoria Island, Lagos. Speaking during the commissioning of the building, the IMO Secretary-General expressed confidence in the leadership of the transport sector of Nigeria, while also extolling the dynamic role of the Minister of Transportation, Engr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo and the hea...

The Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF) of which DNV is a founding member has released a comprehensive assessment to compare the feasibility and readiness of alternative marine fuels. The new heatmap report assesses the level of current readiness of fossil LNG, bio-methanol, and green ammonia compared to fossil MGO. Assessment framework The assessment applied MTF’s Framework for Assessing Decarbonisation Technologies and Alternative Energy Carriers to fossil MGO, fossil LNG, bio-methanol,...

Prysmian Group, the world pioneer in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, announces an investment of approximately €200 million in a new cutting-edge cable layer plus an adjustment for cable equipment of approximately €40 million. The new vessel will be fully operational by Q1 2025 and will reinforce Prysmian’s project execution capabilities and its EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation) approach. Technical performance, flexibility, and sustainabi...

A Brazilian business delegation has visited the Port of Valencia. The meeting brought Valencian and Brazilian companies and investors into contact with one another. Aurelio Martínez, the President of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV), said “Brazil is the seventh country with the most commercial relations with Valenciaport. Businessmen must know that València is here, as a strategic hub or as an investment pole.” Importance of Valenciaport in global trade In the fi...

Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG), the Delta terminal of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT) and Kramer Group will be the first market parties to be connected to the Container Exchange Route (CER), a closed track for faster, more efficient and integrated transport of containers between locations on the Maasvlakte. Agreements with these parties have already been signed. By the end of June 2022, it was already agreed with the Dutch Customs Administration to connect the State Inspection Terminal to th...

From Saturday morning, 12 November, 2022, sea-going vessels with a length exceeding 140 metres will need to use a tugboat on the Scheur between Maassluis and Rozenburg during strong tides, which is about three hours a day. The harbour master of the Port of Rotterdam Authority took this measure to ensure safe passage. Since last weekend, crane vessel - Neptune has been positioned in the middle of the Scheur due to the construction of the Maasdelta tunnel. As a result, the passageway is narrow. M...

In 2021, Peel Ports Group (Peel Ports), one of the largest port groups in the United Kingdom (UK), signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with OceanWise to deliver consistent, reliable servicing and maintenance to the wide variety of environmental monitoring systems and sensors that Peel Ports have in place across all their sites. The Peel Ports Group is made up of 7 strategically located ports across the UK and Ireland, stretching from Clydeport in Scotland down to London Medway in the Southea...

Award-winning British fuel tech company - SulNOx Group Plc has strengthened its presence in North America with the appointment of a new sales organisation. Reducing environmental impact  SulNOx Group has signed a deal with USA-based Steele Environmental, an Independent Sales Organisation to promote SulNOx products in global shipping markets and commercial land-based transportation across the North American continent. The Steele Environmental team has been working with the shipping indust...

Unifeeder is pleased to announce that they have launched a new direct service connecting out-ports in the Baltic Sea with the hub ports of London Gateway and Felixstowe. New direct service The new service offers an increased frequency in existing Unifeeder corridors, plus the following new services: Southbound: Kotka to Wilhelmshaven Klaipeda, Riga and Gdansk to London Gateway and Felixstowe Northbound: London Gateway and Felixstowe to Kotka Wilhelmshaven to Gdansk, Klaipeda, and R...

Huge, vaguely alien in appearance, and rarely seen, large antennas made by Viasat quietly fill a vital purpose for people and operations around the world linking them to satellites that provide internet service. Viasat is one of the very few companies that make 9.1- and 13.5-metre antennas for satellite gateways.  Antenna offering Designed for the latest high-capacity Ka-band satellites, the antenna systems offer broadband support to deliver high-speed connections for residential, commer...

Airbus Defence and Space has developed and tested a loading system to lift outsized military cargo into the Airbus Beluga A300-600ST aircraft. The capability was successfully tested during a verification exercise with the German Armed Forces, the system’s first customer, by loading a CH53 military medium-lift helicopter into the Beluga. Rising demand for outsized air cargo capability “The demand for outsized air cargo capability is on the rise. Capacity is scarce and, in light of...

DNV and Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) have agreed to continue their collaboration on decarbonisation and digital innovation in the maritime industry. Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry and Transformation), MPA, and Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, Regional Manager South East Asia, Pacific & India, Maritime at DNV, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to renew their partnership at the Singapore Norway Innovation Conference. The three-year MOU will herald a n...

The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation, His Excellency Kitack Lim, is scheduled to visit the Federal Republic of Nigeria from November 20th – 22nd 2022. During his visit, the Secretary-General will attend the Nigeria International Maritime Summit 2022 where regional policies and operational perspectives on Decarbonisation and Green House Gas Emissions in shipping will be the focus. The Federal Ministry of Transportation and its Agencies in collaboration with...

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised BNP Paribas, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, a syndicate of lenders, and SACE on the partial financing of four new cruise vessels for Viking Ocean Cruises.  The financing consists of four export credit loan facilities, which are together worth over $1.5bn and are backed by the Italian export credit agency SACE. The ocean-going passenger cruise vessels are being constructed at Fincantieri S.p.A., with the first of the vessels - Viking Neptun...

The steel cutting ceremony of Ulstein Verft’s yard number 318 was carried out at the hull yard, Crist, on 18 November, 2022. The vessel is the first of two offshore wind newbuilds for the Norway-based ship-owner - Olympic, and both are planned for delivery in 2024. The steel cutting is the first milestone in a shipbuilding project and symbolises its start-up. Marius Bergseth, the Chief Operational Officer in Olympic executed the first cut. Vessels based on based on SX222 CSOV design The...

Maritime UK is launching Version 6 of the Industry Code of Practice for Maritime Autonomous Ship Systems on 18 November, 2022. The accelerating pace of change in maritime autonomy has required updated guidance for those owning and operating Maritime Autonomous Ship Systems (MASS). While not a legal text, the Code has been used by manufacturers, service providers, and others as part of their day-to-day work. Many manufacturers have reported clients requiring compliance with the Code as a basis f...

DNV and China Merchant Industry (CMI) have agreed to establish a Joint Technical Innovation Centre to explore new technologies that promote the decarbonisation and digitalisation of shipping. The Centre's official launch came amid a high-profile signing ceremony between DNV and CMI executives at the 2nd World Maritime Merchants Forum 2022 (Shipbuilding Subforum), hosted by CMI in Shenzhen, China. Maritime decarbonisation and smart digital technologies Located at CMI's Shenzhen office, the Cen...