The Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) - Experts & Thought Leaders

As the curtains fall on Europort 2023, memories linger of an event that saw stakeholders from across the maritime world connect on the key themes of energy transition and digitalisation, as well as the human capital and finance needed to support them. Europort 2023 Europort has drawn to a close after four busy days of conferences, networking, and awards ceremonies that also saw a series of new and innovative products introduced to the maritime and offshore markets. In 2023, 24,470 visitors and 1,051 exhibitors from 107 countries converged on Rotterdam, Europe’s maritime capital, for the 41st edition of Europort. Opening summit The opening keynote speech and visual presentation were crafted entirely by AI Proceedings got underway on Tuesday, 7 November with a provocative Opening Summit exploring artificial intelligence in the maritime industry. With the audience surprised to learn that the opening keynote speech and visual presentation had been crafted entirely by AI, the session set the tone for a week in which technology was a prominent theme. Evolve 6EL23 engine, Methanol Superstorage On day two, 8 November, Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) unveiled its innovative Evolve 6EL23 engine – a multi-fuel, six-cylinder engine that “embraces the future of engine technology” to help ABC customers tackle their energy-transition challenges. In another energy transition-related product launch on the following day, SRC Group showcased its ‘Methanol Superstorage’ solution that overcomes the storage issues typically associated with the use of methanol as a marine fuel. Methanol as a marine fuel We officially launched Methanol Superstorage to support the adoption and deployment of methanol “At Europort 2023, we officially launched Methanol Superstorage, a ground-breaking solution to support the adoption and deployment of methanol as a marine fuel,” commented Hannes Lilp, CEO, of SRC Group.  “This aligned perfectly with Europort’s key theme of energy transition, and we were delighted with the level of interest from visitors throughout the week.” Sustainable shipping Europort’s coverage of sustainable shipping was a recurring topic among attendees, with Marcel Wandel, Aftermarkets Sales Manager, Global Customer Support, Kongsberg Maritime which won the SMART4SEA Europort Autonomous Shipping Award on 9 November commenting, “Our strapline of ‘Protecting People and Planet’ is well represented at Europort given the event’s emphasis on sustainability." "Europort is also the most important event for the Benelux market and, in line with our role of developing technological solutions in maritime, has been very good for us so far.” The Netherlands is a key link  Europort connects us with all kinds of partners given the presence of ship owners, yards, and technology companies" Guido Garufi, Business Development Manager Benelux, RINA, said, “With our focus on sustainability, not only for the ship but for the entire infrastructure in maritime, Europort connects us with all kinds of partners given the presence of ship owners, yards, and technology companies." "The Netherlands is also key for us as a link between the Baltic Sea countries, the northern Mediterranean, and Türkiye.” Significance to the UK supply chain Another aspect of Europort 2023 that received praise from attendees was its international reach. Helen Stephen, Director, of the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI), commented, “Europort is a key event for SMI as a showcase for UK marine-engineering capabilities to an international audience." "With its special significance to the UK supply chain, the Dutch market is also important for our association and member companies.” Turkish and Dutch clusters Europort is not just an exhibition but a connection point for all those involved in the sector" Mehtap Karahallı Özdemir, Secretary General, GİSBİR – the Turkish Shipbuilders’ Association discussed the close links between the Turkish and Dutch maritime clusters, describing Europort as an “excellent platform” for bringing diverse stakeholders together. “The size of our participation is growing each time, and this year, more than 40 Turkish companies are exhibiting at the show,” she added. “Europort is not just an exhibition but a connection point for all those involved in the sector, and we have been delighted to participate in the wider programme for the week.” Bawat Damen The international makeup of Europort’s exhibitor list provided fertile ground for collaboration and innovation. On 9 November, Dutch company Damen Green Solutions and Swedish-headquartered Bawat Water Technologies signed a formal agreement to solidify their joint venture, ‘Bawat Damen’, in the development and sales of cutting-edge mobile ballast water treatment systems. CAREER4SEA Europort Awards On 10 November, the successful 41st edition of Europort came to a close following events including the Connecting Next-gen Professionals to Maritime Finance debate, the human capital-themed CAREER4SEA Europort Awards, and the Fisheries Innovation Network (FIN) first-anniversary session. The FIN event, which saw a visit from Piet Adema, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, explored the sustainable practices and new technologies shaping the future of fishing. Organisers at Europort will soon turn their attention to Europort 2025, which takes place from 2 to 5 November at Rotterdam Ahoy.

Maritime sectors must work together to enable the shipping industry to meet the challenges it faces over the coming years and to develop a greener and more sustainable future. Speaking in the first of a series of video interviews for London International Shipping Week 2023 (LISW23), Pino Spadafora, Senior Director, Global Marine Commercial & Strategy, for classification society - RINA, pointed out that LISW23 provides ‘an incredible platform’ for shipping executives to share experiences. London International Shipping Week 2023 (LISW23) Class societies are at the forefront of shipping’s development to meet its challenges Highlighting the importance of engaging with fellow shipping industry colleagues across many sectors, Pino Spadafora said: “We have to work together, there is no solo approach.” Class societies are at the forefront of shipping’s development to meet its challenges. In the 20 minute interview for London Interviews, Mr. Spadafora discussed a number of shipping concerns with LISW Co-Founder - Sean Moloney. RINA’s holistic approach encompass information sharing Pino Spadafora outlined how RINA is acting as an integrator to bring together industry colleagues from throughout shipping and taking a holistic approach encompassing information sharing. He also advised of the usefulness of gaining inspiration from best practices in other business sectors such as aviation.

Classification society, RINA, has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate to MAN Energy Solutions for its methanol-ready MAN L/V 32/44CR engine. The AiP covers an upgrade concept for the four-stroke engine for conversion to dual-fuel running on methanol to provide greater flexibility to ship owners. MAN L/V 32/44CR engine Patrizio Di Francesco, the EMEA Special Projects Manager at RINA, said: “This AiP is based on our recently published Methyl Alcohol Fuelled Ready notation." Methanol is a fuel with a lot of potential as clean, carbon-neutral fuel" He continues, "Methanol is a fuel with a lot of potential as clean, carbon-neutral fuel and the industry is already showing concrete appreciation of it.” Patrizio Di Francesco adds, “The successful cooperation with MAN is a further step towards the availability of future-proof solutions for ship owners.” Inherent retrofit potential Elvis Ettenhofer, the Head of New Marine Solutions at MAN Energy Solutions, said: “This approval by RINA is significant as we move towards net zero. A major advantage of our four-stroke portfolio is its inherent retrofit potential, which enables us to provide ship owners with cost-effective solutions and flexibility regarding future fuels.” He adds, “In this latter respect, there is no doubt but that interest in methanol is growing and that it will have a prominent role to play within shipping.” Methanol offers several, physical advantages as a fuel Methanol has several, physical advantages as a fuel, including a liquid state at ambient temperatures Methanol has several, physical advantages as a fuel, including a liquid state at ambient temperatures and its accordingly easy handling aboard vessels, compared to gaseous fuels. Under combustion, methanol also emits fewer NOx emissions and no SOx nor soot emissions. In preparation for the fuels that will power a decarbonised future, MAN Energy Solutions is also developing solutions for methanol, which can become carbon-neutral if synthesised with green hydrogen. Methanol less hazardous to marine life than conventional fuels Finally, methanol is also much less hazardous to marine life, when compared with conventional marine fuels. The Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate permits the use of outer ship hulls as bunker tanks, thereby increasing fuel-storage capacity on-board.