AI - News

GTMaritime, pioneering experts in secure maritime data communications solutions, has released a new whitepaper that assesses the impact Low Earth Orbit (LEO) networks are having on the maritime industry and key considerations for wider adoption. Available to download free of charge, Opportunities and Challenges: Introducing New LEO Networks to the Maritime Industry, offers an insightful overview of commercial shipping’s first movers in LEO network service use. It outlines the potential fo...

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 exp...

Akiem, a renowned European rolling stock leasing company, has ordered an additional 15 Vectron AC and Vectron MS locomotives from Siemens Mobility. The order was placed as part of a framework agreement for the purchase of locomotives that was signed in December 2021. Locomotives from this new call will be delivered between 2025 and 2027. Akiem previously ordered 20 Vectron locomotives from Siemens Mobility in December 2021 and an additional 65 units last August. Akiem order for Vectron locomot...

OCI Global and X-Press Feeders have announced that OCI Hyfuels will supply X-Press Feeders with green methanol in the Port of Rotterdam from 2024. The milestone agreement is the first green methanol deal with a feeder container carrier and represents a crucial step in the decarbonisation of the shipping chain, as the feeder industry plays an important role in supporting the ultimate carrier. X-Press Feeders will be the first common feeder operator with methanol-fuelled vessels on the water in E...

Robert Allan Ltd. is pleased to announce that Cao Gang 30 and Cao Gang 31 were successfully delivered to the owner Caofeidian Port, in the northern part of China in July 2023. The newly completed RAmparts 3500 tugs were built by Zhenjiang Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd. The new vessels were designed by Robert Allan Ltd. for operation in Bohai Bay for towing, vessel assistance, and fire-fighting purposes. New RAmparts 3500 tugs delivered The new vessels were designed based on a well-proven RAmparts...

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) and Siglar Carbon, a maritime emissions analytics company, have announced an agreement to enable customers to evaluate the different carbon options for cargo programmes via Workspace. Carbon consequence of shipping The agreement will combine Siglar’s emissions insights with LSEG’s industry-pioneering European carbon markets and industry emissions analytics to help charterers, traders, brokers, and ship owners understand, predict, and improve...

Hellenic Marine Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters (HEMEXPO), a major suppliers and exporters association for the international shipping sector, has reached an agreement with the world’s renowned classification society, DNV, for the assessment of energy-saving devices (ESDs) produced by HEMEXPO member companies. Stepwise ESD assessment Under the terms of the agreement, in the first instance, DNV will review a makers list provided by HEMEXPO to identify ESDs that fall in the category o...

ABS issued Approval in Principle (AiP) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for its new ammonia-based ship HVAC refrigeration system. Eco-friendly refrigerant HHI developed the system in response to shipowners’ requests for refrigeration of HVAC systems using ammonia, a more eco-friendly refrigerant with a zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and a Global Warming Potential of zero per the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE). ABS used...

Furuno (headquartered in Nishinomiya City; President and CEO: Yukio Furuno) will participate in the Joint Technological Development Program for the Demonstration of Fully Autonomous Ships under the MEGURI 2040 Fully Autonomous Ship Project (‘MEGURI2040’), administrated by the Nippon Foundation, as a member of the Designing the Future of Fully Autonomous Ships Plus consortium (“DFFAS+”), which comprises 51 companies based in Japan. On July 20, the Nippon Foundation held a...

The Nigerian Navy says assets acquired by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, otherwise known as the Deep Blue project, have been deployed across the Southwest, Central and Eastern Zonal operations to enhance patrol of the Nigerian maritime domain. The Acting Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command and Commander Deep Blue Project, Commodore Victor Choji made the declaration, during a workin...

ABS brought together maritime industry leaders from the United Kingdom (UK) to discuss the latest advances in sustainability and transformational technologies. Attendees at the UK National Committee Meeting heard how the ABS-classed fleet had grown to 280 million gross tons and secured the number one position in global order-book share. Decarbonisation ABS is leading the maritime industry in decarbonisation and sustainability solutions" “ABS is leading the maritime industry in decarbon...

Tokyo-based classification society - ClassNK has granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to a CII management solution called Bearing CII Optimizer, developed by Bearing, Inc. In order to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, ClassNK has offered Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions. ClassNK supports the deployment of products and services through third-party certification for equipment and software technology with innovative functi...

Harbour Commission Vice President, Bobby Olvera Jr. was elected on Monday as President of the Long Beach Board of Harbour Commissioners, the five-member panel that oversees the Port of Long Beach. The board also selected Bonnie Lowenthal as Vice President and Frank Colonna as Secretary.   Each July, Commissioners select a President and two Board Officers for one-year terms. The Commission’s new officers will begin their terms at the next regularly scheduled meeting, on Monday, Augus...

ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a cargo containment system (CCS) and cargo handling system (CHS) for a liquefied hydrogen carrier developed by GTT. Hydrogen is expected to be used as a source of clean energy for decarbonisation since it does not emit CO2 when combusted. The technological development for maritime hydrogen transportation is progressing actively with the aim of establishing a hydrogen supply chain.  Review of CCS and CHS ClassNK carried out the design...

Tokyo-based classification society, ClassNK has released the latest ‘ClassNK Technical Journal’, which has been published for contributing to the advancement of technology and society through the outcome of R&D and technical activities. ‘ClassNK Technical Journal’ The latest issue - ‘ClassNK Technical Journal No.7 2023 (I)’ focuses on efforts toward the safe operation of progressively larger container ships. It provides an overview of structural rules ap...

Crowley has been recognised by the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) with Jones F. Devlin Awards for the safe operations of 90 company-owned or -managed vessels. The Devlin Awards publicly recognises the skills and dedication of the men and women who are responsible for safe vessel operations and is presented to vessels that have operated for two full years or more without a crew member losing a full turn at watch because of an occupational injury. Crowley recognised with Jones F. Devlin Aw...

RST and Samskip are proud to announce the successful launch of their Green Shore Power initiative, which aims to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions produced by vessels docked, by providing new clean shore-powered energy solutions. The joint initiative is an example of what companies can do, if they have a common goal and join forces in the energy transition toward CO2 neutrality.  Shore power solution The shore power solution is the first of its kind for a container terminal in the Nether...

There’s no doubt the energy transition is set to be transformative for Scotland’s construction sector. The government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, published earlier this year, carries a clear mandate to deliver an energy system this decade that enables us to become a net-zero nation by 2045. As demand continues to mount for renewable energy developments – from onshore and offshore wind to hydrogen, solar, marine and hydropower, and even projects aime...

The design of a pioneering, fully autonomous ship framework has received approval in principle (AIP) from ABS. The fully autonomous ship framework named APExS-auto (Action Planning and Execution System for full autonomous) was developed by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) and Japan Marine Science Inc. (JMS) as part of the fully autonomous ship programme MEGURI 2040. APExS-auto framework ABS worked with MTI and JMS to review the APExS-auto framework by...

Representatives from across the UK’s maritime sector and shipbuilding industry have made recommendations to the government after assessing progress on a key strategy launched last year. The National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh, launched in March 2022, set out the UK Government’s vision for a productive, competitive and innovative shipbuilding sector. It set out a 30-year shipbuilding pipeline for cross-government orders, pledged to support green shipbuilding technologies and build...

Babcock is delighted to have successfully achieved certification to The Carbon Trust Route to Net Zero Standard – Taking Action tier. The verification and certification process involved a quantitative assessment of carbon emissions, as well as a qualitative assessment of governance, carbon measurements, implementation, and stakeholder engagement. Babcock attains The Carbon Trust certification Babcock have committed to delivering Net Zero across their own operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 20...

Shipowners face an ultimatum in 2023, upgrade their Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) technology to comply with new laws or scrap their vessels. CII data from 2022 must have been calculated and reported to the Data Collection System (DCS) verifier and sent by March 21, 2024, and 30% of ships simply don’t have the technology onboard to do it.  New carbon targets The move comes as the International Marine Organization (IMO) in July announced new carbon targets, which include a 20% red...

ESVAGT and HAV Design have selected Brunvoll as the supplier of a propulsion and manoeuvring system for another Service Operations Vessel (SOV). The delivery will be a repeat of the contracted vessel from 2022, known as 'The world's first green fuel SOV'.  Both vessels are built by Cemre Shipyard and will enter into a 10-year charter for Ørsted at their U.K East Coast Hub. Propulsion and manoeuvring system The delivery from Brunvoll consists of a complete propulsion and manoeuvrin...

The first LNG carrier in a series currently under construction by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in Korea has completed gas trials. Originally ordered in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2021 and scheduled for delivery in July 2023, the ship is powered by MAN B&W ME-GA dual-fuel engines capable of running on fuel oil and LNG, and comes with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) for emission reduction. ‘ME-GA opti’ – new control feature MAN Energy Solutions has always played a leading role in de...

Babcock has entered into a strategic agreement with HII to collaborate on naval and civil nuclear decommissioning and construction opportunities in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). Both companies will apply their complementary capabilities to existing nuclear decommissioning contracts for US ships and UK submarines, to share best practices and provide the opportunity to upskill and enhance both organisations’ capability for the benefit of the US and UK progr...

Energy market analytics company - Aurora says that Britain is not on track to meet the UK government’s renewables targets without innovation. Aurora’s report echoes recent analysis from the Climate Change Committee, whose Chair - Lord Deben said that ‘the government is failing in much of its implementation’ of its targets. The Public Accounts Committee also recently said it is ‘sceptical’ over whether expansion plans for nuclear, solar and wind is credible....

The UK government announced a series of steps for the coming years to expand its Emission Trading Scheme, including for the first time bringing domestic shipping into the program. Experts highlight that it is another example of individual countries taking steps to reduce emissions in the lack of international agreements for industries, such as shipping that reach beyond domestic borders. The announcement that shipping will be required to participate in the program starting in 2026 comes as the...

The 175 member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have unanimously agreed on an ambition to reach net-zero GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from international shipping close to 2050. The previous strategy aimed for a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050. However, the new one is far more ambitious. The IMO is now targeting at least a 20% reduction by 2030 and 70% by 2040, compared to 2008 emission levels. The new strategy also includes striving for even higher reductions than th...

MAN Energy Solutions has announced the successful first running of a test engine on ammonia at its Research Centre Copenhagen (RCC). The company reports that the successful combustion was performed on a MAN B&W two-stroke 4T50ME-X type and produced positive results with particularly promising data regarding pilot-oil amount and combustion stability. First ammonia engine test completed Gunnar Stiesch, the Chief Technical Officer, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “This marks a major milest...

The maritime sector has just become one step closer to clean, emission-free shipping, thanks to collaboration between FincoEnergies and the Port of Amsterdam, which has resulted in a permit for FincoEnergies to supply bio-methanol to maritime consumers within the Amsterdam port area. FincoEnergies is the first operational supplier of this specific product in The Netherlands. Thanks to a fully sustainable production process (well-to-wheel), a certified CO2 reduction of no less than 92.4% can be...