IMO’s recent sulphur cap decision is a positive step as the ship owning community across Europe needs certainty, claims Dr. Patrick Verhoeven, Secretary General of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), in an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), ahead of the European Shipping Week, due to take place in Brussels during the period from 27th of February and until the 3rd of March. Still though, “we have to ensure that there is quality fuel available everywhere in the world and that adequate enforcement measures are in place ...

The recent decision by the IMO to limit the amount of sulphur emissions from vessels is bound to have a significant effect in the shipping market, as it will reduce the global sulphur cap to 0.5% from 2020 onwards. As such, alternative fuels, such as LNG are bound for a take off in the years to come, with industry players ready to implement the changes needed in order to achieve the goals set. Mr. Schaap, Commercial Director Marine, Titan LNG, discussed with us the possible implications, noting that LNG as ...

This year’s Review of Maritime Transport, launched on 7 November, highlights that 2015 was another difficult year for the shipping industry, with continued overcapacity and historically low freight rates. Following the report’s launch, we sat down with Dirk Vande Velde, chief sustainable development officer for Mediterranean Shipping Company, to discuss strategies for overcoming these challenges and for making shipping more sustainable. Q: What has MSC’s strategy been to overcome the challenges facing the shipping industry, such as overcapacity and low freight rates? A: Many analysts are saying that larger ships ...

Ship owners around the world are being faced with a flurry of new rules and standards, which they will have to comply with, in order to be able to trade their vessels. One of the most recent developments includes the ratification of the Ballast Water Treatment Convention, which will officially enter into force in September of 2017. This means that the existing fleet will have to be retrofitted with respective systems, while at the moment none of the existing solutions guarantees that the vessel will be accepted at ports around ...

Scrapyards in South East Asia are in the midst of a significant change, as they are constantly improving their operations, adhering to the norms which have been set in motion by the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. However, as Dr Nikos Mikelis, non-executive director, GMS, says on an exclusive interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), the European Union’s Ship Recycling Regulation will see European flagged vessels only be permitted to be recycled at yards reviewed, accepted and published in the European List ...

The Marshall Islands Registry (RMI Maritime Registry) has kept growing steadily over the course of the past year, continuing its trend of attaining No1 status among the Greek ship owning community. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Theofilos Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations, Managing Director-Piraeus, Greece, International Registries, Inc., talks about its potential, the overall trends witnessed in the shipping market and the challenges lying ahead. In terms of performance, how did 2015 fare for the Marshall Islands Registry, compared with previous years and which were ...

DMCA (Dubai Maritime City Authority) is no stranger to Greek owners, as the Dubai-based maritime cluster has been making huge strides over the past few years, in its attempt to lure ship owners, both from Hellas as well as other locations. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Nawfal Al-Jourani, Director of Communications of DMCA noted that Dubai offers both a stable and investor-friendly business environment, attractive taxation, as well local expertise as more than 3,000 maritime business related services companies are currently operating in the country. ...

Parker Kittiwake has been in the business of monitoring emissions for quite some time now and certainly years before the latest initiatives undertaken by the EU. As such, its opinion matters, given the expertise acquired over the year. Speaking with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Larry Rumbol, Market Development Manager (Marine) with Parker Kittiwake noted that the lack of standardization process with regards to the latest MRV rules set forth by the EU, is setting the industry up for more confusion. It’s also worth noting the huge satisfaction that ...

In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Michael J. Mitsock, Vice President of Marketing with KVH Industries, noted that a large number of older vessels up to 15 years old, estimated at 40,000-50,000 globally, are currently running outdated systems, in an era when most owners are looking to the cost optimization solutions that the latest high bandwidth technologies like VSAT can provide. Looking ahead, the company will be exploring options to make use of bandwidth to help shipowners optimise their operations, said Mr. Mitsock said. Some recently announced ...

The latest MRV rules on measuring ship emissions is among the issues mystifying people here in Posidonia. Verifavia Shipping has been holding workshops on a daily basis to help owners and interested parties understand the importance of pre-emptive action as new rules are gradually being set in place gradually. According to Mr. Julien Dufour, CEO of Verifavia Shipping and Mr. Nikolas Theodorou Managing Director at Verifavia Shipping, who spoke with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com) the company is ready to offer tangible and accurate emissions readings for all ship owners ...

Ship owners are actively upgrading to newer systems with a high demand being evident also in the VSAT markets, says Mr. Tore Morten Olsen, President Marlink Maritime in an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com). According to Mr. Olsen, one of the keys for the future is the consolidation process which has been going on in the shipping market. “This will enable us to provide higher standardization of our products to a whole fleet, instead of individual vessels and offer more cost-efficient solutions to the market”, said Mr. Olsen. ...

Higher bandwidth and better connectivity is the focus of Iridium’s new service offering, which will roll out in the second quarter of 2017. Speaking with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Brian Pemberton, Vice President & General Manager, Aviation and Maritime Business at Iridium, provided a useful insight on Iridium’s plans for the future. According to Mr. Pemberton, Iridium is currently in process of becoming compliant with Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), while also it’s actively working towards securing its products from potential cyber threats, as it is ...

Speaking with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), Mr. Jorje Quijano, Panama Canal Administrator discussed the final details ahead of the official launch of the new, expanded Panama Canal. According to Mr. Quijano, today will mark the final trials of the new Atlantic locks, with a Capesize owned by Golden Union, the company which is headed by the President of the Union of Greek Shipowners, Mr. Theodore Veniamis. Also, Mr. Quijano noted that the first vessel to do a full cross of the Panama Canal will be a Cosco-owned neopanamax container ...

From a ship owner’s point of view, being able to monitor and manage all of his ships’ operations, while they are at sea, is an invaluable tool, in making informed decisions about their employment, their procurement needs, safety, fuel needs etc. It can also be of service, when it comes to evaluating the performance of specific upgrade components, as well as a particular newbuilding design. As such, the presence of a powerful monitoring tool is of paramount importance, as it can help reduce operating costs, prevent potential damages and help ...

The dry bulk market will keep on suffering, at least until the start of 2017 and possibly well after that, should the current balance of supply and demand remain without any significant change until then. In an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide (www.hellenicshippingnews.com), BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, Mr. Peter Sand notes that with the BDI currently hovering around 400 points, the market is still far below a sustainable level. According to Mr. Sand, it’s worth noting that despite of the record amount of tonnage already scrapped since the start ...