Life is hectic, and sometimes it gets even busier than that, but for the mariner there are pressures from all quarters. Paperwork is a big draw on the time of most deck officers and getting the pages of compliance, port requirements, cargo and fuel documents in order for the next port of call can take a mammoth effort, only to have it restart when the vessel is in her berth if in fact there is a vacant berth and it is not a local holiday or five thousand cruise passengers ...

Looking Back 2018 saw a sea-change in attitudes and actions towards Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. By March, of the 94 cruise ships on the global order-book, 18 under construction were LNG-powered. This represented 20% of all newbuildings for the cruise industry, but 25% of newbuilding capacity due to the size of the vessels ordered. The world’s first fully LNG-fuelled cruise ship, SEA\LNG member Carnival’s AIDAnova entered service in December with a further seven LNG-powered cruise ships ordered by Carnival to be operational by end 2022. More ...

Air pollution from ship traffic in the Mediterranean Sea can significantly be reduced due to the introduction of an Emission Control Area (ECA), a new report launched yesterday found. France which is behind the impact assessment investigated potential air quality improvements in the region following a switch to better grade marine fuels as well as related socio-economic benefits especially in terms of reduced health costs and environmental damage. Inter alia the report highlights that particulate matter can be reduced by up to 20% and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels even by ...

The shipping industry is rapidly reaching a point of no return: Emission limits and, in the more distant future, complete decarbonization will change ship operation dramatically. The question is: How should container ships be built today? The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to less than two degrees. For the shipping industry, the IMO’s greenhouse gas strategy (MEPC.304(72)) has set three targets: to reduce CO2 emissions per transport work by at least 40 per cent by the year 2030 compared to 2008 levels, pursuing ...

As October’s MEPC73 meeting in closed in London, the Clean Arctic Alliance and Arctic indigenous groups expressed our satisfaction for the support given by many member nations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations body which governs international shipping, towards commencing work on the development of a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters. While the news may not appear earth-shattering, progress is often won in undramatic ways. After the MEPC73 (Marine Environment Protection Committee) meeting , the Clean Arctic Alliance ...

As we quickly approach the turning point of a new decade, there is much speculation on what would be decided in terms of regulations imposed on the shipping activity. IMO’s working group has been analysing some future strategic possibilities to be introduced in order to combat the shipping industry estimated 2.5% share of global CO2 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This is a prioritised area since without any decisive measure an alarming increase in the sector share of emissions by 50-250% might be achieved within 2050. Although CO2 is a huge ...

Verifavia, the world’s leading emissions verification company for the transport sector (aviation and shipping), announced continuing success in the independent certification of IT systems and solutions designed to support compliance with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Data Collection System (DCS) regulation and European Union (EU) Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV). With both regulations now in force, increasing numbers of IT systems are available to assist ship owners and operators in collating and reporting emissions data, all of which need to strictly adhere to the relevant legal requirements. More than 30 ...

This week, the UK Government launched the Clean Air Strategy 2019, a report showing how the Government will tackle air pollution, making the UK’s air healthier to breathe, protecting nature and boosting the economy, covering how the UK will approach tackling vessel emissions. Andy Page, Managing Director of Chartwell Marine, a specialist in hybrid propulsion and Naval Architectural consultancy business which supports boat builders and vessel operators worldwide, has drawn attention to the government clearly outlining how it is going to help tackle the issue of emissions at UK ports ...

The IMO considers exhaust gas scrubbers to be an acceptable means of reducing vessels’ sulphur emissions and ensuring compliance with MARPOL Annex VI. A separate guideline, Resolution MEPC.259(68), specifies the requirements for the verification, testing, survey and certification of scrubber systems and sets out the criteria for discharging scrubber washwater into the sea. However, some coastal states and ports have implemented local regulations with more stringent requirements that restrict or completely prohibit the discharge of washwater from open loop scrubbers or prohibit the use of scrubbers. We are currently aware ...

The 2020 global sulphur cap is less than a year away and fuel efficiency is high on the shipping industry’s agenda. Cutting fuel consumption and emissions is vital to meet regulation, remain competitive, and work towards a reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions. Here are four start-ups to watch out for in 2019 that have developed innovative technologies to improve fuel efficiency and ship performance. I-Tech is a Swedish company responsible for introducing a unique biotechnology to the maritime sector. The organic, non-metal molecule known as Selektope has previously been ...

Eniram, a Wärtsilä company and French ferry operator La Méridionale, have taken notable steps on digitalising La Méridionale’s fleet with the help of the latest energy management technology. This partnership is in line with Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine vision, which through the extensive use of digitalisation, will enable the efficient use of resources with the least possible impact on the environment. The ‘Piana’, a ro-pax ferry that travels between Marseille and Corsica, was equipped with Eniram Trim and Speed solutions in April 2017. The evaluation period, which ended in summer 2018, ...

The Port Authority today announced that the first all-electric straddle carrier in the United States is coming to the Port of New York and New Jersey by the end of this year, the agency’s most recent initiative to meet aggressive targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement. A straddle carrier is a piece of terminal yard handling equipment that is used to move cargo containers by first straddling the container and then lifting it up and driving over the back of a truck to ...

The largest single volume order received for the barnacle-repelling antifouling ingredient Selektope® coupled with strong commercial developments in late 2018 will see the number of ships using Selektope®-containing antifouling coatings more than double in 2019. Placed by one of the industry’s leading marine coating manufacturers Chugoku Marine Paints (CMP) in December 2018, this follow up order fulfils CMP’s previous minimum commitments contained in supply agreements signed in early 2018. The order will be delivered during 2019 for use in CMP’s range of existing coating products containing Selektope® that target both ...

The Methanol Institute (MI) is backing a project at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) of Singapore which will be the first evaluation of Methanol as a marine fuel in Asia. The project consists of two phases, with the first consisting of desktop and bench-testing the Methanol-powered engine employed in the GreenPilot evaluation programme in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the second phase, the engine will be shipped to Singapore for installation onboard a harbour craft vessel for service within a fleet for a six-month sea trial, followed by an engine ‘teardown’ to test ...

Research paper focused on the analysis of solar power trials on-board the high speed RoRo vessel Blue Star Delos. This paper as published in the Journal of Marine Engineering and Technology is now available via open access via this link: Analysis of marine solar power trials on Blue Star Delos The author of the paper, Greg Atkinson, is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Eco Marine Power. An extract of the conclusions noted in the paper is as follows: The trials on Blue Star Delos demonstrated that under operational ...