Ship Operation News

The wall climbing robot for steel structures - developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, and MOL Ship Management  to support ship inspection and maintenance - has completed a demonstration test and earned the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) Innovation Endorsement.The Innovation Endorsement is ClassNK's third-party certification program. It certifies and supports initiatives that contribute to the sustainable evolution of maritime and offshore businesses.The robot…

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed new guidance on several key environmental issues.Meeting from February 19 to 23, 2024, the following guidance will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval this March (MEPC 81) and October (MEPC 82):• the safe transport of plastic pellets by sea• best practices for cutting black carbon emissions from ships operating in or near the Arctic• reducing risks of use and carriage…

Manta Marine Technologies, formerly known as Yara Marine Technologies (YMT), unveiled its new brand and leadership team, following its recent acquisition by Geneva-based Okapi Supply Trading Advisory SA.The Manta Marine Technologies team will now be led by CEO Ina Reksten, who previously served as Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer. Outgoing CEO Dr Thomas Koniordos has been appointed as Chair of the Board, while former Chief Sales Officer, Aleksander Askeland will be the new CFO and Richard Engelhart Bjercke will be the new CCO.“I am confident that Manta Marine Technologies…

Like so many other industries in transportation, the marine industry is being challenged on multiple fronts—from a shortage of manpower and emerging digital technologies to sustainability requirements. In the face of these growing pressures, ship designers increasingly rely on digital transformation to stay competitive and deliver higher-quality products. Digital transformation offers many solutions across a ship’s lifecycle, from design and crew training to interconnectivity and automation…

On October 23, NYK held its annual roundtable discussion on current conditions and issues on board vessels, highlighting the role of communications in ship safety.The meeting was held at the NYK head office in Tokyo in a hybrid format and attended by more than 150 participants, including three captains and three chief engineers on leave, the captain and chief engineer on board the car carrier Iris Leader, the captain aboard the crude oil tanker Tensho, 22 executive officers, and…

Korean Register (KR) has launched KR-Real360, a 360-degree XR (eXtended Reality)-based ship education and training program.KR-Real360 has been developed to provide users with the educational information necessary for ship operation and maintenance using the latest XR technology. Users can effortlessly locate educational resources, such as operation manuals, survey data, and checklists, available in diverse formats including images, text, PDFs, and videos within the ship's virtual reality environment…

Techcross, a comprehensive environmental company, will participate in the 2023 Kormarine.Techcross, known for its performance and sales in electrolysis-type ballast water management systems (BWMS), will showcase its expansion into new business areas alongside its existing BWMS at the 2023 Kormarine.As regulations have become more stringent for achieving net-zero and environmental protection goals, Techcross has diversified its lineup of ESD (Energy Saving Device) aimed at improving ship operation efficiency as well as focusing on AMP system.

Japanese companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and MOL Marine & Engineering Co. (MOLMEC) said Wednesday they would launch a training program using the Dynamic Positioning (DP) System simulator, targeting crewmembers of self-elevating platform (SEP) vessels and service operation vessels (SOVs), which will support offshore wind power generation projects. The two firms aim to complete the program and open the course at the MOL DP Training Center by the end of 2023.MOL said the training program would be open to a wide range of applicants from Japan and overseas…

NYK has delivered Rera As, an NYK-owned crew transport vessel (CTV), to Siemens Gamesa for the Ishikari Bay New Port offshore wind farm.The ClassNK certified vessel is the first CTV owned and operated by the NYK Group and is largest gross tonnage CTV currently in operation in Japan (according to NYK research). NYK Group's Hokuyo Kaiun will manage and operate the vessel.The vessel was completed in Singapore in April, and it was reflaged to Japan after equipment modifications, such as fenders and radio equipment…

Yara Marine Technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) application developers Molflow, Chalmers University of Technology and social science specialists from Halmstad University and Gothenburg University have collaborated over three years to develop and trial an AI-based semi-autonomous voyage planning system.Initiated in August 2020, the Via Kaizen project explores how AI and machine learning can enable more energy-efficient voyage planning for ship operators. The project demonstrated…

Ship management association InterManager is urging the European Commission to follow the polluter pays approach when finalising legislation intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping in European waters.Shipowners are concerned that proposed EU-ETS legislation could miss its mark if it holds ship management firms accountable for emissions reductions rather than target the parties who control key pollution-related aspects of ship operation such as fuel, machinery and vessel speed.In a submission to the Commission…

The IMO Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) Sub-Committee held its 10th session from April 24 to 28, 2023, discussing a range of topics including black carbon regulation and an update to biofouling guidance.ABS has provided a summary of the session, noting that after extensive discussion, the Sub-Committee agreed to establish a Correspondence Group that will seek to finalize draft guidelines on black carbon emission data collection and reporting. The group will also draft guidelines on goal-based control measures to reduce its impact on the Arctic, which it expects to be completed in 2025.

In no uncertain terms, the goal of “future capable” ship’s propulsion is confusing. We have been pressed into a regulatory environment that asks us to reduce emissions, and in the same breath deliver power sufficient to meet commercial schedules and allow the vessel to weather a storm and be safe at sea. To reach that end, owners are presented with a basket of new alternative fuels to achieve the latest January 1, 2023 Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations. Add that most operators have no previous historical experience or data with these alternative fuels…

A group of partners in South Korea has set out to develop, demonstrate and commercialize vessels powered by small modular reactors (SMR).Nuclear power for ships has been gaining interest amid stricter greenhouse gas emissions regulations in the international shipping sector.Nine participating institutions, including KAERI, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gyeongju-si, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), Korean Register (KR), H-Line Shipping Co., Ltd., HMM Co., Ltd., Wooyang Shipping Co., Ltd., Sinokor Merchant Marine Co., Ltd.

In his annual New Years' address to employees, NYK President Hitoshi Nagasawa warned that while markets, particularly the containershipping market, will be more challenging in 2023 compared to the past two years, overall the group has "long anticipated that the strong tailwind would not last long," and in turn has "implemented structural reforms in the dry bulk business as well as cost reductions in various areas," to help ensure profitable operations.He cited the prolonged impact of COVID-19…

NYK and MTI Co., Ltd. received approval from ClassNK for a new condition-based maintenance (CBM) method implemented on NYK-owned coal carrier Noshiro Maru. The certified CBM is a method for monitoring the condition of bearings of large marine diesel engines through temperature data, a method that was adopted in the "CBM Guidelines, Second Edition"4 issued by ClassNK in 2021.In addition, the Diesel Engine Main Bearing Condition Monitoring System, which visualizes bearing temperature data that can be obtained through sensors installed on the main bearings and ship operation data…

The first steel cutting ceremony was held for the first of two LNG-powered ships for the cruise ship operator TUI Cruises.Shipbuilder Fincantieri said Wednesday that the construction start-up ceremony had taken place in the presence of Wybcke Meier, CEO of TUI, and Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager Merchant Ship Division of Fincantieri, in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) at Centro Servizi Navali, a company specialized in logistics and production of sheet metal for the Fincantieri yards located in northeastern Italy.

Naval vessels cannot afford to lose critical systems following an impact. Brian Stanton, North America Engineering Lead at Parker Hannifin's Gas Turbine Division, talks about the extensive testing required for inlet filtration systems used on these ships.Inlet filtration used for critical ship systems, such as on the propulsion gas turbines, must pass rigorous testing prior to installation. These tests include a range of vibration and shock tests that simulate ship operation and…

We all acknowledge the environmental impact of Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) from ships, and the challenges it poses for shipping companies and shoreside organizations. While noise is produced by drive systems and other mechanical components, noise specifically from the propeller can be particularly damaging since it is the source with the greatest URN strength and propagation distance. Mitigating this type of URN production is also of timely interest, as certain whale populations…

Japan's NYK and Norway's Knutsen Group have formed a joint venture company for the commercial development of a liquefied CO2 marine transportation and storage business using the Knutsen developed technology PCO2 which allows transport of liquified CO2 at ambient temperatures. NYK and the Knutsen Group, will each hold a 50% stake in the new company, which has been named Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC). KNCC will also build and operate low/mid pressure vessels based on other technologies."Carbon capture…

BC Ferries revealed the name of its latest Island Class Ferry this week at a naming ceremony at its fleet maintenance facility in Richmond, B.C. Island Kwigwis is the newest vessel to join the fleet and will begin service in the spring of 2022, allowing for two-ship operation on the Nanaimo Harbour – Gabriola Island route.The name Kwigwis, which means "eagle of the sea," was selected with support from the 'Na̲mg̲is First Nation and celebrates the beauty of the journey and the important connection to coastal communities.

U.S.-based seabed survey and ocean exploration firm Ocean Infinity has hired VARD to design and build a new series of six multi-purpose offshore vessels that will all be operated from shore and will eventually run on green ammonia.This order of six, 85-metre, optionally crewed robotic vessels will take Ocean Infinity’s remote vessel fleet to 23 vessels, which the company says is the largest in the world. To remind, Ocean Infinity in early 2020 said it would launch a new marine technology and data company Armada…

Hamburg Fire Fighting Vessels Dresden and Prag sport diesel-electric hybrid propulsion and battery systems from EST-Floattech.After the first 100 days of operation, operator Flotte Hamburg is reports it is satisfied with the two new firefighting ships Dresden and Prague: "Due to the full approval for the use of the EST battery system 'Green Orca 1050' on inland waterway vessels, which was already available at the start of the project, the first hybrid ships of the Hamburg fleet…