MARAD Seeks Port Microgrid Demonstration Projects
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) has an open request for proposals (RFP) that demonstrate microgrids for marine terminal operations. Closing bid date is February 16. Total funding could equal $1.5 million. This is a cost sharing effort. MARAD’s share tops at 50% of total project cost.This effort builds on MARAD’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program which partners on projects to investigate…
Top European Shippers Warn Freight Costs to Stay High
Two top European shippers warned on Wednesday freight costs were likely to remain high well into this year, offering no relief to customers including the world's biggest retailers, though they said bottlenecks should ease later in the year.Pandemic-related disruption and a surge in consumer demand drove up prices for shipping goods around the world last year, boosting profits for both container shipping group Maersk and freight forwarder DSV."Freight rates remain very high…
Stevedoring Company Fined for Dropping Excavator Overboard
A stevedoring company based in Tauranga, New Zealand has been ordered to pay a $90,000 fine and $20,000 in costs for safety failings that led to an excavator being dropped overboard from a logging ship in 2018.C3 Limited had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching its duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and was sentenced February 4 in the Wellington District Court.Maritime NZ’s central compliance manager…
Fatigue Led to Sinking of Fishing Vessel in Alaska
A captain’s decision to get under way while fatigued led to the grounding and sinking of a fishing vessel near Whittier, Alaska, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in Marine Investigation Report released Tuesday.On July 24, 2021, the fishing vessel Tenacious, which fished primarily for pink salmon, grounded at the entrance to Wells Passage while transiting to fishing grounds in Prince William Sound. The five crewmembers abandoned the vessel and were rescued.
Petronas, MOL Sign Liquefied CO2 Shipping MoU
Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas said on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) to explore opportunities in liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) shipping in Asia Pacific and Oceania regions.Both parties will jointly study liquefied CO2 transportation for the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) value chain, Petronas said in a statement.Liquefied CO2 transportation helps connect CCUS sites safely and efficiently over long distances w
Supply Chain Chaos to Boost Maersk 2022 Profit
Shipping group Maersk expects 2022 earnings to be around as high as last year, it said on Wednesday, as the supply chain disruption that sent freight rates soaring extends into the first half.It expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at around $24 billion this year, similar to last year, but slightly below the $24.4 billion expected by analysts in a…
Keppel Offshore & Marine Reels in $186M in New Contracts
Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine said Wednesday it had secured contracts worth around S$250 million (~$186 million) for the conversion of a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), integration of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, and the "jumboisation" of two Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD).For the first contract, Keppel Shipyard has received the Final Notice to Proceed (FNTP) from GAS-fifteen Ltd…
Pacific Northwest Waterways Association Names Stebbings Executive Director
Trade group the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA) announced it has hired Heather Stebbings as executive director.Stebbings has 15 years of advocacy and public policy experience for the PNW maritime community, including 13 years directing communications and government relations for PNWA.“Heather is a proven, well-rounded leader with deep experience and relationships in our industry, across the Northwest, and in Washington, D.C.,” said Glen Squires, PNWA Board President.
Stradling Joins Furuno USA
Marine electronics company Furuno USA announced it recently hired Andrew Stradling as technical applications manager.Based in Seattle, Stradling will work alongside longtime Furuno USA representatives Alan Terry and Jon Closson for the overall promotion and sales of Furuno commercial fishery solutions in the Americas. In addition to managing Furuno’s specialty hydroacoustics product line, Stradling will contribute to the training of Furuno personnel…
Why Should Shipping Come Under the EU's Carbon Trading System?
The European Commission has proposed adding shipping to the bloc's carbon market for the first time, in a move that is set to shake up the industry after years of avoiding pollution charges by the bloc.But already there is disagreement about how it will work given the complexities of the shipping industry and how fast it can decarbonize.Here is what is known so far about the process ahead.Why should shipping be included in the ETS?With about 90% of world trade transported by sea…
Wave Energy Developer Plots Strong Growth Plan in '22, IPO in '23
South Korean wave energy developer INGINE revealed ambitious growth plans for 2022,its10th anniversary.Today the company is approaching a landmark fifth year of wave energy operation in North East Asia, via the Jeju Bukchon Wave Power Plant built in 2015. Additional international projects will see expansion across four continents throughout 2022 and beyond.This includes a Vietnamese and Korean initiative in Quang Ngai province - through a five-party MoU involving Quang Ngai People’s Committee…
Ship Emissions: MIT Takes the Lead Toward Net Zero
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) launched a new research consortium—the Future Energy Systems Center—to address the climate crisis and the role energy systems can play in solving it. Randall Field, Executive Director, discusses current research and the challenges ahead for the maritime sector.The reputation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is such that it can take mammoth issues — such as driving the world to net zero — head-on…
US' Sole Heavy Icebreaker Arrives in Antarctica
The 157 crewmembers of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) arrived at McMurdo Station in Antarctica Monday following an 86-day transit from the United States and the cutter’s departure from its Seattle homeport Nov. 13.This deployment marks the Polar Star’s 25th journey to Antarctica supporting Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation…
US Posts Record Trade Deficit in 2021
The U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high in 2021 as imports increased sharply amid the restocking of shelves by businesses to meet robust domestic demand.The sharp widening in the trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday mostly reflected a shift in spending towards goods from services during the COVID-19 pandemic. With businesses eager to rebuild depleted inventories against the backdrop of stretched global supply chains…
Hapag-Lloyd Sees Freight Pressure Easing from Q2
German shipping company Hapag Lloyd expects delivery bottlenecks and high prices for container freight to start easing in the second quarter, its chief executive said.Assuming the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic is over, the loading and unloading of ships should function more smoothly, helping to reduce the lines of vessels waiting off the west coast of the United States, he said.“As soon as we have the current Omicron wave behind us…
STQ Inks Maintenance Deal with Wärtsilä for Two Vessels
Technology group Wärtsilä reports it has signed an Optimized Maintenance Agreement with the Canadian ferry operator Societé des Traversiers du Quebec (STQ). The five year long-term agreement covers two vessels, the Jos Deschenes II and the Armand Imbeau II, each of which operates with Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines. A similar agreement was signed earlier covering another STQ ferry, the F.A. Gauthier.
Johnson Joins The Shearer Group, Inc.
Houston-based naval architecture, marine engineering and marine surveying firm The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) announced it has hired mechanical engineer Ethan Johnson.Johnson graduated from the University of Houston with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Continuum Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics, Convection Heat Transfer, and Nonlinear Controls. For his undergraduate research project…
Shell and GTT Partner on LH2 Carrier Design
Energy giant Shell is partnering with French engineering firm GTT with the aim to develop "breakthrough, cutting-edge technologies" to enable maritime transport of liquid hydrogen (LH2).The cooperation agreement between Shell International Trading and Shipping Company and GTT is part of Shell's strategy to develop a hydrogen energy supply chain by creating scalable and safe liquefied hydrogen shipping technologies.
Maersk Vessels Transmit Live Weather Data to Meteorologists
Container shipping giant A.P. Moller - Maersk said it has teamed up with National Meteorological Service of Germany, Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) to install automated weather stations enabling a portion of its fleet to transmit live data to help forecast weather and climate.In the largest project of its kind, A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has installed automated weather stations (AWS) on 50 of its vessels creating a pulsating oceanic web of weather and climate observations.
Six Russian Warships Transiting to Black Sea for Drills
Six Russian warships are heading to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean for naval drills, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Tuesday, in what it said was a pre-planned movement of military resources.Russia announced last month its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets in January and February, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in the…
