Japan’s First Offshore Solar Demonstrator Hits Water in Tokyo
Dutch-Norwegian floating solar company SolarDuck, in collaboration with Japanese partners, has completed the installation of Japan’s first offshore floating solar demonstrator which will be used to power electric vehicles and boats.Together with its project partners Tokyu Land Corporation, Kyocera Communication Systems Corporation and Everblue Technologies, SolarDuck launched the demonstration of its…
Charting the Future: Hiroaki Sakashita President & CEO, ClassNK
![Decarbonization will [most dramatically] change the structure of seaborne trade, ships’ specification and design, ships’ operation, and the economic mechanism of maritime transportation.
– Hiroaki Sakashita, President & CEO, ClassNK
Image Courtesy Class NK](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/onization-will-most-dramatically-change-149951.jpg)
ClassNK is one of the world’s leading maritime classification societies with more than 9,200 ships totaling more than 273 million gross tons under class at the end of 2023, and a global service network of more than 120 survey offices. Last month while in Tokyo we had the opportunity to sit with Hiroaki Sakashita, President & CEO, ClassNK, a marine industry veteran for his insights on the trends driving…
Classification and Building the New Fuels Pathway
Long-term initiatives led by classification societies are building the foundation for future fuels uptake.About this time last year, ABS CEO Chris Wiernicki said: “When you look at where we are and the steepness of the curve ahead, the biggest risk is the unintended safety consequences of change.” Class, he says, is built for the intersection between technology, safety and regulations and must be prepared.Work is underway.
DX for Ship Design: Aiming to Reduce Construction Time, Costs
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and its group company MTI Co., Ltd. (MTI), in collaboration with Smert Design Co. Ltd., launched a trial to use 3D models in the initial design phase of ship construction. Ultimately, the aim of the project is to help optimize and shorten the ship design and construction process.As part of the joint research project "Ship Design Streamlining Project by Front Loading…
Keel Laying for Methanol Tugs
On 8 May 2024, KOTUG Canada Inc., a partnership between KOTUG International B.V. and Horizon Maritime Inc., held a keel laying ceremony for two RAsalvor 4400-DFM dual fuel methanol escort tugs – Robert Allan Ltd. design – to service the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, at Sanmar Shipyards Altinova in Yalova, Turkiye. The first tug is expected to be delivered by mid-2025.The tugboats are reportedly…
Ultra-fast Boat Delivered to Northern Territory Police
Dongara Marine delivered a fast patrol boat to law enforcement personnel in Australia’s Northern Territory. Completed in March 2024, PV Deutrom was purpose designed, built, and equipped for police operations requiring very high speed and the ability to carry multiple personnel. Dongara Marine also supplied a custom, heavy duty aluminium trailer to enable the vessel to be used throughout the Territory’s…
Tip #59 – AI to Maritime Trainers: "Watch Your Back …"
Last week’s headline in the Financial Times was startling to me: “Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2bn and sets sights on AI start-ups“. Oh boy. Andreessen Horowitz is one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms with an eye for investing in the next generation of tech companies that will change our lives. Their new fund tells us that the people who know the science of AI now believe it is poised to make an outsized global impact. AI is no longer a “tomorrow” thing.
Euroseas Charters Newbuild Container Ship and Secures Financing for Another One
Greek shipowner Euroseas has entered into charter contract for its fuel efficient 1,800 TEU feeder container ship currently under construction, while securing funding for a sister ship planned for delivery later in 2024.The time charter contract is for M/V Monica for a minimum period of 10 to a maximum period of 12 months at the option of the charterer, at a gross daily rate of $16,000.The new charter…
QatarEnergy and Nakilat Sign Long-Term Agreement for Nine QC-Max LNG Vessels
QatarEnergy has signed a long-term agreement with Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat), under which Nakilat will own and operate nine QC-Max class LNG vessels, the largest LNG vessels ever built.The nine QC-Max vessels, with a capacity of 271,000 cubic meters each, constitute half of the 18 advanced QC-Max class LNG vessels that will be constructed at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard.To date…
GCMD and NYK Line Study Long-Term Biofuel Use
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has teamed up with NYK Line to launch Project LOTUS (long-term impact of continuous use of biofuels on vessel operations).This six-month project will trial the continuous use of a biofuels blend comprising of 24% Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) and very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) onboard a short-sea vehicle carrier that will call at multiple ports.
PMI Awarded NAVSEA S9320-AM-PRO-020/MLDG Certification
PMI Industries, Inc., a provider of underwater marine cable connectors and subsea cable terminations, recently earned certification as a NAVSEA S9320-AM-PRO-020 approved molding facility from the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Maintenance Engineering, Planning and Procurement (SUBMEPP).PMI is one of only a handful of companies in the country with the certification and is now an approved vendor to fabricate, mold, and inspect outboard cable assemblies and components for the U.S.
Panama and UAE Establish Blue Pass Project
The Panama Maritime Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to create new incentives for vessels of the Panamanian Registry. The MoU establishes a framework for the development of the “Blue Pass” project. Ships of the Panamanian Registry will receive benefits when they enter and exit UAE ports, including discounts in auxiliary services with all companies…
Greece Aims to Deter Russian Oil Ship-to-Ship Transfers
The Greek navy on Wednesday extended an advisory effectively banning ship traffic off the coast of the southeastern Peloponnese that two sources said was aimed at deterring ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off Greece.Greece, in a rare move, over the past weeks has issued two NAVTEX notices for military exercises in the Laconian Gulf area, urging merchant and other vessels to avoid the area. One of them was issued on May 1."It was initially expiring on May 9 but was extended today…
Colombia's Ecopetrol Talking to Very Large Offshore Wind Players
Colombia's majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol has held talks with big players ahead of a potential bid in an offshore wind auction organized by the country's government, Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said on Wednesday.Roa was speaking during a call with analysts regarding the company's financial results for the first quarter of 2024, where net profit dropped 29% to 4.01 trillion pesos ($1…
Australia Backs Long-Term Gas Exploration
Australia's resources minister said on Thursday she backs the long-term exploration of potential natural gas projects, setting up a potential clash with opposition lawmakers and some in the incumbent Labor Party that oppose its use.Australia, one of the world's largest producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), is committed to reducing its emissions to net zero by 2050.But Resources Minister Madeline King said in a column in the Australian Financial Review on Thursday, ahead of the launch of the
US Sends Warship Through Taiwan Strait Ahead of Presidential Inauguration
A U.S. warship sailed through the narrow Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, less than two weeks before Taiwan's new president takes office, prompting an angry denunciation from Beijing.China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.U.S. warships, and occasionally U.S.
Unfinished Hornbeck MPSV Arrives at Eastern for Build Completion
The first of two incomplete ultra high-spec multipurpose support vessels (MPSV) has arrived at Eastern Shipbuilding Group's Port St. Joe Shipyard, where the builder will finish constructing the vessel for Hornbeck Offshore Services.Earlier this year, Eastern secured a contract to complete construction of the two 400 class MPSVs after Hornbeck terminated the original build contracts with Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La. in 2018 over what it described as "performance issues".
Olympic Flame Sails into Marseille Aboard 128-year-old Tall Ship
The Olympic flame landed on French soil amid tight security on Wednesday, firing the starting gun on a summer extravaganza of sport that President Emmanuel Macron hopes will showcase the splendours of France and burnish his legacy.The flame arrived in Marseille, a port city in southern France founded by Greek merchants, after a 12-day trip from Greece onboard the Belem, a 128-year-old three-masted…
VARD to Build Hybrid Ocean Energy Construction Vessel for Island Offshore
VARD announced it has been awarded a contract to design and build a hybrid power Ocean Energy Construction Vessel (OECV) for the Norwegian shipping group Island Offshore. The deal includes options for two more vessels.The vessel, to be named Island Evolution, is of VARD 3 25 design developed in close collaboration between Island Offshore and VARD for work in offshore oil and gas as well as renewables."We…
ULA Orders Rocket Transport Ship from Bollinger
American aerospace manufacturer ULA on Wednesday announced it has ordered a new ship to transport rockets from its factory in Decatur, Ala. to launch sites at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.ULA said it awarded a contract to build the 356-foot-long roll-on/roll-off vessel to Bollinger Shipyards, who recently started constructing the new ship at its shipyard in Amelia, La.
