Western Nations to Disrupt and Deter Russian Shadow Fleet
Twelve Western countries have agreed measures to "disrupt and deter" Russia's so-called shadow fleet of vessels in order to prevent sanctions breaches and increase the cost to Moscow of the war in Ukraine, Estonia's government said on Monday.The measures were agreed by Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, the five Nordic nations and the three Baltic states, said Estonia, where leaders of the…
New Device Produces Ammonia from Air
Researchers at Stanford University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia have developed a prototype device that can produce ammonia using wind energy to draw air through a mesh.The approach is an alternative to the traditional method that produces ammonia by combining nitrogen and hydrogen at high pressures and temperatures. This existing method consumes 2% of global energy…
EU Sanctions Target Shadow Fleet
The European Commission has welcomed the EU Council's adoption of the 15th sanctions package against Russia. The focus of this package is to keep cracking down on Russia's shadow fleet.With this package, the EU has, for the first time, imposed ‘fully-fledged' sanctions (travel ban, asset freeze and prohibition to make economic resources available) on various Chinese actors.The 15th package includes anti-circumvention measures.
AAM to Construct Electric Ferries for SF Bay Ferry
All American Marine (AAM) has announced a partnership with San Francisco Bay Ferry to build their 150-passenger battery-electric vessels. This landmark project will contribute significantly to advancing sustainable passenger transport in the San Francisco Bay Area while showcasing innovative maritime engineering.The concept vessel was initially developed by Aurora Marine Design, based in San Diego, as part of SF Bay Ferry’s REEF program.
Houston’s Volumes Surge to Best Month of Year
Port Houston Container Volumes Up 24% in November.Port Houston is on track to close 2024 as one of its most successful years to date, handling 3,799,573 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) through November—a 9% increase over the same period last year. November volumes alone reached 369,361 TEUs, a notable 24% increase year-over-year. This marks the biggest month of the year for Port Houston in terms of containerized cargo volume.Loaded imports rose by 19% in November…
NW Europe Fuel oil Imports at 3-year High
A rush to replenish scarce supply of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) pushed Northwest European imports of residual fuel oil to their highest in three years in November, analysts told Reuters.The Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) area, Europe's main trading and refining hub, received around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of all types of fuel oil in November, the highest monthly volume since November 2021.That compared with an average of 332…
Ukraine blames Russia for Black Sea oil spill
Ukraine said on Monday Russia was to blame for a major oil spill in the Kerch Strait that leads into the Black Sea, accusing Moscow of breaking navigation safety…
US Study of LNG Exports due on Tuesday
President Joe Biden's administration will release as soon as Tuesday a study on exports of liquefied natural gas that is expected to stop short of saying the trade is not in the public interest, two industry sources with knowledge of the issue said.Biden in January paused the Department of Energy's approvals of U.S. LNG exports to big consumers in Asia and Europe in order for his administration to…
Germany's Mosel River Partially Reopens to Shipping
The Mosel in west Germany was partially reopened to cargo shipping on Monday after a temporary lock was installed over the weekend, but the number of vessels able to sail will be limited, navigation authorities said.The river, an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France, was closed to inland waterways shipping last week after an accident which damaged a lock at Mueden…
Tugdock's TSP Technology gets DNV nod
Tugdock has reached a significant milestone as its Tugdock Submersible Platform (TSP) is awarded the prestigious ‘Statement of Feasibility’ from DNV, the world’s leading independent energy expert and assurance provider.This endorsement recognizes the TSP as a transformative technology with applications across multiple markets, including floating offshore wind, vessel drydocking and decommissioning.The TSP is a pinned…
Finland to Acquire New Icebreaker
Finland will replace one of its eight existing icebreakers with a new vessel to secure open routes in the Baltic Sea year round, the Finnish government said on Monday.The announcement followed the signing of an "ICE Pact" last month, a deal between the United States, Canada and Finland to jointly advance their Arctic and polar icebreaker development in order to counter Russia and China in increasingly strategic polar regions.Navigable maritime routes are crucial for Finland's foreign trade…
Gazprom says that high interest rates are a concern for oil service firms
Alexander Dyukov said that the high interest rates in the oil industry could have a negative impact on firms providing support services. This raised "serious concern".According to a recent poll…
Vard Electro Names New General Manager
Marine electrical systems provider Vard Electro, part of Fincantieri’s Vard Group, has named Hans Tore as its new General Manager.Hans Tore has been working at Vard Electro since 2017. He started as System Integrator before he became a Project Manager.From June 2021 he took on the position as Vice President for Electrical Installation Operations and was promoted to Senior Vice President Elelectrical Installation Operations with effect from January 1…
H-Line to Outfit 30 Vessels with Autonomous Nav Tech
Avikus, HD Hyundai’s Autonomous Navigation Technology subsidiary, secured an order for its HiNAS Control autonomous navigation solutions, inking a contract with H-Line Shipping. H-Line plans to first apply HiNAS Control to five vessels to validate its safety and efficiency, with the intention to expand its deployment to as many as 30 vessels by next year. The signing ceremony was attended by Sung-joon Kim…
Noble Corp. Taps Kongsberg Digital Simulator Tech
Houston-based Noble Corporation contracted with Kongsberg Digital for the delivery of navigation, engine and dynamic positioning (DP) simulators based on Kongsberg Maritime’s K-Pos DP system. The simulators will be tailored and integrated with Kongsberg Maritime’s Riser Monitoring System (RMS) and electronic Well Specific Operating Guidelines (eW-SOG) to meet Noble’s training needs.Noble will be the…
Norway Commits $242M to Bolster Ukrainian Navy
Norway said on Monday it would provide 2.7 billion crowns ($242 million) to strengthen the Ukrainian navy and help it deter Russian naval forces in the Black Sea.Much of the funding will go towards innovation and autonomy under the Maritime Capability Coalition, which Norway and Britain launched last year to make Ukraine's navy more compatible with Western allies, the government said."It is essential to protect the Ukrainian population and Ukrainian infrastructure from attacks by Russia's Black
The Bridge and Beyond: AI, AR Revolutionize Maritime Decision Making
It’s already possible to have smart decision support on the bridge: With Furuno’s technology, live video imagery of the front view from the vessel has navigation information superimposed on it including heading, AIS data, radar target tracking, object identification, route waypoint and chart information.SEA.AI’s bridge support system can identify larger vessels not fitted with AIS up to a range of 7.5 kilometers (nearly five miles)…
Leveraging Human Factors for Safer Maritime Vessel Ops
A safety management system, while vital, can only take a company so far. The real change has to be cultural throughout an organization.Many maritime companies can operate effectively under the International Safety Management Code, which governs safety and pollution prevention for ships. Frameworks like these enable carriers to act compliant with basic safety standards, but there is a significant human element not quite covered by such standards.
Car Carrier Vessel Market Outlook for '25 is Bearish
Political winds blowing a raft of new tariffs and incoming supply uptick suggests a volatile 2025 Bearish sentiment crept into the car carrier market in June after the European Union (EU) announced increased import tariffs for Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) up to as much as 45.3%. The EU tariffs, which came into play in November for a period of five years and were increased following an investigation into Chinese state subsidies to domestic car manufacturers…
Kongsberg to Work on Six Hybrid CMM's PSVs Bound for Petrobras Ops
Kongsberg Maritime has signed a contract with Compagnie Maritime Monegasque (CMM) to deliver advanced ship design and technology for six hybrid platform supply vessels (PSVs), with oil spill recovery capacity, which will support Petrobras’ offshore operations.CMM was ranked first in Petrobras’ tender for six state-of-the-art, hybrid large multipurpose 5,000 DWT PSVs with oil spill recovery capacity…
