BIMCO Approves First Autonomous Ship Management Agreement
BIMCO’s Documentary Committee has adopted the AUTOSHIPMAN agreement in response to a growing number of remotely controlled ships, primarily for now, in inland waterways and coastal trades.The AUTOSHIPMAN agreement provides a standard contractual foundation for third-party ship managers to deliver services for the operation of remotely controlled or fully autonomous ships.“Currently, remotely controlled ships are operating commercially in several parts of the world.
Global Orderbook Likely to Shrink
VesselsValue has released its Q4 2024 Market Outlook indicating a forecast period up to 2027 which suggests a mixed outlook across different vessel types.The company anticipates that orders for bulkers and tankers will gain momentum, while demand for containers and LNG/LPG vessels will decline. Despite the expected rise in bulker and tanker orders, the overall orderbook will likely shrink due to a surge in deliveries for container and gas vessels.Geopolitical tensions…
Maersk Names Latest Dual-fuel Methanol Containership Alexandra Maersk
A.P. Moller - Maersk on Wednesday held a naming ceremony in the U.K.'s Port of Felixstowe for its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel, Alexandra Maersk.The newbuild is the the sixth vessel in Maersk’s owned fleet that is capable of running on methanol fuel in its main and auxiliary engines, and the fifth ship in Maersk's series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025—each with more than 16…
Hurricane Milton Bears Down on Florida's Gulf Coast
Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected landfall near Tampa Bay, where it could deliver a life-threatening surge of seawater to communities along the waterfront.Millions of people along a stretch of more than 300 miles (483 km) of coastline were under evacuation orders, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene cut a swath of devastation.
New LNG Bunker Vessel for TotalEnergies LNG Bunkering Ops
TotalEnergies signed a charter contract with Spanish shipowner Ibaizabal for a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunker vessel of 18,600m3 capacity.This additional vessel might be deployed in Oman, where the company is developing the Marsa LNG project with the objective to provide LNG to the shipping sector in the Gulf.The vessel, owned by Ibaizabal, will supply LNG to a wide range of vessels (containerships…
AW Shipping Places $250M Order to Chinese Shipyard for Two New VLACs
AW Shipping, a joint venture between ADNOC L&S and Wanhua Chemical Group, has awarded contracts worth $250 million to China’s Jiangnan Shipyard for two additional Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs).The VLACs each have a carrying capacity of 93,000 cubic meters of ammonia, making them among the largest ammonia carriers in the world.Scheduled to be delivered between 2027 and 2028, the vessels will be…
Hurtigruten Reveals Zero-Emission Cruise Ship Design
Hurtigruten has released updated plans for its Sea Zero project, the zero-emission ship scheduled to debut in 2030.With the help of large batteries and sails, the ship will be able to sail entirely emission-free during normal operation, with energy consumption reduced by 40-50%.Hurtigruten initially announced its Sea Zero project in October 2022, and then unveiled its first set of renderings in summer 2023.
Case Study: Onboard CCS Would Result in 10% Fuel Penalty
A project assessing the technical feasibility of onboard carbon capture and storage (CCS) has concluded that the technology has the potential to reduce a tanker’s CO2 emissions by as much as 20% per year, with a fuel consumption penalty of just under 10%.The project, Realising Maritime Carbon Capture to Demonstrate the Ability to Lower Emissions (REMARCCABLE), was carried out by the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI)…
In Depth: Outcomes of MEPC 82
The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee MEPC 82 met from 30 September to 4 October 2024 and discussed a range of environmental matters, including proposed mid-term measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, enhancing energy efficiency of shipping, tackling marine litter, ballast water management and underwater noise reduction.Tackling climate change - cutting GHG…
Exxon Secures Over 271,000 Acres in Texas Waters for Offshore CO2 Capture
ExxonMobil said on Thursday it has acquired state leases for over 271,000 acres in Texas state waters for an offshore carbon dioxide (CO2) capture operation.The lease with the Texas General Land Office follows Exxon's 2021 bid for federal land off the Texas coast for CO2 capture, and its emergence as a high bidder on 69 blocks in the shallow waters of the U.S.
Port of New Orleans Awarded FEMA Port Security Grant
The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) announced it will receive $1,040,583 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Port Security Grant Program. This funding will be used to upgrade both physical infrastructure and technology within the Harbor Police Department’s (HPD) surveillance network, as well as to acquire essential equipment for emergency response. All upgrades must be finalized by August 31…
Maritime Industry's Fuel Quality Issues Persist
Ongoing concerns around fuel quality continue to be a critical factor and significant expense for the maritime industry, according to the Lloyd’s Register (LR) Fuel Quality Report 2024.The report, produced by LR’s Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis and Advisory Service (FOBAS), reveals the overall state of fuel quality in 2024 remains much like that of the past few years, particularly since the transition to predominantly very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) in 2020.
Liberia-flagged Tanker Struck off Yemen
A Liberia-flagged tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Red Sea causing minor damage, but no casualties, British maritime security agencies said on Thursday.The incident occurred about 73 nautical miles (135 kilometres) southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, security firm Ambrey said.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said separately that it had received a report of an incident in the same area…
Montreal Port Dockworkers Begin Overtime Strike
Dockworkers at the Port of Montreal have begun an overtime strike on Thursday morning, the port authority said, as negotiations over a new contract make little progress.During this partial strike of indefinite duration, all port terminals will remain open but dockworkers will not be working overtime as part of their duties, it said.The port authority estimates the strike to slow down or disrupt the handling of around 50% of goods…
OSK Design Launches Tool to Assist Shipowners with Decarbonization Efforts
OSK Design has launched the OSK Energy Insight calculator, an innovative tool designed to assist shipowners and operators in evaluating alternative energy options and reducing their environmental footprint.The OSK Energy Insight calculator simplifies the process of evaluating different energy solutions by offering a comprehensive analysis of energy data, OSK Design said.It generates detailed reports…
Sharp Increase in Malware Detections on Vessels - Marlink Report
Marlink released the latest global maritime cyber threat report produced by its Security Operations Center (SOC).Based on data gathered from 1,800 actively monitoried vessels during the first half of 2024, the report shows changing tactics of cyber criminals, as well as the fact that malicious activity in the first six months increased significantly compared to the previous year. SOC analysts observed a continued rise in common threats such as Command and Control attacks…
MARAD Picks ABS as Partner for New US Maritime Innovation Center
The United States Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Office of Environment and Innovation has selected American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to establish and maintain the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation under a five-year cooperative agreement.Authorized by the U.S. Congress, the center is intended to support the adoption of clean energy on U.S. vessels through a wide-ranging program of research and…
Six Die in Russian Attack on Odesa
A Russian ballistic missile attack on Wednesday on the port infrastructure of Ukraine's southern Odesa region killed six people and injured eight, Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.The injured were all Ukrainian nationals, Kiper wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Equatorial Marine Expands Bunker Tanker Fleet
Singapore's largest bunker fuel supplier Equatorial Marine Fuel is expanding its tanker fleet, a company executive told Reuters this week, adding it will receive its first IMO type 2 chemical bunker tanker before the end of 2024 and three more in 2025.These four tankers will add to the company's existing fleet of 20 conventional bunker tankers, said Choong Sheen Mao, chief operating officer at Equatorial…
Collision: Neither Skipper Kept Watch Properly
New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has released its report into the collision between the passenger ferry Waitere and the recreational vessel Onepoto in Paihia, Bay of Islands, on April 13, 2023.The Onepoto collided with the passenger ferry Waitere, known locally as the Blue Ferry, while the ferry was on its way from Russel to Paihia.The TAIC report describes catastrophic damage to the Waitere, which later sank.
