Japanese shipping company NYK Line and shipbuilder Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) say they plan to introduce a new shipbuilding contract that guarantees propulsion performance in actual sea conditions, factoring in heavy sea states encountered by vessels at sea.Typically, shipbuilding contracts guarantee ship speed based on horsepower in calm sea conditions, without waves. Mutual confirmation then occurs during sea trials before the ship is delivered.
Commodities trader Trafigura on Friday proposed a carbon levy of $250-$300 per tonne of carbon-dioxide (CO2) equivalent on shipping fuels to make zero and low carbon fuels more economically viable and competitive.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants to halve the sector's greenhouse gas output by 2050 against 2008 levels. If left unchecked, it says, global emissions from shipping could balloon by up to 130% by 2050, compared to 2008 levels.
Iranian oil exports have risen sharply in September in defiance of U.S. sanctions, three assessments based on tanker tracking showed, throwing a lifeline to the Islamic Republic and its collapsing economy.Exports have shrunk from over 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) since the United States withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions in 2018. Still, Iran has been working to get around the measures and keep exports flowing.
This September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District awarded the final two dredging contracts on its harbor deepening project, which will make Charleston’s harbor the deepest on the East Coast.The contract awards also coincided with the arrival September 20 of the CMA CGM Brazil, a 15,072-TEU containership stretching 1,200 feet long, and the largest containership to ever call on the East Coast and Charleston harbor.
Norwegian engineering and equipment company TECO 2030 ASA said it has signed a letter of intent with Austrian-based powertrain deveolper AVL List GmbH and Dutch shipping company Chemgas Shipping B.V. for the use of fuel cell technology as the main energy source for tugboats in the Blue Danube hydrogen project and similar projects.The Blue Danube project is among Europe’s most ambitious hydrogen projects. It involves production of 80,000 tons of green annually based on wind power in Romania, to be transported by river barges to customers in Austria and Germany.
Canada will spend C$320 million ($238.56 million) to support its offshore oil industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, which has struggled as coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions reduced demand, the government said on Friday.The funds are intended to support jobs and to lower greenhouse gas emissions from crude production, and could be used for maintenance, upgrades and environmental services, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said St. John's.
Shipbuilder MetalCraft Marine said it delivered two 34-foot high performance patrol RIBs to be used by the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources Police in the coastal bay areas and offshore checking on commercial and sport fishing compliance.Each boat is equipped with triple Suzuki 300-horsepower outboards, enabling the vessels to reach speeds up to 64 miles per hour.According to MetalCraft, the Interceptor hulls are noted for their "Soft Dry Ride", with a fine entry which easily parts the waves and makes the boat very quiet.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has been awarded a $105 million Base and Option B contract award on the Jacksonville Harbor Construction Dredging, 47-Foot Contract C Cut-42 Project, the U.S.' largest dredging services provider announced Friday.Great Lakes said it expects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award additional option work items on the contract by mid-2021 with a value of $11.5 million, resulting in a total contract award of $116.5 million.
Shipbuilder Metal Shark reports it has delivered a new research tender to OceanX, a New York-based nonprofit ocean exploration initiative and media organization.The custom 38-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum monohull pilothouse vessel will be carried aboard the recently-launched one-of-a-kind scientific research, media production and exploration vessel, the R/V OceanXplorer. The combined marine research and media vessel OceanXplorer is both a floating, integrated marine research platform and a Hollywood-caliber media production studio.
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index on Friday hit an over two-month high on higher vessel rates across segments, and along with the capesize index posted its highest weekly rise since mid-June.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up 62 points, or 3.9%, at 1,667 points.The index gained 28.6% this week.The capesize index gained 161 points, or 5.8%, at 2,915 points, also scaling an over two-month high. The capesize index gained 53.4% this week.
Classification society RINA has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) to create an interface to the SDARI 3D Ship Model, marking another step toward 3D design verification.SDARI is a member of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and is one of the largest and most prolific research and design institutes in China. Its services cover the full design life cycle from preliminary feasibility study, schematic design, basic design, detailed design, to production design.
The maritime sector keeps talking enthusiastically about it: artificial intelligence (AI). But what is it really? What is the role of technology in the maritime sector at this moment, and what does it mean for the future? Yves de Vos, Project Manager and Artificial Intelligence Expert at Shipbuilder, explains.“The term Artificial Intelligence is often misused because a lot of tools are not intelligent at all. If you use genuine AI in your maritime projects, the possibilities and benefits are huge,” de Vos says.