Port of Salalah achieves top port rankings regionally and globally in new JOC study / Illegal boarders on Suez Canal transits

31 Jul 13 - 12:53

 

Ranked as the sixth top transshipment port globally

Port of Salalah has been ranked sixth top transshipment port globally and 18th top port globally, as well as high positions in a number of categories in the Europe/Middle East/Africa geographic class, in a 'breakthrough' JOC Group study on port productivity released this month.

In the Europe/Middle East/Africa geography, Port of Salalah has been ranked third top port and seventh among top container terminals, placing the Sultanate of Oman next to the United Arab Emirates and underlining Salalah's regional position among the busiest and most influential ports for trade.

"It's important for all of our employees, customers, government partners and stakeholders to see tangible results and evidence that Port of Salalah is a world-class port that invests in its people, productivity and especially service," said Ahmed Akaak, acting-CEO of Port of Salalah, adding, "We are expressly proud of our employees, particularly those operating the machinery at the terminals and those who have grown with the port since its inception 15 years ago, and who have gone the extra mile to improve safety, customer service and efficiency."

The JOC Group has spent over five years in collecting and analyzing new data from 600 terminals at 400 ports and 17 global shipping lines, in an effort to produce the first report which focused on berth productivity - a measurement of the speed at which container ships are unloaded, loaded and sent back to sea - rather than the traditional comparison of world ports based on volumes.

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About the Port of Salalah

Port of Salalah (also Salalah Port Services Company SAOG) is Oman's largest port. The Port of Salalah combined with the Salalah Free Zone and Salalah Airport form an ideal location for value-add and distribution services that can take advantage of the excellent liner connectivity offering over 3000 vessel calls annually and sea-air logistics through the Salalah Airport, just 15 minutes away from the port. Port of Salalah has risen to a rank amongst the world's top 20 container ports and has broken the world record for productivity twice.

31 Jul 13 - 11:44

Illegal boarders on Suez Canal transits

News Alert by the Skuld P&I Club

The Skuld P&I Club has issued an advisory for update on the situation in Eguptto  urge operators to continue to advise their vessels to be on alert and very cautious while transiting through the Suez Canal and while calling at any Egyptian ports.

Continuous deck watch will be necessary, and the Master and Officers on board are well advised to make sure that passage planning allows for a senior person to be on watch at all material times to ensure the safety of the vessel and her crew.

The advice given, which is universally applicable, is that a vessel should not allow any unidentified persons to board. If persons seek to board the vessel, and they do not possess proper identification / authorisation then the Master should not permit them to come on board.

In case of concern or threats, the Master should seek to alert local authorities and also the Club's Correspondents for further immediate assistance. In case of doubt, the Association always recommends a very cautious approach.

Kenya faces a shortage of 20,000 seafarers / Nautilus International urges seafarers to take part in Career Mapping Project survey

31 Jul 13 - 10:43

Kenya faces a shortage of 20,000 seafarers following the rapid growth in international maritime transport, the nations maritime regulator, Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) has disclosed.

KMA Head of Maritime Safety, Mr Wilfred Kagimbi said that the country has found itself having a number of positions to fill since Kenya attained the Whitelist recognition by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2009 and subsequent gazettement of Merchant Shipping (Training and Certification) Regulations 2012.

The gazettement of the Merchant Shipping regulations gave effect to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Watchkeeping and Certification of seafarers.

"This means that the education and training offered in the country's Maritime Education and Training institutions meets internationally recognised standards and hence Kenyan seafarers - once certificated - are able to compete globally for the available seafaring jobs,'' Kagimbi explained.

According to Kagimbi, IMO estimates that currently, there is a global shortage of seafarers, that is, 83,900 officers and 450,000 ratings.

It, therefore, follows that there are numerous opportunities for properly qualified and certificated Kenyan seafarers not only locally but also globally.

Currently, there are 5,000 registered Kenyan seafarers working in the international fleet and also manning ships and small crafts plying Kenyan waters,'' he said in an email response to Job Centre.

Source: Standard Digital

31 Jul 13 - 13:06

Nautilus International urges seafarers to take part in Career Mapping Project survey

The project aims to identify barriers and find solutions to mobility issues in the maritime industry

Nautilus International urges seafarers to contribute to a European Union-funded project investigating seafarers' experiences in transitioning from ship to shore jobs, as part of wider work to promote seafaring careers.

Trainees, serving seafarers or former seafarers now working ashore can complete one of three relevant questionnaires which, along with other structured interviews, support the second phase of the Career Mapping Project (CM2). Cash prizes are also available to trainees and serving seafarers completing the questionnaires by 31 August.

The project aims to identify barriers and find solutions to mobility issues in the maritime industry. It is hoped more young people will be encouraged into a career at sea if they can be shown the range of further opportunities for work ashore in the 'maritime cluster'.

David Dearsley, the consultant appointed to conduct the Career Mapping Update (CM2) Project, said early results have shown some interesting and positive conclusions.

'The main reasons why people apply for maritime training are remarkably consistent and remarkably positive - they view a maritime career as interesting and challenging, they like travel and meeting people and they "like ships",' he said.

'Most serving seafarers expect to remain at sea for 10-15 years and most ex-seafarers confirm this to be the period after which they transferred ashore.'

Reassuringly, most ex-seafarers did not experience great problems in finding work ashore in the maritime cluster, and a growing number of shipping companies now recognise that helping seafarers with their career development, including job opportunities ashore, should be part of their normal HR activity, added Mr Dearsley.

One of the major reasons stated for going ashore by the 1,600 active, former and trainee seafarers, who had taken part in the existing questionnaires, was the need for a new challenge , he said. The final results of CM2 will be presented in mid-November 2013.

Source: Nautilus International

Senator introduces legislation for safety in cruise industry

31 Jul 13 - 16:56

The Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2013

Senator Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced the Cruise Passenger Protection Act (S. 1340) to improve passenger vessel security and safety. Senator introduced legislation, The Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2013, that would improve consumer protections for cruise passengers and close gaps in cruise crime reporting requirements.

The Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2013 would:

• Give consumers a clear upfront summary of the restrictive terms and conditions in cruise contracts. The Secretary of Transportation would develop standards for the cruise lines to provide prospective passengers with a short summary of the key terms in the contract. Consumers would be able to read a plain language summary of the key rights and limitations that passengers have during their cruise so they are fully aware of what rights they have, and don't have, before they book their tickets.

• Give the federal government more authority to protect cruise ship passengers. The Department of Transportation would be the lead federal agency for cruise ship consumer protection, similar to the role it has in aviation consumer protection. Passengers would also have additional protections in the event of a problem by giving the Department the authority to investigate consumer complaints.

• Help passengers who encounter problems on cruise ships. The Department of Transportation would establish a toll-free hotline for consumer complaints. An Advisory Committee for Passenger Vessel Consumer Protection would be created to make recommendations to improve existing consumer protection programs and services.

• Make all crimes alleged on cruise ships publicly available information. The FBI currently only reports crimes that are no longer under investigation. This causes the number of alleged crimes to be severely underreported and does not give potential passengers accurate information about the safety of cruises. Cruise lines would also be required to place video cameras in public areas and would set requirements for cruise lines to keep the video footage.

• Help passengers who have been a victim of a crime on the cruise ship, since they have limited access to law enforcement. The Department of Transportation would establish a victim advocate who can provide assistance to victims on board a cruise ship, make sure the victim is aware of his or her rights in international waters, and get access to appropriate law enforcement officers.

For more information, please click here

New IFRS for Consolidated Accounts Could Raise Issues for Shipping

30 Jul 13 - 15:19

Moore Stephens analysis

International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens says shipping companies and their financiers could be among those affected by the introduction of the new International Financial Reporting Standard for consolidated financial statements.

The new standard, IFRS 10, which deals with consolidated accounts, comes into force in 2014 in the EU, but is already in force outside the EU. It adopts a new approach to the definition of a parent in consolidated accounts by identifying three key elements of control relating to a subsidiary: (1) who has the power to direct the key activities; (2) who gets a variable return as a result of the activities; and (3) is there a connection between the exercise of power and the variable return. Where a party has all three elements, then it is a parent; where at least one element is missing, then it is not.

Michael Simms, a partner with the shipping team at Moore Stephens, says, "In every case, IFRS 10 looks to the substance of the arrangement and not just to its legal form. So there is no simple answer to the three key questions it poses. Each situation needs to be assessed individually.

"Many shipping groups will find the new standard has minimal impact on them. While it redefines what it means to be - or to have - a subsidiary, the majority of situations will be straightforward. Where a parent has a wholly owned subsidiary under the current rules, and no unusual arrangements with other parties, it will still have a wholly owned subsidiary under the new rules.

"The standard makes changes, however, in the case of more complex arrangements. For example, there have been a number of cases in recent years of shipping companies being unable to meet their debt obligations. If the vessels operated by such companies are then sold, no accounting issues arise and the bank has simply realised its loss. In some cases, though, the bank does not wish to sell the vessel and it is transferred to a new entity in which the bank retains some form of interest. The question is whether, in such cases, that entity is a subsidiary of the bank. The new IFRS10 definition is already raising issues and more are likely to arise with the forthcoming implementation in the EU."

Tags: Moore Stephens, shipping industry, shipping economy

The Merchant Shipping Regulations 2013

30 Jul 13 - 18:26

Maritime Labour Convention - Survey and Certification

First UK regulation has been issued and coming into force on 15th August 2013 for the Maritime Labor Convention as follows:

The Secretary of State is a Minister designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to measures relating to the safety of ships and the health and safety of persons on them and measures relating to maritime transport.

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 85(1)(a) and (b), (3) and (5) to (7) and section 86(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

In accordance with section 86(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 the Secretary of State has consulted the persons referred to in that section.

Find more information at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1785/made#

UN maritime body lauds 'Women at the Helm' of the shipping industry

30 Jul 13 - 14:39

Women in the maritime industry

Although shipping has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, women increasingly are becoming more visible in the sector.

In fact, 'Women at the Helm' is the title of a film launched recently by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which shows how the agency is making efforts to overturn tradition.

An IMO programme that promotes the integration of women in the maritime sector turns 25 this year.

The IMO's Charlie Batchelor reports on how more and more women are achieving the high level of training and competence that the industry demands.

Listen to the podcast

 Related video: http://youtu.be/c-9LGMxHMGY

For more information, please visit IMO's dedicated page "Women in the maritime industry" at http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/HotTopics/women/Pages/default.as

Maersk Oil Qatar releases its Sustainability Report for 2012

30 Jul 13 - 15:07

The health and safety of its workforce is the top priority for Maersk Oil Qatar

Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ), Operator of Qatar's largest offshore oil field - Al Shaheen - has released its 2012 Sustainability Report. According to the report, highlights in environment and health&safety include:

Environment - By working in close partnership with QP, Maersk Oil Qatar has reduced flaring from the Al Shaheen field by around 92% since 2007 - earning both parties an 'Excellence in flare reduction' award from the World Bank in 2012. This significant flaring reduction has also helped Maersk Oil Qatar cut greenhouse emissions from its operations, which are now at less than 50% of 2007 levels. 

Health and Safety - The health and safety of its workforce is the top priority for Maersk Oil Qatar. The company recorded its best-ever safety performance in 2012, and although employees and contractors worked a total of 7.5 million work hours, there were no fatalities and a lost-time injury frequency (LTIF) rate of 0.27 per million work hours was achieved - significantly lower than the industry average of 0.48.

"We are committed to operate an 'Incident-free' business where safety is our number one priority," explained Mr Lewis Affleck, Managing Director of Maersk Oil Qatar. "In April, we brought together over 1,000 employees and contractors to participate in a company-wide safety day. While we are proud that our safety performance shows year-on-year improvements, safety is and will remain our highest priority," he said.

Read more highlights of the 2012 Sustainability Report at AMEinfo.com

Maersk focuses on energy efficiency

30 Jul 13 - 14:20

Maersk has already reached its CO2 reduction target of 25% eight year - now heads for 40% reduction

Major shipowner Maersk has put its significant emissions reduction down to operational efficiency, design and behavioural change. Earlier this year the Danish group announced it had reached its CO₂ reduction target of 25% eight years in advance of its 2020 deadline and is therefore increasing the target to 40%.

Signe Bruun Jensen, Maersk Line's global advisor for the environment and corporate social responsibility, explained: 'We give our captains scorecards for each of their vessels to benchmark their fuel consumption against the rest of the fleet, so we incentivise performance by creating a competitive environment.'

Maersk has also undertaken 52 retrofit projects on its chartered fleet , investing in equipment such as waste heat recovery systems and new propeller design. 'The pace of technology and innovation is such that we are even looking at projects to retrofit our E-class vessels, which are only five years old,' added Jensen.

On the question of whether delivering the company's 18 000TEU Triple-E newbuildings to an oversaturated market was sustainable, Jensen said that as the vessels were being deployed into the new P3 network, an operational alliance established in cooperation with MSC and CMA CGM, the utilisation levels on the Asia - Europe, Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic trades would be higher and more efficient.

Maersk is a member of both the Sustainable Shipping Initiative and the Clean Cargo Working Group in order to facilitate industry-wide change.

Source: IMAREST

29 Jul 13 - 17:39

Overcapacity remains a concern in shipping

As the container shipping industry recuperates from a challenging market environment, concerns still abound over the looming overcapacity as more new vessels are expected to come on stream in the next two to three years.

CMA CGM group senior vice-president for Asia Europe lines Nicolas Sartinitold StarBiz that the two main markets in the liner industry - Asia-Europe and Trans-Pacific trade - have entered their peak season.

"Volumes are strong, resulting in rate restoration programmes successfully being implemented. This situation should prevail until end-October.

"With the start of the peak season, the overcapacity does not appear to be a big concern for the time being. As usual, carriers would have to deal with this when the slack season begins. Then, it would make sense to suspend seasonal services and idle vessels on several trades," he said.

Maersk Line chief trade and marketing officer Vincent Clercsaid supply as of today was not significantly out of sync with demand.

"However, the industry would phase in a 69% increase in the fleet of vessels above 10,000 20-ft equivalent units (TEUs) over the next two to three years.

"This would not be matched with a corresponding increase in demand and thus, new deployment opportunities would have to be created for these vessels, or the vessels that would be made obsolete by their deployment," he said.

He added that this would put pressure on infrastructure to build facilities that could accommodate bigger vessels, and on the lines to co-operate to create cargo flows that could support them.

"Smaller vessels would be made obsolete prematurely because their operating cost would simply not be competitive anymore," he said.

On freight rates, Sartini said the rates, especially on the Asia-Europe trade, had dipped to unnecessary low levels.

Read full article at The Star Onlinehttp://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/07/29/Overcapacity-remains-a-concern-in-shipping.aspx

International trends re the use of private security companies

29 Jul 13 - 11:16

For protection against maritime piracy

The Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, has recently published a report entiled as "State or Private Protection against Maritime Piracy?" to focus on the international developments concerning regulations for private security companies (PSCs) and on the experiences of several European countries in regulating this.

The Dutch government recently announced a change in policy, moving from an absolute ban on the use of PSCs to legitimizing the use on specific vessels under specific circumstances.

On 31 May a Conference was organised by the Clingendael Institute on protection against maritime piracy. During the seminar representatives of different stakeholders in the debate were present, to discuss the existing international regulations, the experiences with regulating the use of PSCs in other European countries, and the outstanding sensitive issues such as the responsibility of the master or the extent of the use of force that is allowed in situations of self-defence and last resort.

Key findings The majority of Dutch ships do not make use of the protection of Vessel Protection Detachments (VPDs) . In fact only 8-10 % of the ships passing through the High Risk Areas of Somalia are both eligible and apply for VPD protection. More than 65% of the total number of ships do not even apply for VPD protection. The main reasons for not applying for VPD protection include the high costs and the lack of flexibility of deployment and the long application procedures, which affect competitiveness. Security companies that meet the highest quality standards are signatories to the international guidelines, such as the ICoC, and are certified or accredited according to government or industry-based systems such as the SAMI which checks on compliance with international guidelines. This includes aspects such as having a good track record and the capacity to make an adequate security assessment before deployment and not allowing to protection to be provided through the deployment of a team of security guards on board ships sailing under flags of states that do not allow the use of armed PSCs. As a consequence of this policy to protect the good reputation of the PSCs, shipping companies that decide to illegally hire a PSC can only turn to uncertified companies, which often do not meet the same high standards Data from recent years show that approximately 40-50 ships of the total Dutch fleet reflag each year. Since some ships reflag to the register of a state that also prohibits the use of armed PSCs, it is clear that not all reflagging is done out of frustration with the current Dutch prohibition on the use armed PSCs. It is unknown how many go through the reflagging procedure for exactly the reason of being able to legally hire an armed PSC. More and more European countries are moving towards the legalisation of the use of armed PSCs. Currently, in addition to the Netherlands, the only important European maritime countries that prohibit the use of armed PSCs are France and Germany. However, these countries are in the process of legalising the use of armed PSCs. This leaves the Netherlands as one of the only countries in Europe to adhere to a strict interpretation of the state's need to keep a monopoly on force

You may view the Clingendael Report "State or Private Protection against Maritime Piracy" by clicking here

Also view more information regarding the Seminar held by Clingendael onInternational trends regarding the use of private security companies for protection against maritime piracy by clicking at the following links

Conference Report

Onther Reports and Papers

The first international service passenger ferry to run on pure LNG engines

29 Jul 13 - 16:07

Fjord Line’s passenger ferry MS Stavangerfjord

The IMO's Energy Efficiency Award (previously Clean Ship Award) went to Fjord Lines' Stavangerfjord - designed and constructed by Bergen Group Fosen.

The award pays tribute to the ship that makes the greatest contribution towards energy efficiency in relation to its function or operation. Stavangerfjord will, from mid July,  operate as a night ferry on the Bergen-Stavanger-Hirtshals route in Norway and as a day ferry on the Hirtshals-Langesund route.

For many years, Nor-Shipping has served as a strong platform for the promotion of environmentally responsible performance within the industry.

Honoring this tradition in 2013 is the Energy Efficiency Award, which pays tribute to the ship that has contributed the greatest towards energy efficiency in relation to its function and operation.

This award continues the spirit of the 2011 Clean Ship Award. The Energy Efficiency Award, however, addresses more than emissions, focusing on the root of the problem rather than its consequence.

Find more information about the MS Stavangerfjord here

Source: The Nordic Page

Shipping Has Great Potential to Reduce Its Environmental Impact

29 Jul 13 - 16:53

Royal Academy of Engineering study examines future ship powering options

Shipping has great potential to reduce its environmental impact through new and modified propulsion technologies - but there is no single or simple answer that will meet every need or that can be applied to every type of vessel. Instead, says a report by an expert working group at the Royal Academy of Engineering, further work is needed in two directions:

- to adapt current technologies from the maritime industries and elsewhere to broader application in different types of ship

- to research and develop innovative technologies specifically for maritime propulsion.

The report is intended as a technical aid to the shipping industry which is under pressure internationally to improve its environmental record and increase efficiency. Sir John Parker, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and himself formerly identified closely with the UK shipbuilding industry, said the report was both broad in its application and informed by the expertise that the working party had assembled.

Sir John said: "Shipping is vital to the world economy. It is a critical part of international import and export markets and supports the global distribution of goods. As for all industries, concerns about climate change require the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector. This entails higher fuel prices for low sulphur fuels. It means that the industry must prepare for the new future and investigate alternative, more economic ship propulsion systems."

You may view the report and find more information at the following article

Safety4Sea - Alternative methods for ship propulsion

Port Miami Moves Toward More Efficient Trade With Peru / Panama Canal Expansion Reaches Important Milestones

26 Jul 13 - 18:00

Port Miami Moves Toward More Efficient Trade With Peru

During last month's Peru Investors Forum in Miami, PortMiami met with representatives from Peru to discuss options for increased trade between the South American country and the Port.

Over the past several years, PortMiami, and officials from Peru along with importers, growers and customs brokers have been working toward increasing the imports of Peruvian fruits to the United States, via PortMiami.

In the past, certain Peruvian products could only enter the U.S. via certain northeastern ports; however on October 1st a new pilot program will go into effect allowing cold treatment products to be imported directly to PortMiami.

Thanks to the efforts of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Florida Perishables Coalition, grapes and blueberries will travel directly from Peru to PortMiami. The produce will be cold treated prior to its departure from Peru and will arrive ready for immediate distribution and sale.

Cold treatment is a process performed on fruits and vegetables that entails sustained refrigeration (cold treatment) sufficient to kill pests associated with imported fruits and vegetables.

  

Tags: ports, operational efficiency, port of Miami

26 Jul 13 - 16:32

Panama Canal Expansion Reaches Important Milestones

The first four new lock gates will be the arriving in August

The Panama Canal Expansion is moving forward to achieve its goal of enhancing the waterway's capacity in order to provide a better service to customers. To date, the Program registers a 60.4% progress.

The Expansion Program has achieved many important milestones. Both entrances of the Panama Canal are ready for bigger ships, since the deepening and widening of the Atlantic and Pacific access channels have been completed.

The dredging of Gatun Lake is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The Pacific Access Channel has reached the design depth and the dam that will divide the new channel from Miraflores Lake is under construction.

The Third Set of Locks project registers a 50 percent progress. The new lock complexes in the Pacific and Atlantic sides will feature three chambers, three water-saving basins per chamber, a lateral filling and emptying system and rolling gates.

The first four new lock gates will be arriving in the country this upcoming August, signaling a very important milestone for the Third Set of Locks project. Each one of the 16 gates required will weight an average of 3,300 tons.

The Panama Canal is also preparing to face future operations. In June, the Panama Canal received three of the 14 new tugboats that will enhance the Canal's current fleet. The additional capacity will allow assisting Post-Panamax vessels that will be transiting the expanded Canal, which will not use locomotives like in the existing locks.

The Panama Canal Expansion involves the construction of a third lane of traffic, which will double Canal's capacity and have an important impact in world maritime trade.

You may find more information about Panama Canal athttp://www.pancanal.com

Learn about the progress of one of the biggest engineering programs of the century at the Panama Canal Expansion Update

Tags: Panama Canal Expansion, Panama Canal

Hercules 265 Update

26 Jul 13 - 11:09

BSS confirmes that the flow of natural gas under pressure stopped

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), U.S. Coast Guard, and Walter Oil & Gas Corporation (Walter) have stood up a Unified Command to continue overseeing and coordinating response efforts to secure the South Timbalier 220 natural gas well, following the loss of well control Tuesday. Yesterday, it was confirmed that the flow of natural gas under pressure stopped. The gas flow was feeding the rig fire, which has decreased to a small flame. The rig and natural gas well are located 55 miles offshore Louisiana in a water depth of 154 feet.

Hercules 265 Thursday morning following bridging which stopped the flow of natural gas and suppressed fire that started late Tuesday night. (Photo Courtesy: BSEE)

Work continues to secure the well, and all options are being considered for the most efficient and safe path forward. Walter submitted to BSEE an application for a permit to drill a relief well, which includes proposals for the cement and casing programs. BSEE engineers are currently evaluating the permit, and BSEE continues to review and approve all operational plans and procedures related to the response.

There are currently firefighting and other marine vessels on site involving personnel from Walter, Hercules, Wild Well Control, other professional engineering contractors, and relevant federal agencies. At present, response personnel are conducting aerial observations and monitoring the situation.

The 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Cypress is onsite to assess the situation and enforce the 500-meter security zone around the rig.

Preliminary visual inspection of the area this morning indicated that the structural integrity of the rig remains intact. A slight sheen was detected on the water's surface and is dissipating quickly. Air and gas monitoring equipment is being deployed around the perimeter of the well location to help ensure operations to secure the well remain safe. Safety of personnel and protection of the environment remain the top priorities for responding to the event.

BSEE's investigation into the cause of the loss of well control continues in coordination with the Coast Guard.

Tags: BSEE, fire, incident investigation, Hercules265

Alternative methods for ship propulsion

26 Jul 13 - 15:13

Royal Academy of Engineering study examines future ship powering options

A new study by the Royal Academy of Engineering examines all future options for ship propulsion.

The Royal Academy of Engineering working party of more than 20 eminent engineering experts, led by John Carlton FREng, Professor of Marine Engineering at City University London, made a comprehensive survey of current and potential future marine propulsion systems, measuring them against the twin but related objectives of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Options investigated included greater use of LNG (liquefied natural gas) in current power units, battery and alternative fuel technologies, and nuclear-powered ships.

The working party identified a range of short-, medium- and long-term ship propulsion options:

- In the short term and with current propulsion units, LNG is a known technology with standards already in place, and is cheaper and cleaner than diesel, but requires a global infrastructure. Gas turbines are a niche and the fuel is expensive, while renewables such as wind and solar may have application as auxiliary sources of power.

- In the medium and long term, biofuels and synthetic fuels are potential direct replacements for current fuels, but more needs to be done on the practicalities of storage, handling and environmental impact. Fuel cells of varying kinds offer promise, but require infrastructure investment and technological development to meet shipboard power requirements. Shipborne nuclear power has been used in naval ships, but for merchant shipping there would need to be changes in design, building and operational methods. Current battery technology may be restricted as a prime mover to smaller ships, but offers potential as an auxiliary power source.

Further ahead, the report says that hydrogen could be an option for marine propulsion, but there are significant infrastructure issues as well as technology issues to be overcome. To develop future ship propulsion systems within reasonable timescales, research and funding are needed in a number of areas

According to the study, the following options are considered appropriate:

1. For existing ships, reciprocating engines with exhaust gas attenuation technologies are the principal option together with fuels that produce fewer CO2 emissions. LNG is one such fuel and, together with some other alternatives, would require an adequate bunkering infrastructure to be developed, particularly for deep sea voyages. Some attention could also be usefully paid to reducing the demand for shipboard energy.
2. For new buildings planned in the near-term, the scenario is broadly similar but with the option to include hybrid propulsion systems depending on ship size and intended use.
3. In the case of ships to be built in the medium- to long-term, further propulsion options include alternative fuel options, fuel cells, batteries and nuclear. The former methods await technological development but nuclear, while well understood technically, would require a major change to ship owning and operation infrastructure and practices

Find more information by reading the study conducted by the Royal Academy of Engineering entitled as Future Ship Powering Options: Exploring alternative methods of ship propulsion. The study is available at www.raeng.org.uk/futureshipping

Tags: energy efficiency, marine propulsion systems, sustainability, green shipping

Global Shippers Forum backs EC carbon proposals

26 Jul 13 - 13:25

Calls for a transparent, harmonized global method for reducing emissions

The Global Shippers' Forum has taken special notice of proposals from the European Commission to establish a system to reduce carbon emissions (CO2) from the maritime sector.The European Commission will legislate for amonitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for large ships (over 5,000 gross tons) from 2018 that use EU ports, irrespective of where the ships are registered.

Ship owners will be required to monitor and report the verified amount of CO2 annually emitted by their large ships on voyages to, from and between EU ports.  The proposal offers flexibility for ship owners to record and report emissions by focusing on fuel consumption through methods such as using bunker fuel delivery notes or bunker fuel tank monitoring.

International maritime emissions make up an estimated 2.7 per cent of global greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions but left unchecked could increase by 150 to 200 per cent between 2007 and 2050.*

Chris Welsh, Secretary General, Global Shippers' Forum said:

"Achieving global agreement on precisely how to tackle climate change within the maritime sector has been slow paced and fraught with difficulty.  There are many competing views; however, shippers are looking for a substantive breakthrough.  Shippers are increasingly demanding verifiable greenhouse gas data from ocean carriers so that they in turn can accurately benchmark the carbon footprint of their supply chains.  We hope the Commission's initiative will push the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to promptly accomplish what it set out to achieve - a global agreement on reducing ghg emissions in the global maritime industry."

The IMO, which is responsible for maritime emissions, has made progress in adopting energy efficiency standards for ships but there is a virtual deadlock in finding a suitable market-based measure (MBM) for the sector which is workable for both ship owners and shippers.

Although it is still essentially a regional scheme, the Commission's approach will provide much needed testing and time for the IMO to reach agreement on global measures to reduce ghg emissions, and perhaps evidence of a scheme that works.

Welsh added:

"The global shipping industry needs a predictable and uniform set of global regulations to reduce ghg emissions.  It is vital that any eventual MBM will succeed in making the emission reductions required and not simply add additional cost to ship owners and ultimately shippers. The IMO needs to make urgent progress in achieving a global solution to the maritime emissions problem.  The MRV, although European based, could provide some much needed direction by providing a workable framework."

The proposals echo the GSF's principles for the shipping industry to reduce GHG emissions, in particular the need for measurement and recording of fuel usage as the essential first step in reducing emissions.

The MRV proposal is now being examined by the European Parliament and Council, whose approval is needed for it to become law.

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Additional Information

• Monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from maritime transport
• New EU-wide system for the monitoring, reporting and verification of shipping emissions
• Maritime transport: first step to reduce emissions
• European Commision's proposal on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending regulation (EU) No 525/2013

• For more information read European Commission's Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the the Council on the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport and amending regulation (EU) No 525/2013

About the Global Shippers Forum

The Global Shippers' Forum (GSF) was formally incorporated and registered as a non-governmental organisation in the United Kingdom in June 2011. It's the world's leading trade association for shippers engaged in international trade moving goods by all modes of transport.

Tags: CO2, shipping emissions, maritime transport, EU, MRV system