Operation and maintenance News

The New Zealand coastguard Mana's recently put their new rescue vessel in use. A repurposed Rayglass Protector, previously used as a supporter boat during America's Cup, is now a part of the rescue fleet in Cook Strait, NZ. With the coastguards' big focus on sustainability and safety, OXE Diesel was an obvious choice when it came to powering their new vessel. With twin OXE300's on the transom, there was no need to compromise on low emissions, range or safety. "This new vessel we’re receiv...

Thordon Bearings’ Egyptian distributor and integrated services provider Nefertiti Marine has successfully commissioned the water-lubricated Thordon SXL propeller shaft bearings installed aboard the 24,112gt ferry Daleela. The 1991-built, 400-passenger capacity RoPax, owned by El-Etehad International and chartered to Scandro Holdings, began operations on the revived Piraeus–Limassol route in June 2022 following an extensive refit in the floating dock operated by the Suez Shipyar...

NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. (NSY), ClassNK, and IHI Corporation (IHI) signed a joint research and development agreement for the commercialisation of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB). Specifically, the parties will work on the R&D of the world's first barge equipped with a floating storage and regasification facility for ammonia. Since ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted, it is expected to be a next-generation fuel that contributes to...

The construction of a new supersize slipway and new workboat pontoons is now underway at Pembroke Port. It marks a big step forward in the realisation of the Port of Milford Haven’s vision for the Milford Haven Waterway to play a vital role in driving new green growth across the region, while supporting the country’s transition to a net zero future. The new slipway will provide maximum flexibility for the launch and recovery of marine energy devices and vessels, while the pontoons w...

Mark W. Barker, the first new U.S flagged Great Lakes bulker in almost 40 years, has successfully completed sea trials and will now begin trading throughout the freshwater lakes and river networks, with oil-free propeller shaft bearings from Thordon Bearings. Built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States of America (USA), by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (Fincantieri Marine Group) for The Interlake Steamship Company, Thordon Bearings’ scope of supply includes a water lubricated RiverToug...

Rolls-Royce announces that Tufan Erginbilgic has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and an executive director of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. Tufan will take up his new role on 1 January 2023, succeeding Warren East who, on 24 February 2022, announced his intention to step down at the end of this year. Tufan, who has a background in engineering, has built his career in international business including over 20 years with BP, with five years as part of its executive team. In his last role before...

Mersey Maritime is delighted to announce the appointment of Commodore Phil Waterhouse to its management board with immediate effect. Commodore Waterhouse is the Naval Regional Commander for Northern England and the Isle of Man. As such, he is the First Sea Lord’s Ambassador for the region, with the task of ensuring that the work of the Royal Navy is understood, respected and valued by the community it serves. He has been in this role since 2017. New appointment in Mersey Maritime Board...

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is advising KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH on the sale of the luxury cruise ship ‘Crystal Endeavor’ to Royal Caribbean Group (RCL), after the ship was arrested in Gibraltar earlier this year following the insolvency of Genting Hong Kong Limited (GHK) and Crystal Cruises, LLC (Crystal Cruises). The firm is also advising on the associated financing to RCL for the ship’s purchase. The financing comprises a 15-year unsecured term loan, guaranteed by the G...

    HyCC has launched Project H2era to construct a 500-megawatt green hydrogen plant in the Amsterdam port area. The project, launched in cooperation with the Port of Amsterdam, is a major step forward in the development of the regional hydrogen economy to help decarbonise industry and mobility. Green hydrogen “The use of green hydrogen is crucial to reduce emissions from industries such as steel, chemicals, and aviation,” says Marcel Galjee, Managing Directo...

The UK Ministry of Defence has once again confirmed that the Fleet Solid Support ships will, for the most part, be British built. Jeremy Quin, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: “For the purposes of procurement the Fleet Solid Support ships are considered to be warships. This has significance in the procurement route we choose to adopt and we are not pursuing an international competition."  "This does not preclude international bidders from participating if they can meet the UK&rsqu...

The Valencia Container Freight Index (VCFI) for June 2022 has broken its upward trend with a decrease of -2.19% compared to the previous month. Since July 2020, when it fell by 2.72%, the trend has been one of constant growth (except for February 2022 with -0.19%). The Index stands at 4,647.32 points, accumulating a growth of 364.73% since the beginning of the series in 2018. As for the different areas that make up the VCFI, the general trend has been downward, with the Central America and Car...

One of Orbital’s key objectives is reducing carbon emissions by harnessing an entirely untapped source of renewable energy. In doing so, the company aim to help restore oceans after what has been a disastrous decline in species and ocean health over the past two centuries. UK is fortunate that it has a well-established environmental licensing framework for the deployment of tidal turbines in the marine environment, which has led to extensive environmental characterisation and monitoring o...

Nor-Shipping 2023, which is scheduled to take place from June 6 to June 9, 2023, looks set to build on the success of Nor-Shipping 2022 event, with strong early sales and commitments from numerous national pavilions to return to the exhibiting fold. A total of 14 countries have so far secured dedicated pavilions to showcase local expertise, including Singapore and Japan at Nor-Shipping 2023 exhibition. In addition, individual organisations, such as Siemens, ABB, DNV (with two stands), NCE Marit...

Chris Cooper has been appointed President of Neste US, effective from 1 July 2022. In his new role, he is responsible for supporting and aligning regional business strategies to deliver strategic growth targets, and he acts as Neste’s primary representative for the external community in the US. At the moment, Chris Cooper is holding the position of Vice President of Americas of Neste Renewable Aviation. Accelerate renewable growth strategy “The US presents important opportunities...

Thordon Bearings’ authorised distributor in Mexico, TZ Industrias, has secured an order to supply the Canadian company’s TG100 shaft seals, equipped with a safe return to port (SRTP) emergency seal, to a quartet of shrimpers operated by Pesquera Axel, one of the country’s leading fishing vessel operators. Bearings and seals TZ Industrias will deliver four 127mm (5in) diameter mechanical seals to the Mazatlán-based repair yard Constructora y Reparadora de Buques for ins...

Nor Shipping has revealed that #PartnerShip will be the main theme of next year’s event - Nor-Shipping 2023, as it looks to enable, support and showcase ways of working together to achieve commercial goals. The week-long programme, Nor-Shipping 2023, running from June 6 to June 9, 2023, will now tailor its exhibition, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities, in order to nurture and strengthen collaboration across ocean businesses. Individual strength, collective gain The industry...

For the third year in a row Stena Line is celebrating Pride across the company. During the whole of June the rainbow flag is being flown on the company’s 37 ships and at its terminals across Europe, with the slogan ‘All aboard!’ to celebrate the company’s ongoing commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.   Being caring and welcoming is part of Stena Line’s DNA, with the aim to maintain and develop a sustainable working environment, free from harassment, that gives equal...

Neste, Covestro, and South Korean petrochemical company SK geocentric are cooperating to enable the production of a major polyurethane raw material based on renewable raw materials via mass balance. The cooperation will see Neste provide SK geocentric with renewable Neste RE™, an ISCC-certified feedstock for polymers and chemicals made from 100% renewable raw materials such as waste and residue oil and fats. Energy consumption SK geocentric will process this feedstock into benzene at th...

As owners of powered vessels look to maximise fuel efficiency, in light of the rising cost of fuel, New Zealand based foul-release coatings company - Propspeed reports that use of its Propspeed coatings could improve hourly fuel usage and increase boat speed. Matt Forbes, the Sales Director – EMEA at Propspeed, explains “Research has shown that propellers with as little as 16.6 micrometres of roughness can result in a 5% efficiency loss. Although fouling might not look significant -...

The 2022 installment of Indo-Pacific featured a record 736 exhibitors from around the world, the largest turnout in 20 years, and saw more than 25,000 visitors over three days. Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition The Indo-Pacific International Maritime Exposition was held in Sydney, Australia, from May 10th – 12th, bringing together naval defence and commercial maritime organisations from around the world. This year, not only was it Propspeed’s first time attending the s...

Propspeed, the global innovator of underwater foul-release coatings, has announced that Garmin has tested its Propspeed Foulfree foul-release coating system and found it to be effective for keeping its transducers clean and free from marine growth. “We are proud to have worked closely with Garmin engineers to ensure compatibility with and maximum performance from their transducers,” said Chris Baird, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Propspeed. Propspeed and Garmin partnership...

Final preparations have been completed for the globally renowned maritime conference - Mersey Maritime Exchange Conference 2022, which is set to take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on Thursday, 23rd June 2022. In its fourth iteration, the Mersey Maritime Exchange Conference 2022, will see government ministers, politicians and leading industry figures come together to debate the most topical industry issues around the environment, innovation, technology, people, skills, regional growth and...

Is 3D printing just a hype? Or can ship parts, which meet the high demands of the shipping industry, actually be printed? These questions will be answered during the pilot project, ‘3D Printing of Marine Spare Parts’, which is being executed by a consortium of 27 port-related companies, including Ruysch International. ‘3D Printing of Marine Spare Parts’ The pilot project – ‘3D Printing of Marine Spare Parts’ has officially started with the investigati...

IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee progresses work on GHG reduction; approves the Mediterranean Sea emission control area. IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee has reiterated its commitment to review and strengthen the IMO Initial Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from shipping, to adopt a revised strategy in mid-2023. MEPC 78 session The MEPC 78 session (6-10 June) made further progress with the discussions towards the revision of the Initial GHG Strategy, as initi...

At the Posidonia trade fair today, classification society DNV presented Pleiades Shipping with a certificate recognising their new vessels as the first delivered to a Greek owner with the Cyber secure vessel notation. The presentation was a fitting milestone as DNV also celebrates 100 years of operation in Greece and topping 100 contracted vessels for the Cyber secure notation. Digitalisation of the maritime industry The digitalisation of the maritime industry continues to accelerate as new...

The CMA CGM Group, a global player of shipping, land, air and logistics solutions, recognizes the global importance and urgency of healthy oceans and is committed to continuing with its efforts to ensure that our oceans are used sustainably, as well as ensuring that shipping services are ever more respectful of the environment. Committed to protecting the oceans This involvement of the CMA CGM Group is reflected in particular by the Reef Recovery programme, to restore coral reefs. These coral...

Thordon Bearings reports increasing demand for its COMPAC water-lubricated propeller shaft bearings, as superyacht operators and managers opt for more environmentally friendly propulsion solutions. Since the first installation of its system to the 2007 Italian-built 1540 metres (5053 feet) long Savarona superyacht, Thordon Bearings now has more than forty superyacht references for the award-winning COMPAC system, the most recent of which being the Blue Bird of 1938. Clean propulsion solutions...

May saw the highest ever monthly increase in long-term contracted ocean freight rates, as the cost of locking in container shipments soared by 30.1%. The unprecedented hike, revealed in the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI®) Public Indices for the contract market, means that long-term rates are now 150.6% up year-on-year. In 2022 alone, costs have climbed by 55%. “This is a staggering development,” comments Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund. “Just last month we were looking at a...

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Bashir Jamoh says that the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, ISPS, is a major component of the security architecture that NIMASA is implementing in the Nigerian maritime domain. Dr. Bashir Jamoh stated this while receiving in audience of the Deputy Head of International Maritime Security Operations Team, IMSOT, Jim Hamilton, who led a team on a working visit to ass...

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has restated the Agency’s commitment to ensuring effective pollution prevention and control in the Nigerian Maritime domain, in order to continue to create an enabling environment for the sector to thrive. Dr. Bashir Jamoh who made this assertion while speaking at the 7th meeting of the National Standing Committee on International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund implementation in N...