Efficiency - News

In early June 2022, representatives of shipping companies and Customs authorities from across the globe came together, in order to discuss ways to step up the fight against drug trafficking. The Conference was organised by the World Shipping Council (WSC) and the Container Control Programme (CCP), which is a joint initiative between the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). UNODC 2021 World Drug Report According to the UNODC 2021 World Drug Report, aro...

It’s been another bumper month for long-term contracted ocean freight rates, as the cost of securing container shipments climbed by 10.1% in June 2022. Following on the heels of a record 30.1% hike in May 2022, this now means rates stand 169.8% higher than this time in 2021, with just two months of declines in the last 18 months. Despite a degree of macro-economic uncertainty clouding the horizon, all major trades saw prices moving up, with some corridors showing significant gains. Xenet...

Nauti-craft technology is not only making waves (well actually, quite the opposite!) here in Australia, but is also being developed in some exciting projects overseas. In Wilhelmshaven, a seaside town on the Jade Bight on Germany’s North Sea coast, nauti-craft technology will soon be put to work onboard the WB18, a collaborative project between nauti-craft and German boat-building company, Wallaby Boats. The 18m vessel will fill the role of pilot vessel at the port of Wilhelmshaven, ensur...

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has signed an Exchange of Note(E/N) with the Japanese Government for an Economic and Social Development Programme involving the acquisition of a High-Speed Boat to reinforce services for coastal security in Nigeria, with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, as the implementing partner. The Honourable Minister of State Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba signed on behalf of Nigeria, while the Ambassador Ext...

On 29 June 2022, the ceremony for the naming and delivery of CULINES container newbuilding - CUL YANGPU & the signing of the strategic cooperation memorandum on Shipping Industry Fund was held at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding in Nansha, Guangzhou, China. Huiming Xiang (Chairman at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding), Kevin Ding (EVP at CULIES), Huiyu Wu (Part Committee Secretary & Chairman at Hainan Financial Holdings), and Jianmin Wang (Port & Shipping COO, Administration Committee of Y...

The Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) and the Provincial Council of Valencia have organised the first ‘Cruise Tourism’ training course, aimed at municipal technicians and tourism agents. A meeting point to expand the tourist offer, offered by the destination of Valencia for cruise passengers, with sustainable experiences in municipalities of the province, beyond the city of Valencia, and to work to deseasonalise cruise tourism that calls at the Port of Valencia, in Spain. From the p...

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...

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA)’s Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) has once again received certification as a climate-neutral company from TÜV NORD. This highlights CTA’s pioneering role in the industry as a sustainable, innovative company. In 2019, CTA was the first container handling facility in the world to receive climate-neutral certification. Automated guided vehicles The Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board, Angela Titzrath, explains: “CTA’...

It’s perhaps easy to take for granted that ships today can communicate rather easily with their shoreside offices. What is often overlooked, however, is the growing importance of being able to instantly share data between ship and shore and with all relevant stakeholders. The close integration of onboard operations and the shoreside offices is faster and easier than ever thanks to high-speed internet connections. It is also, at the same time, significantly more essential than it has been...

Air Products and Gunvor Petroleum Rotterdam have signed a joint development agreement for an import terminal in Rotterdam. The agreement responds to the accelerating demand for green energy sources to meet climate objectives and the need to diversify energy sources. The import terminal is expected to provide green hydrogen to the Netherlands in 2026.  Green hydrogen Green hydrogen is key to the energy transition. It has significant potential to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, such as...

Rolls-Royce is entering the hydrogen production market and acquiring a 54% majority stake in electrolysis stack specialist Hoeller Electrolyzer, whose innovative technology will form the basis of a new range of MTU electrolyser products from its Power Systems division. Hoeller Electrolyzer, based in Wismar, Germany, is an early-stage technology company that is developing highly efficient polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) stacks, under the brand name Prometheus, for the cost-effective productio...

A new report published by Inmarsat, the pioneer in global, mobile satellite communications, indicates that seafarers are largely in favour of greater digitalisation but that a sizeable proportion of those working at sea also fear shrinking job opportunities. Compiled by maritime innovation consultancy Thetius, Seafarers in the Digital Age – Prioritising Human Element in Maritime Digital Transformation draws on the results of a survey of 200 maritime professionals. Basic internet connecti...

Neste Corporation has made the final investment decision to invest into new renewable products production capacity in Rotterdam. The decision is based on demand for renewable products growing substantially with customers' higher climate ambitions. Neste’s current 1.4 million ton capacity for renewable products in Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. The Rotterdam refinery expansion investment of approximately EUR 1.9 billion will expand Neste’s overall renewable product capacity by 1...

Vestdavit has extended its range of boat-handling systems with a new telescopic davit specially designed and developed for a technically demanding retrofit contract with the Royal Danish Navy. The Norwegian davit supplier has secured the coveted award to deliver a total of eight TDBS 8000 systems for the launch and recovery of fast rescue boats that will be installed on four existing Absalon and Iver-class naval frigates. DNV-approved solution The advanced davit is uniquely designed to functi...

The World Ocean Council will host a side event during the United Nations Ocean Conference on June 27-July 1 in Lisbon, Portugal. Building the Supply, Demand, Marketplace, and Monitoring for Ocean Carbon Sequestration takes place on 30 June, 1:45-2:45 pm | One Sustainable Ocean Pavilion, Ocean Stage. Ocean and coastal ecosystems are, by far, the largest carbon sinks on Earth — they offer the best nature-based solutions for enhanced gigaton-scale carbon sequestration. In order to realize th...

Seafarers are sharing their maritime voyages across social media to mark the Day of the Seafarer 2022.  The maritime world is changing, fast. Ships are now operating greener, with greater digitisation and with more diverse crews. As the lifeblood of the shipping industry, seafarers are at the heart of this evolution, implementing new regulations, learning new skills and adopting safer, more efficient working practices. As the world’s merchant fleet traverses the oceans, the crews onboard...

What should maritime stakeholders focus on in the coming years to accelerate maritime decarbonisation? At this week’s Getting to Zero Coalition Workshop, participating Coalition members collaborated on detailing out an action plan to make the full decarbonisation of shipping concrete and tangible. Participants focused on the combination and acceleration of four change levers: technology on land and on board, mobilising demand, financing, and policy. Accelerating shipping decarbonisation...

Ocean Infinity, in pursuit of its’ objective of transforming maritime operations through the deployment of innovative technologies, is excited to announce the development of zero-emission, remotely operated, and autonomous ready, short sea container vessels that will operate between Norway and the Netherlands, creating one of Europe’s first zero-emission maritime ‘green corridors’.   SeaShuttle programme In partnership with Samskip B.V, a global logistics comp...

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and its subsidiary - Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from DNV for their newly developed waste heat-derived LNG fuel supply system - Hi-eGAS (Hyundai High Efficient Gas Supply System) for 300K VLCC. Currently, LNG fuel propulsion ships have used boilers to make hot steam, which has converted LNG into a gas at room temperature, to supply a ship’s engine. However, this process has the disadvantag...

Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. is delighted to announce the launch of its latest Far East-West Coast of Latin America service in July 2022. The new service will offer customers broader service coverage and ensure more reliable services in the FE-WCSA trade. The new SA8 service is jointly operated by Yang Ming, WAN HAI LINES LTD., and Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd (PIL). A fleet of eight 2,400-3,700 TEU vessels will be deployed on the weekly service, two of them are from Yang Ming. The f...

Globally renowned fleet optimisation provider and Lloyd’s Register subsidiary, i4 Insight, has joined forces with data collection pioneers, Danelec Marine (Danelec), to solve fleet performance challenges. This new industry partnership, which brings together specialists in data collection and data analysis, will mean customers can get a more cost-effective solution to vessel optimisation. i4 Insight - Danelec Marine partnership As the maritime sector deals with digital transformation and...

Ports of Stockholm is one of the world’s largest passenger ports and Stockholm is a very popular cruise destination. Now the possibilities for cruise ships to call at Stockholm have increased with the opening of a brand-new quay at Frihamnen Port. The new quay at Frihamnen Port in Stockholm opened on 21st June. The site was previously the location of the container terminal, which moved in 2020 to the newly built freight port, Stockholm Norvik Port. The move of the container terminal provi...

Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to introduce a new weekly direct service linking China and Korea with four key countries in South America - Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Chile. The new service, known as West Coast South America 6 (WS6), will commence on 13 July 2022 from Ningbo, China. West Coast South America 6 (WS6) West Coast South America 6 (WS6) aims to augment PIL’s existing two services - WS2 and WSA West Coast South America 6 (WS6) aims to augment PIL’s...

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...

Blue Water’s Aid & Development Logistics team was contacted by a customer regarding the transport of a special shipment from Shanghai, China to the NGO Hope Walks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The transport faced challenges due to container shortages in Shanghai and fully booked vessels as a consequence of COVID-19. However, Blue Water succeeded in finding a container as well as booking space on the required vessel thus saving the transport. Medical supply delivery  The contact wit...

Ultramag is back exhibiting at Seawork 2022, which is taking place in Southampton, United Kingdom (UK) and will present over the 3 days of the exhibition, featuring the Managing Director, General Manager, NDT Manager, and one of Ultramag’s young Apprentices. Various items of test equipment were on show covering the inspection of composite materials; with plenty of interest in the testing and inspection capabilities and training programs on offer.

Nearly 50 fuel-saving ducts devices have been procured by Oldendorff Carriers over 50 years. They have also started many other initiatives to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, which users can see in the other news stories. The purpose of the fuel-saving devices is not only to reduce fuel consumption but also to reduce the Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG). In the early 1980’s, OLDENDORFF CARRIERS was the first dry bulk shipping company to invest in Wake Equalising Ducts (WED), when they...

SCH’s sister company Cruise and Passenger Services (CPS) is to sponsor the latest meeting of the industry association Cruise Britain in Portsmouth on June 21-22. The professional network of British ports, ground handlers, and port agents plays a key role in promoting Britain to the global cruise industry and the meeting in Portsmouth will give CPS the opportunity to show off its offering as a passenger valet parking supplier. Passenger valet parking The two-day meeting will start with a...

Following a meeting during the 2022 Posidonia trade fair in Athens, MAN Energy Solutions and the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) – the trade association for Greek shipowners – have announced their mutual commitment to a policy of decarbonisation, especialy in regard to the testing and development of alternative fuels and, more generally, the maritime value chain. This recognises the vital role that engine designers and manufacturers play, and that shipping’s decarbonisation...

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (Wilhelmsen) is pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement with Seven Seas, to acquire 100% of their shares in their subsidiary company - Stromme. When first established in 1971, Stromme became the first specialised cargo hold cleaning company in the marine industry. The company is a renowned global player with extensive specialised experience within their field, providing customers with high quality solutions and innovations for cargo hold cleaning, w...