Currently under construction is the world’s first dedicated hydrogen tanker Suiso Frontier (Suiso translates to hydrogen in Japanese). The vessel is part of the HySTRA (CO₂-free Hydrogen Energy Supply-Chain Technology Research Association) demonstration project, which will see cryogenically frozen hydrogen shipped from the port of Hastings in the state of Victoria, Australia, to the Japanese port of Kobe. The hydrogen will be extracted from brown coal.

CMA CGM Jacques Saadé is the first in class of a series of nine Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCV) which are also the largest ships in the world to be fuelled by LNG.

The vessel was laid down in 2018 and delivered in September last year (2020) for service in the Asia to Europe trade lane, the only lane currently capable of hosting ships of this size.

To round off this challenging year for the marine industry on a positive note, we introduce the world’s first zero emission container vessel, the much delayed Yara Birkeland. In a further boost for technology she is also designed to operate autonomously, an objective which is scheduled to be realized in 2022.

Delivered in May this year, M.V. BoldWind was the first of two specialized deck cargo carriers long term chartered by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and dedicated to the movement of offshore wind energy components. She is built to a German-developed design combining optimised capacity with a multi-engine diesel-electric powering system.

Arktika is the first in class of a new of a new generation of Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers. Construction began at the Baltic Shipyards in St. Petersburg in 2013 with a scheduled completion in 2017, however construction delays pushed the completion back and she finally completed sea trials in mid-September 2020. Painted in the colors of the Russian state flag, she is destined to operate north of the Arctic Circle in anticipation of a year-round Northern Shipping Route in support of Russian development of a warming Arctic region and the natural resources that lie therein.

Following delivery in May this year, the LNG bunkering newbuild Gas Agility arrived in Europe in August to begin operations. Her home port is Rotterdam. A sister vessel for delivery later this year will operate from the Port of Marseille-Foss. These are the world’s largest LNG bunker vessels.

Leading U.S. flag carrier Matson Inc took delivery of the new build roll on-roll off Kanaloa Class vessel Lurline in December 2019 marking the steady evolution of the company’s service connection to Hawaii dating back to 1887 when the original Lurline, a small brigantine, sailed from San Francisco to Hilo under the command of Captain William Matson, a Swedish born American who founded the Matson Navigation Company. The new Lurline is the 6^th company vessel to carry the name.

An unusual milestone was recorded earlier this month when the Canadian oil sands producer Cenovus Energy shipped oil from Kinder Morgan’s Westridge oil terminal via the Panama Canal to the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, on Canada’s east coast. The Panamax tanker Cabo De Hornos (Cape Horn) was chartered by Irving Oil for the 6,400 nautical mile voyage.

The issue of livestock shipments is never far from the news in Australia where the government has come under enormous pressure to legislate improved carriage conditions, if not to ban the livestock trade entirely. The debate came to a head in 2017 when a shipment of 63,800 sheep from Freemantle to the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait incurred the loss of 2,400 sheep with the sub-standard conditions on the vessel being filmed by a whistleblower. This followed a similar incident in 2016, many of the deaths being attributed to the high temperatures and humidity in the Gulf during summer months. Government investigators pointed to inadequate manning and the complete absence of a heat stress management plan.

Following a cruise from Sydney to Auckland in February this year, my wife and I made a road trip through the North and South Islands of New Zealand including the picturesque city of Queenstown located on picturesque Lake Wakatipu. Since 1912, the freshwater lake has been the home of the magnificently preserved and operational TSS Earnslaw, reportedly the only commercial coal-fired passenger steamship in the southern hemisphere.