“I am ashamed to be an executive in the maritime industry!” said Mr. Frank Coles in a recent LinkedIn post. His statement was related to the launch of a petition to create an enforceable global protocol for a green travel channel travel for seafarers.
Paris-based Nexans S.A. has recently taken delivery of the Nexans Aurora, a DP3 classed cable laying vessel also outfitted for bundle laying, cable jointing, repair, cable system protection and trenching.
The continued unwarranted detention of the Ultra large Container Vessel Ever Given by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has thrown a spotlight on the relationship between the marine industry and the management of critical infrastructure across the globe.
While much of the attention towards adoption of LNG propulsion is focused on the container, cruise and ro-ro sectors, the dry bulk and tanker industries are also slowly getting in on the act. Delivered in late 2020, sister ships HL Eco and HL Green are the world’s first dual-fueled Capesize bulk carriers.
It would be unwise to dismiss the decision of the UK government to send a full strength aircraft carrier strike group east of Suez this month for a maiden deployment that will take in 40 countries and involve exercises with a number of allied and friendly nations. To put this into context, this is the first time that the UK has put such a major strike group to sea since the Falklands war with Argentina in 1982.
Along with her escort group, HMS Queen Elizabeth is this month leaving UK waters for her maiden overseas deployment. Following exercises in the Mediterranean with the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, she will transit the Suez Canal with visits and exercises planned to include 40 countries including India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. She will also engage in freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea.
The grounding of the Ultra Large Container Ship (ULCS) Ever Given from March 23 – 29 March in the Suez Canal has predictably prompted a good deal of speculation related to the safety of vessels of this dimension and the circumstances surrounding the incident itself.
In October 2020, the Yui Lian Shipyard in Shenzen completed the conversion of the Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) BW Gemini to be powered by a two-stroke LPG fueled diesel engine using Wartsila LPG Fuel Supply technology.
The threat of fire on a ship is an ever-present nightmare scenario. Improved construction standards and the use of inflammable materials have done a great deal to reduce the dangers, however, there are still too many incidents of fire consuming large parts of a vessel, in particular container ships.
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.
