News Digest 21-Aug-2021

Following Stories in this News Digest for the week from 16 Aug 2021 to 21 Aug 2021 in descending order:

• DP World Successfully Tests Giant Automatic Container Rack
• Hydrogen-Powered Chase Boat Developed by Emirates Team New Zealand
• First US hydrogen fuel cell vessel launched
• Transporting offshore wind electricity by automated ships – a new concept emerges in Japan
• World’s 1st VLOC equipped with air bubble tech arrives in Sao Luis
• India: Maritime bodies press for early second dose of Covid-19 vaccine for seafarers
• Drop in Indian Ocean Piracy Prompts Reduction in High Risk Area Map
• First Russian LNG bunker vessel delivered by Keppel
• Shipbreaking Picks Up Speed in 2021, Prices Approaching All-Time High
• Lead-Acid Battery Technology Modernizes for Maritime Operations

21 Aug: DP World Successfully Tests Giant Automatic Container Rack
According to global port operator DP World, a new robotic rack system for storing shipping containers has completed a six-month testing phase with enhanced efficiency.

DP World completed the installation of its first 800-container “Boxbay” vertical storage facility at Jebel Ali, the company’s central port in the United Arab Emirates, last year. According to DP World, the system was designed in collaboration with a JV partner, German engineering company SMS Group, and has three times more capacity per acre than a traditional stacked container yard with RTGs.

It can stack as high as 11 boxes on steel racks and its robotic hoists can remove any box at any moment, eliminating the need for restacking in a typical facility. Reference

20 Aug: Hydrogen-Powered Chase Boat Developed by Emirates Team New Zealand
Emirates Team New Zealand have committed to drive Hydrogen innovation in the marine industry by developing Hydrogen powered chase boats for the 37th America’s Cup in partnership with AFCryo, a Christchurch based company specializing in design, development and manufacture of composite cryostats for the cryogenic and superconducting industries.

Currently the Emirates Team New Zealand designers are working on a prototype hydrogen powered foiling chase boat, to be built at the team’s North Shore build facility. Once launched and verified, and with the support of the Challenger of Record Ineos Team UK, it is possible that the Protocol for the 37th America’s Cup will contain a provision that all teams must use hydrogen powered support boats. Reference

20 Aug: First US hydrogen fuel cell vessel launched
Washington-based boat builder All American Marine (AAM) and shipowner SWITCH Maritime have launched and started operational trials of Sea Change, a 70-foot, 75-passenger zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric-drive ferry that will operate in the California Bay Area.

This will be the first hydrogen fuel cell vessel in the US, representing an important step in the US maritime industry’s transition to a sustainable future.

The ferry was developed and constructed to demonstrate a pathway to commercialization for zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell marine technologies. While still working on permitting hydrogen fuel systems for maritime vessels with the US Coast Guard, the completed ferry will exhibit the viability of this zero-carbon ship propulsion technology for the commercial and regulatory communities, the duo said. Reference

20 Aug: Transporting offshore wind electricity by automated ships – a new concept emerges in Japan
Japanese company PowerX plans to design and build an automated Power Transfer Vessel to carry electricity from offshore wind farms to shore.

The Power ARK 100 is a 100 TEU trimaran specially designed for transferring renewable energy in Japan’s coastal waters.

Upon its completion in 2025, Power ARK 100 will carry 100 grid batteries, equating to 200 MWh of power which is equivalent to the total electricity consumption of 22,000 Japanese households in a day, PowerX said.

The vessel will be able to travel up to 300 kilometres when running only on electricity and will be able to unlock long-distance, intercontinental clean power transmission when it is powered by both electricity and sustainable biodiesel fuels, the company said. Reference

20 Aug: World’s 1st VLOC equipped with air bubble tech arrives in Sao Luis
British maritime cleantech provider, Silverstream Technologies, supplied its air lubrication solution onboard the Sea Victoria, a very large ore carrier (VLOC) with 325 thousand tons’ capacity chartered by Brazilian mining company Vale.

Ten compressors installed beneath the ship’s deck in the bosun store send air to 20 devices positioned underneath the ship, which produce a carpet of bubbles.

As explained, the action reduces the frictional resistance between the hull and the water, reducing fuel consumption and, consequently, carbon emissions, which will help Vale further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in navigation. Reference

19 Aug: India: Maritime bodies press for early second dose of Covid-19 vaccine for seafarers
Five Maritime bodies have appealed to the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) to allow seafarers take the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine earlier than the stipulated time frame in view of their safety and employability, a release said on Wednesday.

The maritime industry has been demanding to accord ‘priority’ to seafarers in the vaccination drive in view of the nature of their work

In early June, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had issued an SOP allowing certain categories of citizens to get their second dose of vaccination earlier (after 28 days) Reference

18 Aug: Drop in Indian Ocean Piracy Prompts Reduction in High Risk Area Map
Once considered the most dangerous area on the globe for mariners, the High Risk Area (HRA) for piracy in the Indian Ocean is being reduced under an agreement with the global shipping industry. The changes reducing the geographic boundaries were set by the leading shipping organizations reflecting a continued downward trend in Somali piracy and the effective international protection efforts and methods adopted by the shipping industry.

Once considered the most dangerous area on the globe for mariners, the High Risk Area (HRA) for piracy in the Indian Ocean is being reduced under an agreement with the global shipping industry. The changes reducing the geographic boundaries were set by the leading shipping organizations reflecting a continued downward trend in Somali piracy and the effective international protection efforts and methods adopted by the shipping industry. Reference

17 Aug: First Russian LNG bunker vessel delivered by Keppel
Shipbuilder Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has successfully delivered Russia’s first LNG bunkering vessel. Designed and built by Keppel O&M, the 5,800m3 capacity, ice-class Dmitry Mendeleev was delivered to Shturman Koshelev with a perfect safety record.

The LNG bunkering vessel (LBV) is the fourth newbuild LBV by Keppel O&M and was built at its Keppel Nantong Shipyard in China to Keppel’s proprietary MTD 5800V LNG design.

The dual class LBV, the 12th ice-class vessel delivered by Keppel O&M, was developed by its ship design and development arm, Keppel Marine & Deepwater Technology (KMDTech). Reference

17 Aug: Shipbreaking Picks Up Speed in 2021, Prices Approaching All-Time High
With scrap prices are on the verge of reaching a 13-year high, the rate of ships sold for dismantling has increased significantly in the first half of 2021. Over $1 billion worth of ships were scrapped in the first six months of 2021, with the price trend likely to persist and potentially rise throughout the year.

According to a market study by VesselValue, they estimate that in 2021, 275 boats amounting to 11.9 million DWT were sold for scrap. This is a 40% rise over 2020 and a 33% increase over 2019 when markets were unaffected by the pandemic. Reference

16 Aug: Lead-Acid Battery Technology Modernizes for Maritime Operations
Lead-acid batteries have existed for over a century with little change. Advances have occurred in lead-acid battery technology to increase storage density, extend usable service life and improve cold weather performance at comparatively lower cost than modern battery technologies. As a result, derivatives of lead-acid battery technology still have multiple applications in modern boating.

Early researchers abandoned the silicon dioxide method, being unable to increase voltage. Many years later, chemists revived the concept and revised the battery chemistry with 5% sulfuric acid and up to 95% silicon dioxide. The revised electrolytic mixture proved capable of operation at minus 40-degrees on either scale, delivering 60% of the power that it delivered at plus 50-deg C (110-degF). The tiny amount of sulfur in the battery greatly increased usable service life by reducing build-up of sulfur on the lead plates, allowing over 2,500-recharges when drained from 100% to just above 50% of storage capacity. Reference