Crew Mirror Digest 08-2023

India: Goa Shipyard ties up with 10 leading firms for projects worth Rs 80,000 cr

19 Feb 2023
Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) signed 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with leading public and private firms in line with the Union government’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’, at the Aero-Indis 2023 show held at Yelahanka, Bengaluru from February 13 to 17.  

 These MoUs, worth Rs 80,000 crore, forged partnerships with major firms like electronics behemoth BEL, Maritime Monitoring Group AS, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Maritronics India Pvt Ltd, Smart Engineering & Design Solutions, Brol-ich Marine Electronic Engineering, Electro-Pneumatics & Hydraulics (India) Pvt Ltd, PT Aaron Jaya Inter-nasional, Indonesia etc in the field of niche technologies and for promoting exports.  

 A delegation from Goa Shipyard Ltd led by its chairman and managing director Brajesh Kumar Upadhyay attended the mega event at Bengaluru. Reference

Philippines: MARINA joins maritime expo for seafarers

18 Feb 2023

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) concluded its participation in the Expo Maritime Philippines 2023 on Friday, Feb. 17, with a renewed commitment to support the local maritime industry amid challenges faced by Filipino seafarers in the international stage.

The event also explored the prospects for expanding the Philippine Nautical Highway and private sector initiatives that support the Maritime Industry Development Plan.

The two-day event was held in Manila and organized by the Worldwide Maritime Operations Co. (WMOC) with the theme “Flag States and Ship Builders Convention.”

The convention, which drew 8,000 attendees and 68 exhibitors including MARINA, provided an avenue for maritime stakeholders to explore ways on how to address the many challenges faced by Filipino seafarers.

This includes the possible job loss of around 50,000 Filipino seafarers working in European vessels due to the Philippines’ failure to comply with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) audit over the past 16 years as reported last year. Reference

Carisbrooke Shipping to trial hydrogen engine on board one of its vessels

18 Feb 2023
UK-based shipping company Carisbrooke Shipping has partnered with London-based tech startup Carnot Ltd whose consortium has been awarded £2.3M to develop a zero-emission hydrogen auxiliary engine demonstrator.

Following design, simulations and rigorous testing, the single-fuel hydrogen 50kW engine will be integrated into a containerised system and mounted on the deck of one of Carisbrooke’s cargo vessels for a 40-day sea trial in early 2025 to partially supply electrical power to the vessel.

The shipping company said that the core goal of the project was to validate the decarbonising impact that high-efficiency, zero-emission engines can have in the maritime industry and build on work from the previous CMDC 1 & 2 grants.

In the future, this technology could be used to power tug-boats, ferries, cargo vessels, tankers and container ships.

Bureau Veritas and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are also being engaged as the vessel’s regulatory authorities to ensure a safe path to regulatory compliance. As disclosed, this will be among the first projects to achieve Approval in Principle for hydrogen power generation technology on board a UK-flagged vessel. Reference

BSM trials predictive maintenance system for vessel engines

18 Feb 2023
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has begun a trial of a new engine diagnostics system from Swiss marine power company WinGD on one of its managed vessels, which aims to support smart predictive maintenance for two-stroke engines.

The pilot installation, on an LNG gas carrier with two five-cylinder WinGD X72DF engines, will monitor five of the engine components crucial for reliable engine operation (cylinder liners, piston rings, exhaust valves, fuel pumps and fuel injectors), recommending condition-based maintenance intervals by using algorithms to estimate their remaining useful life.

The new engine diagnostics system is an enhancement to the existing WiDE (WinGD integrated Digital Expert) monitoring and remote support platform, developed in association with Propulsion Analytics. Propulsion Analytics is also acting as a technology partner on the BSM pilot, with further support and verification to be provided by classification society Lloyd’s Register.

Through WiDE, crew on the vessel will be provided with possible causes to assist in diagnosing faults and will be prompted to add relevant maintenance tasks. The scheduling of the tasks will be calculated based on the predicted remaining useful life for the components affected.

The accuracy of the diagnostics will be validated through feedback from BSM on maintenance activities and subsequent monitoring and analysis. Reference

Japan Honors Autonomous Ship Initiative At Innovation

17 Feb 2023
An autonomous ship initiative by a group of companies in Japan was recognized by Japan’s Cabinet Office at Fifth Japan Open Innovation Prize Ceremony on Wednesday.

The companies receiving recognition are NYK and NYK Group companies Japan Marine Science Inc., MTI Co. Ltd., and Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd.

The four NYK Group companies are participating in the Joint Technological Development Program for the Demonstration of Fully Autonomous Ships under the MEGURI 2040 fully autonomous ship project administrated by the Nippon Foundation.

As members of the consortium, the four companies provided technology and experience so far cultivated in the technological development of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS).

In addition to the four NYK Group companies, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. was also recognized with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Award on February 15 on behalf of the consortium. Reference

Standards, protocols needed for marine biofuels

17 Feb 2023
New protocols, standards and procedures are needed for bunkering biofuels as shipping expands its use of sustainable fuels, said experts during Riviera Maritime Media’s Fuel testing for the age of decarbonisation webinar. This event was held 15 February 2023 as part of Riviera’s Marine Propulsion Webinar Week. 

Biofuels have drawn rising interest as a drop-in fuel capable of reducing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. These fuels, however, can exhibit poor long-term stability and quality variations and off-spec or contaminated fuel can put crew safety and ship operations at risk. Risks can be mitigated by better understanding and testing of bio-based fuels and blends and introducing new standards.

There are concerns over the quality, variance, compatibility, microbial activity and oxidation stability of biofuels, plus availability, carbon intensity and price.

Biofuels have no sulphur and reduce NOx production in exhaust. There is experience in using biofuels in MAN engines in other industries and marine applications have been approved by the original engine manufacturer.

The International Standards Organisation is working on a standard covering marine biofuels. Protocols and guidance are required for producing biofuels for the shipping industry.  Reference

Eastern Pacific Shipping fits CSS system on a managed tanker

17 Feb 2023
Singapore-based ship management company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has completed the installation of Value Maritime’s (VM) Filtree system onboard its managed vessel M/T Pacific Cobalt in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Filtree system, which filters sulphur and 99% of particulate matter, includes VM’s Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) module that can capture up to 40% of CO₂ emissions from the vessel’s main and auxiliary engines.

The CO₂ is captured in a special chemical that is stored in an onboard tank that during the retrofit has been recoated and converted for this purpose. The tank now provides sufficient storage space to capture more than 200 tonnes of CO₂ in a single voyage, EPS said.

Once the tank is full, the chemical will be pumped out in port and delivered to end users. The CO₂ can also be placed into carbon sequestration networks. The chemical will then be returned to the vessel for reuse and to capture more CO₂.

The installation of the prefabricated gas filtering system commenced in mid-January 2023 in Rotterdam. It took 17 days to complete and was managed jointly by EPS’s and VM’s sea and shore staff. Reference

IMO: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

16 Feb 2023
IMO shares the following recommendations from the Joint Action Group with the aim to mitigate impacts of health recommendations on transport keyworkers.

Designating transport workers, including seafarers, as keyworkers and ensuring such workers’ needs and challenges are voiced during a pandemic are among the recently published recommendations from a joint United Nations and industry sector action group.

The recommendations of the Joint Action Group to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world’s transport workers and the global supply chain (JAG-TSC) aim to minimize adverse impacts on transport workers, their families and global trade and supply chains, while at the same time ensuring that public health needs are fully safeguarded and local communities are protected.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim signed the recommendations document on 27 January 2022, along with the Heads of the other involved UN entities. Reference

KVH launches crew connectivity system

16 Feb 2023
KVH has launched a new system for seafarer communications called KVH Crew Internet, compatible with KVH TracNet hybrid terminals and included with its standard airtime plans.

The service, providing access to applications such as WhatsApp, social media, websites, and email, will follow crews wherever they are within the fleet, keeping their login and allocations as they move from ship to ship.

Fleet administrators can set data allocations and limits on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Allocations can also be set by connection type, such as the three channels built into the TracNet terminals’ hybrid design – satellite, cellular, or Wi-Fi. Online hours can also be limited for safety and productivity reasons.

Crew can log into a portal on their mobile phones, tablets, or computers to use data, track use, and budget their time spent online.  Reference

Kongsberg Maritime To Deliver Hybrid Propulsion Tech

16 Feb 2023
Norwegian maritime technology and equipment provider Kongsberg Maritime has secured an order from Grimaldi Group to supply engineering and technology for two new Roll-on/Roll-off(Ro-Ro) vessels. The vessels, which will be built at China Merchant Jinling Shipyard, are scheduled for delivery in 2025.

Kongsberg Maritime will supply marine automation system and Auto Chief 600 propulsion control systems, hybrid systems, converters, battery energy storage of 5MWh, battery management system, maneuvering, and propulsion systems. The contract has a value of 220 million NOK (currently around $21,6 million).

The vessels will join Grimaldi Group’s fleet of low-emission, hybrid Ro-Ro vessels known as the Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class. Twelve GG5G vessels have been completed, with the latest, Eco Italia, delivered in October 2022.

The two new vessels will operate in hybrid mode and on a fully battery electric system when in port. The GG5G vessels reduce carbon dioxide emissions by half per unit transported on shorter routes, Kongsberg Maritime said. Reference

WEF: Decarbonizing shipping will require new skills

15 Feb 2023
Moving towards a low-emission global economy will require new ‘green jobs’ and reskilling, and the maritime industry is no different, says World Economic Forum (WEF) in a new article. Global shipping’s green transition could create new jobs and skills for hundreds of thousands of seafarers worldwide. Therefore, coordinated policy-making will be key to matching supply and demand and for countries to capitalize on green job opportunities.

Shipping’s decarbonization is expected to bring with it green job creation opportunities across new value chains, with 87% of the infrastructure projected to be land-based.

As such, meeting decarbonization goals, coupled with fast-moving technological developments and ever-increasing smart ship technologies, reflects a general trend towards a ‘higher-skilled’ seafarer and requires increased digital; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); safety and organizational skills to meet net zero emission demands.

This was supported by a recent analysis commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force. In an interview to SAFETY4SEA, Martha Selwyn, Manager at the United Nations Global Compact and project leader, stressed that as many as 800,000 seafarers will require additional training to handle alternative fuels by the mid-2030s if shipping is to meet the world’s target of keeping global warming to 1.5C or less by 2050. Reference

South Korean Partners To Develop Nuclear-Powered Ships

15 Feb 2023
A group of partners in South Korea has set out to develop, demonstrate and commercialize vessels powered by small modular reactors (SMR).

Nuclear power for ships has been gaining interest amid stricter greenhouse gas emissions regulations in the international shipping sector.

Nine participating institutions on February 9 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing them to jointly contribute to the development of the SMR industry and enhance the competitiveness of the Korean maritime and nuclear industries. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency describes SMRs as advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, which is about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors

Specifically, the partners will focus on jointly developing a Molten Salt Reactors (MSR), a type of SMR, that will be safe and suitable for marine vessel propulsion. MSRs are ‘liquid fuel reactors’ that mix nuclear fuel materials with molten salt that melt solid salt at a high temperature. There is no need to replace nuclear fuel during ship operation, and when an abnormal signal occurs inside the reactor, it is designed so that molten salt, which is liquid nuclear fuel, hardens, preventing serious accidents from the source. Reference

India: Dredging Corporation of India posts highest ever Q3 turnover

14 Feb 2023
Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) achieved the highest ever third quarter turnover of ₹372.30 crore (over $45 million), since inception, for the financial year 2022-23.

DCI reported a turnaround performance in the third quarter for the present fiscal, making a profit of ₹13.84 crore.

The Earning Per Share (EPS) is ₹4.94. The Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization (EBIDTA) for the third quarter is ₹62.08 crore as against ₹45.15 crore for the same quarter last year.

The DCI has clocked this performance, though fuel prices continue to remain high in recent times, the company said.

Also, all the existing projects have been monitored meticulously and executed on time to the complete satisfaction of the clients, according to a statement issued by the company on Friday. Reference

IMO: Need for continuous and transparent communication to tackle with fraudulent certificates

14 Feb 2023
The IMO Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW 9), that took place 6-10 February 2023 in IMO headquarters, shed its focus on the reports of fraudulent certificates, concluding that there is need for transparency and communication between maritime stakeholders.

Specifically, the Sub-Committee noted information received by the Secretariat (HTW 9/INF.2) on some 145 reports concerning fraudulent certificates detected in 2021 and 2022. It was also noted that some Member States, for completeness, had provided information on certificates and documents beyond the provisions of the STCW Convention.

Having agreed that this was a challenge for the maritime industry as a whole and the response should be coordinated among all Member States involved, the Sub-Committee highlighted the need for continuous and transparent communication between flag States and port States on the matter.

The Sub-Committee also reiterated the need for Member States and international organizations to urgently submit proposals on a strategy to address the problems associated with fraudulent certificates of competency. Reference

Why ESG Matters for the Decarbonization of Shipping

13 Feb 2023
With shipping companies making ambitious investments in decarbonization, the debate around creation of robust ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies for the industry has become imperative. New regulations – such as the inclusion of shipping in EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), as well as IMO’s EEXI and CII ratings – are also pushing shipping lines to consider sustainability.

It is apparent that sustainability has shifted from just a positive differentiator to increasingly becoming tomorrow’s license to operate. As a result, shipowners and operators face mounting pressure for environmental compliance from customers, regulators and investors.

Indeed, the shipping industry continues to lag behind other industries, with limited environmental transparency and climate actions largely in their infancy. Only 46 percent of the largest shipping companies have made pledges in line with IMO net-zero commitments and only 41 percent have GHG and sustainability reporting.

To navigate the changing business landscape, some industry stakeholders believe it is time for the shipping industry to embark on the ESG journey. This is the argument embodied in a new ESG Playbook for Shipping prepared by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

As shipping grapples with decarbonization, an ESG strategy is a concrete approach to identify the most valuable focus areas, set specific targets and ensure organizational readiness to a new business landscape of sustainability. Reference

India: GMU students complete externship at Erasmus varsity

13 Feb 2023
The Gujarat Maritime University, promoted by the government of Gujarat and Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), concluded its global externship programme with Erasmus University, Netherlands, on February 10.

The programme was designed to provide students with international exposure and first-hand experience of how things work at state-of-the-art foreign ports. Over two weeks, 34 students from GMU had the opportunity to participate in various classes, workshops, and industry visits, gaining valuable insights into the European maritime sector. The students also interacted with their peers from Erasmus University, fostering cross-cultural exchange.

During the externship, students connected with the talented pool of faculty members at Erasmus University and industry experts at Rotterdam. Reference

Columbia Shipmanagement to launch digital platform

13 Feb 2023
Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) has announced the development of a digital system designed to consolidate data collection and analysis of vessel operations under one platform.

The PANGIA project, a collaboration between CSM, Blue Dynamics (BD) and the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI), has been two years in the making and is due to be launched in July 2023. The project is co-funded by the European Union (EU), and the Republic of Cyprus via the Research and Innovation Foundation.

The platform will integrate HoloLens and virtual reality synaptic technology for training and onboard maintenance, thereby connecting shoreside expertise with personnel at sea.

The platform plans to boost vessel performance and reduce fuel consumption through advanced data analytics and expert human input.

The platform can also offer early detections of health hazards to protect the health and safety of crews and passengers through machine learning. Reference

Note: All above news items compiled in this digest should be considered as news in brief. For detailed news, please refer to reference link, mentioned with each item.