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Shell and Subcon Roll Out ‘Pipe-Clamping Mattress’

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Subcon, a global leader in subsea stabilisation, has announced a new method to mitigate pipeline walking.   Developed in cooperation with Shell Global Solutions (Shell), it is an engineered ‘pipe clamping mattress’ (PCM).

The technique was first developed on Shell’s Malampaya Project; as an alternative to traditional rock dumping.  The results were so encouraging that a further 15 PCMs were deployed on the same field in Q1 2018.

‘When rock-dumping or concrete matts are deployed for walking mitigation, the vast majority of load is wasted because it is passed straight onto the seabed’ explained Subcon CEO Matthew Allen.

Addressing pipeline-walking with PCM’s rather than rock-dumping also eliminates the need for fall-pipe vessel and competent rock.

Future field developments may consider a ‘wait-and-see’ philosophy for pipeline walking, thereby eliminated suction pile fabrication and installation.  As pipeline-walking is an uncommon and slow process, remediation can be achieved using post-installed PCM’s.  Overall, a significant project saving.

Shell has a US patent pending for the PCM and has now released the PCM option to the market via a global licensing agreement with Subcon.  Shell presented a technical paper on the Malampaya PCM’s at the Houston OTC.

Germany’s Uniper says in talks on Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal

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German utility Uniper is ready to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the country and distribute it should a terminal be built at Wilhelmshaven, close to its storage facilities, board member Keith Martin told Reuters in an interview.

Martin said the company is in talks with a number of parties including those from the United States and that more concrete news should be announced before the end of the year.

Such plans put Uniper in competition with RWE which said earlier this month it had secured capacity to import LNG at a planned terminal in Brunsbuettel, for which a final investment decision would be made next year.

“We are in talks with interested parties in building a floating liquefied natural gas import terminal at Wilhelmshaven,” Martin said told Reuters. “We are talking to a wide range of people, including the U.S.”

He said he was “confident” that there would be further news about the project in the fourth quarter but that for now, details and third parties were commercially sensitive.

Martin’s comments come a week after Uniper first said it favoured the deepwater port on the North Sea coast compared to RWE’s Brunsbuettel project on the Kiel canal.

His remarks amount to a hardening of an earlier commitment, and will give suppliers, logistics firms and consumers important clues on where to position themselves.

The terminal, a Floating Regasification and Storage Unit (FSRU), would have a throughput capacity of around 10 billion cubic metres a year, or 7.3 million tonnes a year, and accept Q-Max 265,000 cubic metre LNG carriers, Martin said.

Uniper would not invest in the terminal itself but it would become the buyer and distributor of the gas, Martin said.

Ordering FSRUs rather than building onshore LNG facilities is cheaper, quicker and more flexible as the vessel can be moved to a different location when not needed. New FSRUs cost around $200 to $400 million but tankers converted into FSRUs are even cheaper.

Uniper says it favours Wilhelmshaven due to its access to the continental pipeline system and storage facilities such as its own plant at Etzel, giving it advantage over other projects, including another on the inland Elbe river port of Stade.

Wilhelmshaven LNG could also offer low-carbon bunker fuel for ships in the German Bay, ahead of limits on heavily polluting ship fuels imposed by the IMO from 2020.

The debate about German LNG has flared up recently as the government wants to diversify away from pipeline gas arriving from Russia, Norway and the Netherlands.

LNG suppliers including Qatar and the United States have said they are keen on opportunities.

Global gas prices have risen sharply and Europe faces a decline in indigenous production.

Source:hellenicshippingnews

Container line Maersk announces new bunker charges for IMO sulfur cap

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Container shipping company Maersk Line has announced a new system of bunker charges for its customers to reflect higher fuel costs as the International Maritime Organization’s global sulfur emission limit drops to 0.5%.

The company will impose its new bunker adjustment factor (BAF) from the start of next year, replacing its current standard bunker adjustment factor (SBF) system, it said Monday.

The IMO’s global sulfur limit is due to drop from 3.5% to 0.5% from the start of 2020, forcing most shipowners either to switch from burning fuel oil to cleaner, more expensive alternatives, or to install scrubber equipment on their vessels to clean emissions on board.

Maersk’s new BAF will be calculated using the average fuel price at a few key bunkering ports around the world and a measure of average fuel consumption for each route. In its announcement Monday the company announced hypothetical BAF rates as an example of how much dry container freight could cost on various different routes at a range of different bunker prices.

At a bunker price of $400/mt on the north Europe to Far East route, the new BAF could be $280/FEU, while at a fuel cost of $700/mt it could rise to $490/FEU, the company said.

The company will initially be using high sulfur 380 CST fuel oil prices to calculate the BAF rate in 2019, before the sulfur cap is lowered to 0.5% at the start of 2020, a spokesman told S&P Global Platts Monday.

Source:hellenicshippingnews

Maersk Says Customers to Pay for $2 Billion-a-Year Fuel Hike

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Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container shipping line, said Monday that customers using its giant box ships will have to pay separately for fuel from 2020, when prices are expected to surge because of tougher environmental standards. The regulations are designed to cut down emissions of sulfur, a pollutant blamed for human health conditions such as asthma.

To get customers ready for the fuel upgrade, the Copenhagen-based company will from next year start to break out the fuel cost when charging its customers for delivering goods in steel containers across thousands of miles of ocean. From 2020, customers will then be expected to cover that bill.

“The 2020 sulfur cap is a game changer for the shipping industry,” Vincent Clerc, chief commercial officer at Copenhagen-based Maersk, said in a statement. The new bunker fuel surcharge model “is a simple, fair and predictable mechanism that ensures clarity for our customers in planning their supply chains for this significant shift.”

Maersk, which controls about a fifth of the container shipping market, has for years added surcharges to its container rates to make up for swings in bunker fuel prices with varying degrees of success. It hasn’t always succeeded in moving all costs over to clients because of fierce competition and overcapacity in the shipping industry.

A successful implementation of the new pricing system could have profound implications for trade given that Maersk says its own fuel bill in 2020 will jump by $2 billion — or almost 60 percent more than it had to pay in 2017. The company estimates an extra fuel bill of $15 billion a year for container shipping lines. About 90 percent of world trade moves by sea, including millions of tons of oil, gas and dry commodities like coal and iron ore.

The attempt to pass on costs is yet another secondary impact from rules that are expected to boost oil prices and upend global refining systems. Until now, few companies have confirmed publicly that their customers will have to pay up to cover the additional expense. Maersk’s ships transport everything from electrical goods to furniture.

Maersk plans to use more expensive low-sulfur fuel when the new rules start, but will also install a limited number of its vessels with on-board equipment called scrubbers that enable the carriers to keep using cheaper fuels that are high in sulfur.

“This will have an inflationary impact on the cost of transportation,” Olivier Jakob, an oil analyst at Petromatrix GmbH, said of the extra costs involved in complying with the new rules. “It could impact some world trade, it may lower demand in some areas and goods.”

Source:hellenicshippingnews

DNV GL writes floating rulebook

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Certification company DNV GL has produced revised standards for floating wind turbine structures and a new guideline for certification of floating turbines.

The documents DNV GL-ST-0119 and DNVGL-SE-0422 define requirements for floating offshore wind turbine concepts as well as prototypes and projects.

DNV GL said they offer "the most comprehensive technical reference suite for this emerging technology, enabling safe and reliable realisation” of the emerging sector."

It added: "As new technologies such as floating wind applications will grow in prevalence, it is vital to mitigate the risks in the implementation of the pioneering features to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of the expected performance and quality targets."

Documentation covers the entire floating deployment from controls and substructures to mooring and anchors. Guidance is aligned with the process for existing bottom-fixed technologies. 

Executive vice president Kim Mork said: “DNV GL sees a promising future for floating offshore wind with innovative concepts unlocking a major global potential for harvesting offshore wind resources."

"We are confident that this will support further development of floating wind as a competitive technology for making the energy future safer, smarter and greener."

Source:renews

Multifunctional vessel is a green flagship

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The next addition to the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s (NCA) multifunctional vessel fleet, OV Ryvingen, is targeted for delivery in late 2018.

Designed by Fitjar-based Heimli Ship Design and built by Fitjar Mekaniske Verksted, OV Ryvingen’s duties will include oil-spill protection-related operations and shipping-lane maintenance.

The NCA is currently renewing its multifunctional fleet and OV Ryvingen is the fourth vessel in this programme. It measures 46.6 m in length with a 12 m beam, making it longer than its predecessors and capable of carrying larger cranes; but it also improves on them in other ways.

From the outset, the NCA wanted this vessel to be environmentally friendly, with a significant proportion of the criteria for the construction award relating to environmental characteristics. The vessel itself further develops the hybrid propulsion system introduced on sister ship OV Bøkfjord.

The designers and builders worked closely with suppliers and subcontractors to ensure that a low-environmental impact philosophy was applied to the vessel. For example, Fitjar Mekaniske Verksted looked to Rolls-Royce Marine for the vessel’s propulsion system which includes the world’s first commercial permanent magnet azimuth thruster, as well as a SAVe CUBE, a single DC distribution switchboard that houses all of the vessel’s frequency drives.

Where OV Bøkfjord mounted three high-speed engines, Rolls-Royce Marine opted for a single six-cylinder medium-speed Bergen engine running a dual generator system, which improves both fuel efficiency and maintenance.

Norwegian-Canadian Corvus Energy was chosen to provide the vessel’s energy storage system (ESS). The Orca ESS will give the vessel an available capacity of 2,938 kWh – a significant step up from OV Bøkfjord’s 850 kWh capacity. This will allow the vessel to operate on battery power alone for hours at a time, without using the diesel engine. OV Ryvingen is also designed to operate on battery power when docked, with capability for the batteries to be recharged from an onshore power supply where available.

Corvus Energy senior vice president of business development Halvard Hauso sees OV Ryvingen’s ESS capacity as the shape of things to come, saying “The electrification of vessels will see an increasing utilisation of higher battery capacities.”

A benefit of the hybrid system for the vessel’s crew and for nearby marine life is that it cuts down on noise and vibration.

Rolls-Royce Marine general manager of sales John Roger Nesje said: “A complete systems delivery like this enables us to think efficiency and lower emissions throughout the ship’s equipment. For example, the Ryvingen’s main engine will be connected to our electrical system, which means its rotational speed can constantly be varied depending on the load; we save energy here as well.”

Other innovative features include the ability to re-use heat produced by the engine, which is stored and used to warm up the crew quarters while in port.

Rolls-Royce Marine also provided the vessel’s automation, dynamic positioning and control systems.

DNV GL business development leader Kay Erik Stokke, who advised the NCA on the project, said he was impressed at how suppliers had met the environmental requirements, describing the vessel as “a green flagship”.

The NCA’s vessel renewal plan provides scope for up to eight vessels and Fitjar Mekaniske Verksted’s contract for OV Ryvingen contains an option for an additional vessel. The yard is already heavily involved in the scheme, having built two of the three vessels delivered so far – OV Utvær, launched in 2012, and OV Skomvær, launched in 2013. A third vessel, OV Bøkfjord is being built by the Danish shipyard White Sande.

Source:osjonline

Penguin picks Royston enginei EFMS for security and crew boats

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Penguin International has ordered 16 Royston Diesel Power enginei electronic fuel management systems (EFMS) for a range of maritime security and multirole crew vessels.

The systems will be fitted to several Flex Fighter high-speed armoured security vessels, destined to take part in anti-piracy operations offshore Nigeria, and Flex-42x multirole crew boats that will take part in Penguin’s own chartering operations in Southeast Asia.

Specified to accurately monitor engine fuel consumption, the enginei sensor technology will be tracked against GPS data, voyage details and operational mode. The units include Corolis metres for the main engines and generator and will collect and process data before relaying it to touchscreen monitors mounted on the bridge and in the engineroom, allowing for accurate monitoring of fuel consumption.

The 40 m Flex Fighter can carry up to 12 security personnel and 23 passengers and is capable of operating at up to 28 knots. The 42 m Flex-42X has capacity for 80 passengers and can run at 30 knots. Both vessels are powered by three Caterpillar C32 engines apiece.

Royston regional sales manager Sean O’Neill said: “We are seeing a lot of interest in our technology from global builders and operators who want to achieve measurable operational and cost savings for their vessels.”

The systems are being supplied by Royston’s regional distributor CAN Traders and Service, which is also overseeing the commissioning of the systems while Penguin’s own engineers carry out installation.

Source:osjonline

Why Shell has set a methane emissions target of below 0.2 % by 2025

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Speaking at Gastech Conference in Barcelona, Maarten Wetselaar, Shell Integrated Gas & New Energies Director, explained why the global oil major has set a target to keep its methane emissions intensity, for both oil and gas, below 0.2 % by 2025. The long-term role of gas in the energy mix depends on good management of methane emissions, he noted, and beyond encouraging others and asking governments to help, Shell needs to continually reduce emissions itself.

To achieve this, Shell is going to do two things:

  • First, it will continue to improve data on emissions, to fix the issue of uncertainty in measuring methane emissions. The industry needs to get a much more accurate understanding of how much it is emitting.
  • Secondly, it will focus on emissions reduction itself with a range of initiatives, including efforts to detect and repair methane leaks in its operations, but also programmes to replace equipment with newer gear that reduces leaks.

Namely, to maintain this methane target, Shell is implementing programmes, including using infrared cameras to scan for methane emissions, deploying advanced technology to repair leaks, and replacing high-bleed pneumatically-operated controllers with low emission alternatives.

The target for methane – which has a higher impact on global warming than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere – will be measured against a baseline Shell leak rate, which is currently estimated to range from 0.01% to 0.8% across the company’s oil and gas assets.

According to Mr. Wetselaar, the industry is making progress in the use of gas, and its success in the future, in large part, depends on its environmental advantage over coal. According to IEA data, GHG emissions from natural gas are lower than coal in electricity generation up to a methane leakage rate of 3.5% when measured over 20 years, he explained.

In addition, IEA estimates that natural gas operations have an average methane leakage rate of 1.7%. According to the IEA, natural gas emits between 45% and 55% lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal. Leakage rates can be lower, so there is an opportunity for gas to expand this major environmental benefit, he stressed.

"This means the industry needs to continue addressing methane emissions, which can diminish the relative greenhouse gas emissions benefits of natural gas. The long-term role of gas in the energy mix depends on good measurement, transparency on and management of methane emissions. Methane emissions must be reduced throughout the entire gas supply system."

That is why Shell formed a coalition of industry, and with organisations like the Environmental Defense Fund, UN Environment, leading universities and the World Bank to develop a set of methane guiding principles. Since natural gas consists mainly of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, its role in the transition to a low-carbon future will be influenced by the extent to which methane emissions are reduced.

In November last year, eight companies, including Shell, signed up to these principles. Since then, the coalition has encouraged a further eight companies to join the guiding principles.

The principles focus on ways to reduce emissions throughout the gas industry – from production to the final consumer. Moreover, the coalition is working on a set of policy principles to ensure cost-effective actions are taken across the industry against emissions.

Source:safety4sea

 

Why is it important to report cyber incidents

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Gideon Lenkey, Technology Director at EPSCO-Ra talks about why it is crucial to report cyber attacks and incidents. These incidents happen every day, while the majority of them is never reported.

Cyber security incidents happen every day. Some are big and some are minor, but the majority of them is never reported.

A reason why is this happening are the victims, who want to keep the threat quiet. However, there is another issue as well. There is not enough awareness to whom someone should report a cyber incident crime.

Gideon Lenkey also provided an example of a recent cyber attack. Namely, in this attack the bookkeeper at a company received a call from someone claiming to work for the maker of their bookkeeping software. This person said that the company's bookkeeping software was not updating itself and asked the bookkeeper to allow him access to the machine so he could diagnose the problem.

The bookkeeper did it and after that malware was loaded onto the machine and the caller informed the bookkeeper that it would cost $750 USD to fix the update problem.

Luckily the company had a good response plan, which along with the fact that the malware was fairly benign, made the incident last less than two hours.

EPSCO-Ra then managed to reach the attacker through a call back number he had left and found more information out of him including the name and website of the company that was processing the victims credit card payments. The company reported the details to both the bookkeeping software company and the FBI Internet Crimes Complaint Centre.

As Mr. Lenkey noted, the information from a small incident could become valuable, as when correlated with other small incidents, it can reveal relevant patterns.

What is more, law enforcement and security researchers can use many small cases to establish a larger picture of a malicious actor, their tools and techniques. In some cases the actor can be identified and can be pursued and criminally prosecuted.

Finally, regarding cyber security in maritime, Gideon Lenkey stressed the importance of an anonymous maritime industry incident reporting service.

Source:safety4sea

Ports Australia joins World Ports Sustainability Program

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Following its Biennial Conference in Darwin in late August, Ports Australia accepted the invitation to join the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP), an initiative by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) aiming to enhance sustainability efforts of ports worldwide and  foster international cooperation with partners in the supply chain, under the concept of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Ports Australia is an industry body representing some 80 Australian Ports, which includes all of the country’s metro Ports. It also has six Marine Authority members, including several State-level Departments for Transport and Infrastructure.

"Australian Ports operate in a diverse range on environments and communities and each one is faced with its own unique challenges…From solar power, to marine rehabilitation, eliminating toxic fire-fighting foam and building a resilient and diverse workforce, Australian Ports have much to be proud of and we want to share our experiences with the wider global port community,"…commented Ports Australia’s Chief Executive, Mike Gallacher.

With the agreement signed, both signatories are expected to commence work in the near future in the fields of governance, the optimization of vessel calls, environmental landside management and LNG bunkering.

Since its inauguration earlier this year, the IAPH's World Ports Sustainability Program is now ready to focus on key areas of collaboration whilst growing it's international membership.

"Ports Australia have worked hard to facilitate and share some of these nationally with their members and have now committed to take that further with the WPSP. IAPH members of the Program and its founding partners will now actively encourage Australian ports to get involved in global projects that have been initiated such as the Environmental Shipping Index, where Australia is already represented by NSW Ports,"…noted IAPH's Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven.

Source:safety4sea

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