Safe Bulkers orders additional retrofits of exhaust gas cleaning systems

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November 17, 2022

The company has just installed its 21st PureSOx scrubber, and four more retrofits are scheduled through the first half of 2023. Once again, the systems will be protected with a comprehensive Alfa Laval Service Agreement.

Safe Bulkers is expanding the retrofit programme for exhaust gas cleaning within its fleet. Having now retrofitted an open-loop PureSOx system on the MV Pelopidas, the company will retrofit equivalent systems on four Capesize bulk carriers: MV Aghia Sofia, MV Lake Despina, MV Maria and MV Michalis H. Alfa Laval’s deliveries for the vessels, which are each roughly 180,000 DWT in capacity, will extend from November 2022 to April 2023.

Dr Loukas Barmparis, President of Safe Bulkers, says:

“When we first made the choice to retrofit Alfa Laval PureSOx systems in 2018, we were convinced that it was a good investment. Today’s increased price difference between low-sulphur and high-sulphur fuel shows that we were correct. We are protecting our margins in a time of uncertainty while simultaneously protecting the environment. Through comprehensive sampling of effluent wash water from open-loop scrubber systems, independent laboratories using EPA or ISO methods have shown that there is little or no impact from the wash water concentrations.”

For Safe Bulkers, turning to Alfa Laval for additional scrubber systems was the natural choice. The previous PureSOx retrofit projects have all gone smoothly, and the systems themselves have lived up to the promised high performance.

Barmparis says:

“Retrofitting large equipment like a scrubber will always involve challenges. What makes the difference is the supplier’s commitment to finding a solution. Having already done 21 retrofits with Alfa Laval, we can say with confidence that the cooperation works – just like the PureSOx technology. Both the support and the results are consistently excellent.”

To take full advantage of the partnership, Safe Bulkers has an Alfa Laval Service Agreement in place for its PureSOx systems. Comprising spare parts packages, sensor exchanges, connectivity and more, the agreement will now be expanded to cover the additional vessels.

Barmparis concludes:

“We take no chances with our compliance at Safe Bulkers. Service is an important safeguard, and we know that we can rely on Alfa Laval’s expertise. The support we receive means that we can always be certain of fulfilling our obligations.”

New MSC Seascape delivered from Fincantieri

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November 17, 2022

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The vessel is the 21st to join the MSC Cruises fleet and MSC Seascape is the fourth to have been built by Fincantieri as part of a €7 billion investment package for 10 ships.

The shipyard will also build six new vessels for MSC’s luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys. MSC Seascape is the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ship ever built in Italy and features important innovations from an environmental perspective.

The handover ceremony, held at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard, was attended by Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Anna Maria Cisint, Mayor of Monfalcone, Admiral Nicola Carlone, Commandant of the Port Authorities, Gianluigi Aponte, Founder and Chairman of the MSC Group, Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the MSC Group’s Cruise Division, the ship’s godmother Zoe Africa Vago, for Fincantieri General Claudio Graziano and Pierroberto Folgiero, Chairman and CEO, and Luigi Matarazzo, General Manager Merchant Ships Division, as well as representatives of the MSC newbuild team along with managers and workers from the shipyard. Paying tribute to ancient seafaring traditions, Monfalcone shipyard director Cristiano Bazzara, presented MSC Seascape’s captain, Roberto Leotta, with an ampoule containing the first water that touched the hull when the ship was floated out a year ago.

Addressing the Government, Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of the Cruises division of the MSC Group, underlined:

“The shipping, logistics and transport sector requires large investments and is based on multi-year spending programmes. We therefore need political stability and a strong, authoritative and constant presence in Europe. Italy – like France and Germany – needs to play a leading role in Europe. Since most of the issues related to the shipping sector are now discussed and decided within the European Community”

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri, stated:

“The delivery of MSC Seascape represents great importance from many points of view, first of all in the relationship with the shipowner. In fact, this ship is the seal of a hugely successful class, “Seaside”, launched over eight years ago with two new generation units, further evolved into the two “Evo”. Secondly, from a management point of view, for Fincantieri this is a result of absolute importance, achieved in full compliance with the deadlines despite the unprecedented difficulties that have characterized the global context in recent years. Finally, in terms of technological innovation, Seascape stands at the forefront in terms of environmental sustainability. By virtue of all this, we look to the future of the sector with optimism, aiming to remain a leader also thanks to a consolidated and ambitious partnership such as the one with MSC”.

MSC Seascape will begin her inaugural season in the United States, where she will be christened on 7th December in New York. She will then move to the Caribbean, offering two different weekly itineraries departing from Miami. The first, in the eastern Caribbean, will sail to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Nassau (Bahamas), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). The second itinerary, in the western Caribbean, will call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands) and Ocho Rios (Jamaica).

MSC Seascape key specs

Length/beam/height: 339m /41m/76m
Gross tonnage: 170,400 tonnes
Guests: 5,632
Cabins: 2,270
Crew: 1,648
Maximum speed: approx. 21.8 knots
Flagship of the MSC Cruises fleet
21st ship in the MSC Cruises fleet

Maersk to launch ‘Shaheen Express’ connecting the India–UAE–Saudi Arabia corridor

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November 16, 2022

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A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) will launch a new ocean shipping service, ‘Shaheen Express’ starting from the last week of November 2022. The ‘Shaheen Express’ will rotate between Mundra, Pipavav, Jebel Ali, Dammam, and Jebel Ali and back to Mundra, creating a stable and reliable service for the India-UAE-Saudi Arabia corridor. The new service will primarily aim at addressing rising demand for customers trading between the Indian and the Gulf markets.

Bhavan Vempati, Head of Regional Ocean Management, Maersk West & Central Asia, said:

“The markets have started stabilising, and the ocean networks are normalising after over two years of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, not only did we strive hard to ensure we addressed all our customers’ challenges, but we also got a chance to look ahead and understand what their requirements would be in the future.”

“Through our customer conversations, we were able to make a more meaningful forecast around the rising demand and proactively deploy a new service to create a supply of space for this demand.”

India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in May 2022, which is steadily boosting the volumes of trade between the two countries. The main commodities moving between these two countries that will benefit from the increased capacity include FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) such as electronics, perishables such as foodstuff, retail goods including textile and apparel, and chemicals. The ‘Shaheen Express’ will benefit the exporters of the petrochemical sector from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

The ’Shaheen Express’ will offer improved transit time and better predictability between Indian ports and Gulf ports as compared to the existing services.

Bhavan Vempati further added,

“We remain committed to our customers in West & Central Asia and want to bring reliable service to them. We will continue building robust partnerships with our customers and design solutions that create value for their business and contribute to the overall economic growth of the region.”

The ‘Shaheen Express’ will include two vessels with a nominal capacity of 1,700 TEUs per week.

New container route connects Stockholm directly to Rotterdam and Hull

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November 16, 2022

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In November the shipping company SUN Line Shipping introduced a brand new Rotterdam ˗ Stockholm ˗ Hull container service route.

The new Rotterdam ˗ Stockholm ˗ Hull container service route was inaugurated on 11th November. Shipping company SUN Line Shipping, a subsidiary of ThorSvecon Group AB (TSG AB), has increased its fleet and has introduced the container ship Perseus on the route. The vessel has a 660 TEU cargo capacity and will sail to and from Stockholm Norvik Port one day each week.

“We have seen a continuous increase in demand from freight owners wanting to transport goods between Sweden, the Netherlands and England, and now the time is right. Operating from Sweden’s newest port, Stockholm Norvik, feels like a natural step and is completely aligned with our goal of strengthening our position in east coast shipping,” explains Eric Hjalmarsson, CEO of TSG AB.

Rotterdam and Hull are two brand new destinations that can now be reached from Stockholm Norvik Port, consolidating the port’s position as an important logistics hub in the Greater Stockholm area.

“It’s a pleasure that yet another customer has chosen to commit to Sweden’s most modern port. Stockholm Norvik offers an unbeatable location with its close proximity to 50 percent of Sweden’s total consumption. Stockholm Norvik is now developing into the logistics hub it was planned to be,” says Johan Wallén, Chief Commercial Officer at Ports of Stockholm.

The container terminal at Stockholm Norvik Port is run by Hutchison Ports Stockholm. Hutchison Ports is the biggest terminal operator in the world, with 53 ports in 27 countries.

“The increased connectivity to and from Stockholm Norvik gives our customers more alternatives to choose from and even greater flexibility. We are very pleased that SUN Line Shipping sees the advantages of introducing a new service that gives their existing customers and new customers the possibility to connect directly to the Greater Stockholm area,” states Lawrence Yam, CEO of Hutchison Ports Stockholm AB.

Stockholm Norvik Port is a new RoRo and container port with the best possible location in the Baltic Sea. Short approach lanes and efficient transport links provide direct access to one of the most rapidly growing regions in Europe.

Maersk and Carbon Sink sign partnership to accelerate green marine fuels production

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November 16, 2022

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As part of the strategy to decarbonise its customers’ supply chains, A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) has entered a green methanol partnership with U.S. based project developer Carbon Sink LLC. This is Maersk’s 8th such agreement in the efforts to accelerate global production of green methanol.

The parties have signed a Letter of Intent covering the development by Carbon Sink of green methanol production facilities in the United States. The first facility will be co-located with the Red River Energy existing bioethanol plant in Rosholt, South Dakota, USA, and will have a production capacity of approximately 100,000 tonnes per year.

The commercial start is anticipated in 2027 and Maersk intends to purchase the full volume produced at the plant, with options for the output of subsequent Carbon Sink facilities at other locations.

Berit Hinnemann, Head of Green Fuels Sourcing, A.P. Moller – Maersk, said:

“Securing green fuels at scale in this decade is critical in our fleet decarbonisation efforts. We have set a 2040 net zero target for our entire business – but importantly to stay in line with the Paris Agreement, we have also set 2030 targets to ensure meaningful progress in this decade. Partnerships are essential on this journey – and I am very pleased to welcome Carbon Sink on board.”

Carbon Sink uses a commercially available technology to produce green methanol by combining green hydrogen from electrolysis of water using additional renewable electricity and biogenic CO2. The CO2 for the first project will be waste CO2 captured from the Red River Energy bio-ethanol plant, recycling those emissions into green methanol.

Steve Meyer, CEO of Carbon Sink, said:

“We are very pleased to be working with Maersk in support of their mission to decarbonise the shipping sector. Carbon Sink brings a vast wealth of knowledge, experience and partnerships to help them achieve their ambitious corporate goals. Our multi-project development strategy creates a pathway for the supply of significant volumes of green methanol to help meet the demand of Maersk’s growing dual-fuel ship fleet.”

Carbon Sink joins seven other strategic partners working to secure the green fuel needed for the 19 container vessels Maersk currently has on order which are capable of operating on green methanol. In March, Maersk announced six partnerships with CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tonnes per year by the end of 2025. A seventh partnership with Debo was added in August.

Viking Line to double service to Stockholm in summer 2023

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November 16, 2022

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Cinderella will depart every other day in the afternoon from Helsinki and supplement regular service on the route with the vessel Gabriella. As a result, the company will offer daily departures between the two capitals during the 2023 peak season.

Next summer, the number of passengers on the Tallinn route will likewise grow, so Viking Line will also add extra sailings between Helsinki and Tallinn. These new sailings will help to meet growing demand during the busiest season of the year.

On account of the sale of the vessel Amorella, Viking Line has reduced its service to Stockholm but is now investing in a doubling of service for the 2023 peak season. During peak season, Viking Cinderella will be placed in service on the Helsinki route together with the regular vessel in operation, Gabriella, to enable daily service from Helsinki to Stockholm. Many Finns are familiar with Viking Cinderella, which has long been a popular vessel.

“July is our absolute peak season, with great demand for all our Baltic Sea destinations. That interest increased during the pandemic, when many people discovered the advantages of travelling locally. Stockholm also has a lot of new things to offer tourists. Given the global situation today, there is a preference as well for shorter, affordable journeys. We are therefore now doubling our departures so that as many people as possible will be able to travel comfortably between Helsinki and Stockholm,” says Ninna Suominen, Head of Marketing at Viking Line.

After a brief stop at the port of Helsinki, the vessels Viking Cinderella and Gabriella will then make additional sailings to Tallinn to supplement service with Viking XPRS. The increased number of departures will meet the stronger summer demand and give more options to families with children and tourist shoppers in particular. Passengers will thus be able to choose their favourite among the three vessels sailing from Helsinki to Tallinn and back.

Neptune Energy confirms hydrocarbons encountered at Calypso well

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November 16, 2022

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Neptune Energy and its licence partners today announced that hydrocarbons have been encountered in the Calypso exploration well in the Norwegian Sea, located within the Neptune-operated PL938 Licence.

Having entered the reservoir, logs proved the presence of hydrocarbons. Additional data gathering of the reservoir will now be considered.

The operations in the reservoir section remain at an early stage and it has yet to be confirmed if commercial volumes are present.

The Calypso prospect is located within one of Neptune’s core areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, 14 kilometres north-west of the Draugen field and 22 kilometres north-east of the Njord A platform.

Calypso is being drilled by the Deepsea Yantai, a semi-submersible rig owned by CIMC and operated by Odfjell Drilling.

Partners: Neptune Energy (operator, 30%), OKEA ASA (30%), Pandion Energy AS (20%) and Vår Energi ASA (20%)

Artificial Intelligence tool to revolutionise polar ship navigation

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November 16, 2022

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable ships navigating in polar ocean conditions to be more efficient using a new route planning tool created by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers. The tool aims to reduce carbon emissions and optimise science.

The system, being developed by the BAS AI Lab, will be used by the crew of the UK’s polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough to make decisions about route planning. It will recommend the fastest and most fuel-efficient routes between two locations taking into account all the polar conditions such as sea ice, ocean dynamics and weather. The Captain and officers, with their vast knowledge and experience of sailing around the icy continent, can evaluate the options provided and select the best route.

The project team has developed algorithms that make use of a wide variety of existing environmental datasets and forecasts, to develop a navigational route planner that updates as conditions change, just like an in-car navigation system. The tool will be able to look ahead and predict environmental conditions over an entire research season of up to six months, allowing long-term seasonal route-planning.

Professor Maria Fox, from the BAS AI Lab who leads the project, says:

“We’ve created something that is very similar to the kind of in-car navigation system like Google maps that many of us use already, but with the added complication that in the ocean there are no roads, and the conditions are changing constantly, which affects the routes between destinations.

“The key driver here is to create something that reduces the ship’s carbon emissions and makes our science more efficient. We’re really excited about this open-source project which we think will be of value to all ships operating in the polar oceans.”

The first stage of the project is to develop a tool which can optimise route planning for carbon efficiency. This route planner is therefore a key piece in the puzzle in helping BAS achieve its aim of being net zero by 2040. Integration with on-board systems on the SDA began in November this year.

As the tool develops, the team will integrate more live data from the ship, such as speed and fuel requirements in different conditions, to refine the model and improve route efficiency even more. The team also intends eventually to integrate science and logistics tasks into the planning tool.

Captain Will Whatley, Master of RRS Sir David Attenborough, says:

“This innovative new tool is going to help us ensure RRS Sir David Attenborough remains as fuel efficient as possible, I’m particularly excited to see how it performs around ice. There are many systems out there that can give weather routing in open ocean but this tool is unique by adding the capability to consider ice, allowing us to reduce our fuel usage and environmental impact during the field season.”

The RRS Sir David Attenborough, is owned by Natural Environment Research Council, and operated by British Antarctic Survey.

Kongsberg adds Propulsion Analytics’ performance tools to Kognifai Marketplace

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November 16, 2022

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Propulsion Analytics supplies market-leading applications in performance management and energy efficiency for the maritime industry.

The Engine Hyper Cube® application is an engine performance management and fault diagnosis tool. It uses a thermodynamic digital twin of any engine (main and/or auxiliary engines) to enable engine optimization, as well as early detection and localization of faults. VesselQUAD® combines machine learning with thermodynamic modeling to provide the most accurate performance evaluation and decision support tool for a vessel and its engine.

“Kongsberg Digital and Propulsion Analytics have the common objective of digitalizing maritime industries. Our joint expertise will serve the maritime industry well in our mission to reduce carbon emissions and ensure operational excellence. Propulsion Analytics is an expert at data analysis with the aim to enhance vessel operations,” says Kim Evanger, Vice President of Maritime Partnerships at Kongsberg Digital.

The Kognifai Marketplace allows clients to choose digital applications for their vessels or fleets, backed by a robust and secure data infrastructure supplied by Kongsberg Digital. All applications on the Kognifai Marketplace are supported by Kongsberg’s Vessel Insight data infrastructure.

“Our focus on providing top-level performance analysis, fault diagnostics and decision support solutions matches very well with the Kongsberg Digital offering, which aims to standardise and contextualise vessel data, and caters to a very wide range of customers. Through our collaboration we aim to decrease uncertainty and facilitate data-driven decisions to the ever-expanding fleet of connected vessels, supporting our common visions of increasing efficiency and reducing emissions in the maritime sector,” says Stratos Tzanos, General Manager at Propulsion Analytics.

Fugro awarded major offshore wind contract with Energinet

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November 16, 2022

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The Danish government plans to expand offshore wind capacity by 4GW by 2030, and the Geo-data acquired by Fugro will be used to inform future bids in the area. This award follows Fugro’s success working on the North Sea Energy Islands project for Energinet throughout 2022, a project that is the first of its kind.

Fugro’s Geo-data will provide crucial insights on the seabed and sub-surface conditions, reducing uncertainty and helping installers make informed decisions on where best to position the wind turbines and export cables. With fieldwork set to start in 2024, Fugro will mobilise multiple geotechnical vessels equipped with state-of-the-art investigation tools such as the SEACALF® Mk V Deepdrive system for seabed cone penetration tests and the WISON® Mk V Ecodrive. The fieldwork is expected to continue well into 2025, with further processing, laboratory testing and reporting of results to follow.

Energinets geotechnical project lead engineer, Martin Kilsgaard Østergaard, said:

“At Energinet we are very pleased to see Fugro again as supplier of highly important site investigations. In the recent years Fugro has successfully supported multiple offshore wind farm projects in Denmark, and at Energinet we are confident that the cooperation will continue with the same level of professionalism and high technical quality.”

Erik-Jan Bijvank, Fugro’s Group Director Europe & Africa said:

“Our integrated services and innovative technology allow us to unlock insights for the safe, efficient and sustainable development of offshore wind farms. We’re proud to continue working with Energinet and support the renewables industry in Denmark. This award is in line with the strong growth in Fugro’s offshore wind activities during the past quarters. Our unique positioning is emphasised by clients seeking to secure capacity, also beyond the coming 12 months.”