Corvus Energy and Sanmar to develop a new range of zero-emission and hybrid tugs

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September 4, 2021

The agreement has been signed during European Tug Owners Association Meeting held in Turku and aims to develop a new range of zero-emission and hybrid tugs based on Robert Allan design.

The MoU allows the two companies to jointly explore and establish a path for the future supply and integration of energy supply systems and fuel cell technology for an even wider range of innovative and cost-effective electric and hybrid tugs, which will be constructed at Sanmar Shipyards’ facilities in Turkey. Corvus Energy will be responsible for battery and fuel cell technology, dimensioning and advice on battery room design, power system and fuel interfaces.

Ruchan Civgin, Commercial Director of Sanmar, said:

“Sanmar as ever, is focused on moving forward with technology and especially with pioneering technologies that contribute significantly to our customers’ and society’s march towards a greener and sustainable future. Corvus Energy is leading the way in how energy storage systems are used by continuously developing new technology and exploring ever-newer ways of using energy storage to optimize energy consumption and reduce cost. The MoU we have signed with Corvus Energy draws on both our considerable strengths as leaders, pioneers and innovators in our respective fields, to accelerate the path towards much needed, cost-effective and efficient future-ready battery and hybrid tugs.”

Ronald Hansen, Senior Vice President Ship Solutions at Corvus Energy, says:

“The tug and workboat market is an important market for Corvus Energy and a big part of our future growth strategy. Battery and fuel cell technology is especially advantageous for workboat and tugs as their operational profile is highly variable. This MoU with Sanmar, which is one of the world’s leading tugboat builders, will help accelerate the development and increase availability of more efficient zero- and low-emission tugs.

The tug series will be based on Robert Allan design and have a bollard pull between 30 – 70 tons.

Both organisations clearly intend to move aggressively towards the signing of a full Cooperation Agreement, given the expected execution date is set to coincide with the Tug Technology 2021 conference (25-26 October) in London, UK.

SOL-X introduces SmartWatch for seafarers

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September 3, 2021

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Seafarers face multiple risks to their health and wellbeing, which can affect safety, performance, and livelihoods. According to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) 2019 annual overview of maritime casualties and incidents study, 66% of incidents are caused by “human factors”, with crew fatigue and lack of situational awareness being major contributing causes.

Integrated with the SAFEVUE.ai(1) platform, the SOL-X ATEX Certified SmartWatch transforms operations by extending safety and health intelligence to the edge. It enables connected wellbeing programs, provides real time(2) visibility to front line crew operations, and enhances crew situational awareness vessel wide. The SOL-X SmartWatch is ATEX Zone 1 Certified for use in hazardous environments.

‍Nigel Koh, Chief Executive Officer of SOL-X, said:

“The SOL-X SmartWatch was developed with seafarers in mind. Our team of maritime and safety experts saw a clear need to use technology to operationalize behavior-based health and safety principles at scale. Seafarers are now empowered to take ownership of health and safety outcomes, while the shore teams can gain assurance of the right job being done by the right person, at the right place and at the right time”.

The SmartWatches have been equipped with custom designed hardware to withstand harsh industrial work zones – its industrial grade 1.78” touch screen, IP67Waterproof rating and extended battery life(3)enable crew to remain connected across the vessel. With its combination of personal and environmental sensors, the SmartWatch delivers the real time(2)stream of wellness information that help manage their wellbeing and fatigue.

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North Carolina Ports partners with Cold Summit Development

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September 3, 2021

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North Carolina Ports has reached an agreement with Sun Valley, Idaho-based Cold Summit Development to further expand its cold chain and cold storage capabilities.

Plans for the development of a 280,000 square foot multi suite cold storage facility located on the Ports Raleigh Street property. The facility would offer 40,000 pallet positions and could house a broad range of product categories, including pork, poultry, produce, grocery as well as life sciences at temperatures ranging from negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Phase II of the agreement calls for additional nearly 160,000 square feet of warehousing options with 17,000 pallet positions for goods that are stored in the negative 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 57 degrees Fahrenheit range.

Brian E. Clark, Executive Director, said:

“This partnership represents continued investments in our strategy to become a leader in cold chain logistics. We are particularly excited that this announcement gives more options and capacity to North Carolina’s significant and rapidly expanding cold business sectors, including agriculture, food processing, grocery and life sciences.”

Cold Summit Development is the industry’s leading cold chain logistics developer focused on delivering innovative cold storage real estate solutions. Scott Pertel, President and CEO of Cold Summit Development is a former Wilmington resident.

Pertel said:

“We are thrilled and humbled to be partnering with North Carolina Ports to bring a Cold Summit Development Cold Campus to the Port. Having graduated from New Hanover High School, I carry tremendous pride in bringing jobs, needed cold storage solutions and greater visibility to my former hometown of Wilmington. he Port has made significant capital contributions to bring this port on par with other leading Eastern Ports. With the delivery of our multi-functional cold storage campus, we look to facilitate additional growth of the import and export capabilities of the NC Ports.”

Recent investments and upgrades as a part of its more than $200 million infrastructure investment campaign have enable the North Carolina Ports to gain a competitive edge in the cold chain logistics market, which has been demonstrated by over 250 percent growth in the Port’s refrigerated import/export volumes during the past 5 years.

Chief Commercial Officer Hans Bean said:

“This, in addition to other recent area announcements, demonstrates that this area is an attractive market for cold chain logistics. Ideal ocean trade economics involve import/export balance and a fluid, congestion free gateway. With North Carolina’s tremendous refrigerated export base, the ability to cater to more exports as well as significant import programs while delivering best in class service will further unlock the potential of cold chain logistics.”

Offshore wind: New Ocean Grid project in the North Sea

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September 3, 2021

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The project will develop new technology, knowledge and solutions to enable a profitable development of offshore wind on the Norwegian continental shelf. It will look particularly at the way offshore wind will be connected to the grid. The work will touch on both bottom-fixed and floating wind farms, and will in the long term enable the creation of green jobs and increased export revenues.

The project partners will also bring their own financial contributions to the table, raising the total to 125.5 million NOK for the development of the offshore grid. Both the supply industry and energy companies will participate actively in the project, together with the research institutions. The project will span over three years.

Florian Schuchert, vice president of offshore wind solutions at Equinor (who leads the project), says:

“Our objective is to realize offshore wind on a large scale. We have to build wind farms in a cost-effective way, and we of course need to get the power all the way to the customers. It’s crucial to our success that the energy companies, research institutions and suppliers collaborate towards this goal.”

The Ocean Grid project will also address the issue of market design and the regulatory framework linked to the development and operation of an offshore grid to connect large offshore wind farms. It will develop Norwegian technology and a supply industry to provide new cable designs, subsea technology and floating converter stations. Ocean Grid also has a research component, led by SINTEF, that will solve specific research challenges.

Chief scientist at SINTEF, John Olav Tande, says:

“This project will develop technology and solutions that are essential to succeed with offshore wind. It will lay the foundation for a profitable offshore wind development in Norway, and technology that can provide increased exports and new green jobs.”

Europe has a plan of installing 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050. The Norwegian industry is world leading when it comes to sea and subsea technology, developed over five decades of oil and gas extraction. Norway is therefore in a unique position to build upon this expertise and take a significant portion of this new market.

Lars Bender, the responsible for offshore wind at Fred. Olsen Renewables, who will also act as chairman of the project’s board, says:

“This project is important and on point to develop the right solutions and new technologies that will enable profitable offshore wind in Norway. This will lay the groundwork for new concepts, new jobs and a new supplier industry that can compete internationally.”

Port of Zeebrugge and IDRONECT digitize drone traffic in port area

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September 2, 2021

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The Port Authority of Zeebrugge introduces a new tool for handling drone requests in the port area with partner IDRONECT on September 1, 2021.

The port area is a geographical UAS zone, where specific restrictions apply to drone flights. The digitalization of the applications provides a more efficient handling and a centralization of the data. By incorporating the current EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) regulations into the UTM-software, IDRONECT UTM’s software helps to ensure that each application complies with these regulations. The software also visualizes the planned drone flights and gives the port authority a live view of the active drones in the port area.

In the port of Zeebrugge, the “Regulations Geographical UAS Zone – Geozone PoZ” are in force. This was drawn up in response to the Ministerial Decree establishing permanent geographic UAS zones and access conditions for permanent geographic UAS zones. As a result, drone operators must take into account a number of additional restrictions in the port area.

Submitting an application for a drone flight therefore also means that sufficient information must flow through to the port authority and other parties in good time. This includes, for example, a flight plan, a pilot license, an operational authorisation issued by the Directorate General of Aviation (DGLV), contact and registration details of both pilot and operator, etc.

The new tool, accessible via portofzeebrugge.idronect.com, optimizes the flow of information and provides a clear and innovative solution for all parties involved, including concessionaires in the port area, the military, the local police, the maritime police and the MUG helicopter. The regulations and the manual for the use of the software, can be found on Zedis (https://zedis.portofzeebrugge.be/), as well as on the Port of Zeebrugge website (https://portofzeebrugge.be/en/shipping).

Tom Hautekiet, CEO Port of Zeebrugge:

“As a port we want to be a driving force in terms of innovation and digitalization. In all our projects we want to set an example and at the same time offer support to our port customers. The cooperation with IDRONECT for the drone traffic in our port is fully in line with these objectives. It is also yet another application that relies on the 5G network we installed in our port area in 2020. Thanks to the 5G network, numerous applications are possible for the port itself, but also for the companies located here.”

Tom Verbruggen, CEO IDRONECT:

“With IDRONECT we are strongly committed to safety and innovation. Thanks to the UTM application for the Port of Zeebrugge, we offer drone operators the possibility to prepare and request their flights in a very intuitive way, while ensuring that the port authority knows at all times what is going on in the air above the port area. I am delighted that together, as two Belgian companies, we have been able to shape a future-oriented solution that is both pragmatic and innovative.”

Klaveness and ZeroLab sign contract with a major charterer in the aluminum industry

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September 2, 2021

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Klaveness Digital and ZeroLab, the digitalization and decarbonization brainchildren of Norwegian shipowner Torvald Klaveness, have announced they have entered into a new agreement with a major charterer in the aluminum industry to quantify CO₂ emissions emitted throughout their seaborne supply chain.

Head of ZeroLab Martin Prokosch said:

“Cargo owners are increasingly paying attention to the supply chain emissions, also known as Scope 3 emissions. We welcome this opportunity to collaborate on increased transparency for the client’s shipping-related emissions. Although shipping emissions are a small part of most companies’ total Scope 3 emissions, they are often an emission source that can be improved. This project will provide the baseline for our client to do just that”.

Prokosch added that ZeroLab will apply its analytics team to provide actionable insight based on actual voyage and fuel consumption data. He said: “In just a couple of years, carbon pricing will be applied to shipping emissions in Europe. Understanding the exposure helps companies prepare.”

Klaveness Digital’s CEO Aleksander Stensby said:

“This agreement marks an important milestone not just for us, but for the wider aluminium industry as one of its key players has an opportunity to emerge as a front-runner in taking ownership of optimizing Scope 3 emissions.” Stensby added the project entails quantifying emissions for H1 2021 using the Sea Cargo Charter framework, combined with data from the tech outfit’s CargoValue platform – a solution that provides its customers with a digital twin of their seaborne supply chains.

Carnival Cruise Line announces next round of restart plans

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September 2, 2021

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With eight of its ships already in guest operations, and more restarting in September and October, Carnival Cruise Line today announced the next round of details about additional ship restarts for November 2021 and beyond.

Carnival Valor will follow Carnival Glory in New Orleans with four- and five-night sailings starting on Nov. 1;
Carnival Legend will restart Nov. 14 out of Baltimore, replacing Carnival Pride, which restarts guest operations from Baltimore Sept. 12 and then moves its homeport to Tampa following a Panama Canal repositioning cruise;
Carnival Radiance will have a new maiden voyage date of Dec. 13 out of Long Beach (rescheduled from Nov. 5 due to a revised dry dock transformation plan);
Carnival Pride’s new service from Tampa is scheduled to start on Nov. 14;
Carnival Conquest’s restart from Miami on Oct. 8 has been rescheduled to Dec. 13;
Carnival Sensation’s Oct. 21 restart from Mobile has been moved to Jan. 2022.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said:

“We are very pleased with the progress of our restart which will grow to 15 ships sailing from seven U.S. homeports by mid-November. We are making slight adjustments to our timeline to take into account supply chain realities and ensure that our destination and shore excursion offerings can meet the strong demand we are seeing from our guests. Our teams, ship and shore, are prepared to continue delivering on our great guest experience and manage all health and safety protocols.”

Carnival is also advising guests booked in November and December that it will continue to meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) standard of vaccinated cruises and that guests will need to present proof of both vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test at check-in (with a small number of capacity-restricted exemptions granted for children under 12 and other guests who cannot be vaccinated). Carnival is working to set up mobile pre-cruise rapid testing sites at all of its homeports as a back-up alternative for vaccinated guests who aren’t able to make arrangements (details forthcoming). In addition, guests will be asked to wear masks in most indoor venues of the ship where people congregate.

With the extension of Carnival Sensation’s restart, five ships operating out of U.S. homeports will be moved to 2022: Carnival Liberty (Port Canaveral), Carnival Sunshine (Charleston), Carnival Paradise (Tampa); Carnival Ecstasy (Jacksonville) and Carnival Sensation (Mobile).

Separate from its U.S. operations, Carnival has cancelled four additional sailings for both Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor out of Australia. Cruises on both ships are now cancelled up to and including Dec. 16, 2021.

Neptune Energy carries out first Walk to Work campaign at Cygnus gas field

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September 2, 2021

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A programme of brownfield modifications, maintenance and inspection activities will be supported by Bibby Marine’s WaveMaster 1 vessel, reducing time, costs and environmental impacts.

The vessel is equipped with a ‘motion-compensated transfer gangway’, enabling crews to safely walk between the vessel and the Cygnus Bravo platform. It is an efficient and less carbon-intensive means of accommodating the 50 personnel carrying out the work, in comparison with carrying out multiple helicopter flights to and from shore.

The W2W campaign at Cygnus Bravo, which is usually unmanned, will also increase productive time allowing for additional operations to be undertaken that would have otherwise been scheduled separately.

Neptune Energy’s Managing Director for the UK, Alexandra Thomas, said:

“Partnering with Bibby Marine on our first W2W campaign, we believe this approach could be very effective for the Cygnus field and provide significant efficiency and environmental benefits. This will enable us to consider alternative execution strategies for extended shutdowns, intensive fabric maintenance or inspection programmes in the future.”

Bibby Marine’s Commercial and Client Manager Mark Whitehead said:

“We have been assisting Neptune Energy with their planning for this project for a number of months and are pleased we have now arrived at the platform and the project has commenced.

“Bibby WaveMaster 1 and her crew have extensive experience on campaigns like this, and the vessel itself is very capable of working in this sector of the North Sea across all seasons having completed over 10,000 gangway connections and transferred over 60,000 people.”

Cygnus partners: Neptune Energy (operator and 38.75%), Spirit Energy (61.25%)

OTG adds Compas Crew management SaaS to its market defining solutions for maritime personnel at sea and ashore

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September 2, 2021

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Ocean Technologies Group (OTG) has incorporated Compas, the leading Crew management SaaS into its suite of services introducing a significant third pillar alongside its Learning and Fleet Management solutions.

With its service proposition focussed on bringing knowledge and enablement tools to empower the human element in shipping, OTG already serves over a million seafarers connecting them with maritime professionals ashore and providing support both in their work and career development. The addition of the market leading Crew Management SaaS platform not only demonstrates a big step in furthering this agenda but also reflects the increasing importance of effective management of Human Resource management to world trade.

The ongoing COVID crisis has introduced significant disruptions to seafarers and their shore-based colleagues in routine operations including crew changes, crew training, procurement, maintenance etc. With fewer personnel at sea and ashore and qualified crew harder to find, the importance of retaining talent and supporting seafarers in their work has never been more important. Ship managers are increasingly turning to SaaS that they can integrate across their fleet to enable compliant and efficient performance from their workforce and the vessels they manage.

Announcing the combination, Manish Singh, CEO of OTG said:

“Our group companies have a combined track record of over a hundred years in pro-actively delivering solutions for the most pressing challenges facing seafarers and ship managers. The current operating environment demands unified solutions to manage complex operations with efficient labour-saving workflows and improved data portability.

In our dialogue with blue-chip customers, we see a strong desire for joined up, turn-key solutions that enable insights across personnel and vessel performance and the monitoring and measurement of KPIs in a single place. With our new combined offering we have a great opportunity to make this dream a reality.”

“We have a comprehensive investment programme backing Cornel and the Compas team to add implementation and development capacity and bring transformative solutions to our customers.”

Compas CEO Cornel Ciocan said:

“We have enjoyed fruitful partnerships with OTG’s brands over the years and now as fellow OTG companies with even closer alignment of our platforms, we will be able to offer best-of-breed specialisation with “out of the box” interoperability, bringing significant efficiencies and new possibilities to our customers.”

This sentiment is also shared by Rune Lyngaas CEO of Tero Marine, the division that powers OTG fleet management solutions via its TM Master software platform. Rune Lyngaas said:

“We see trends in the market that more and more customers want to buy fully integrated systems that include a full HR solution for Crew Management. We regard Compas as the best-in-class crew management solution and in joining forces we are now able to co-develop solutions that will bring an unparalleled value proposition for ship managers and seafarers with workflows across learning management, fleet management and crew management. Almost every one of Compas’ customers already relies on OTG for learning and in many cases our TM master solutions. We know that bringing our companies together will be highly appreciated by our joint customers and our aim is to offer combined SaaS enablement to more of our customers going forward.”

METIS and Carl Baguhn to deliver greener future for existing ships

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September 1, 2021

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Under the brand name ‘GreenFuture’, Carl Baguhn Hamburg collaborates with its sister companies Carl Baguhn Barranquilla and Twinco Singapore to convert energy-production systems on ships and in stationary power plants to run on alternative fuels such as LNG. Under the terms of the MoU, METIS will contribute its leading-edge data gathering and analytics capability to the initiative for both marine and terrestrial applications.

For Athens-based METIS, the agreement represents an opportunity to enter a new market and gain additional experience with alternative energy sources.

Serafeim Katsikas, Chief Technical Officer, METIS Cyberspace Technology, says:

“We are proud to add our digital services and data-analytics capabilities to Carl Baguhn’s expertise in engine optimisation and retrofitting. This strategic, interdisciplinary collaboration allows us to expand our business portfolio while making a significant contribution to a more sustainable future for the shipping sector and beyond.”

One of METIS’s key responsibilities will be to process and analyse data collected from energy-production plants, engines and auxiliary systems using its sensor-based and wireless-transmission technology. It will also set up digital twins and deploy cloud and big-data services including artificial intelligence to assist with early fault detection and predictive maintenance.

Sascha Spörl, Technical Director, Carl Baguhn GmbH & Co. KG., says:

“If shipping and other major GHG-emitting industries are to reduce their carbon footprint in line with current targets, new technologies and alternative energy sources will have an important part to play.”

For newbuilds, this can be factored in at the design stage, but existing ships and power plants rely on conversion to enhance their environmental performance, Sascha Spörl continues.

Sascha Spörl says:

“Thanks to our partnership with METIS, GreenFuture will offer not only cleaner energy-production systems for existing ships and land-based plants but also the sensors and software to ensure their optimal performance.”

As further evidence of METIS’s commitment to maritime decarbonisation, the agreement comes just weeks after the Greek company announced its participation in the EU-backed ENGIMMONIA project. Having officially begun in May 2021, ENGIMMONIA aims to promote the global adoption of alternative fuels – namely ammonia – in shipping and adapt clean energy technologies for marine application.