Indian sailor Captain Sunil James released from Togo jail: Foreign Ministry

sunil james with is wife 

Captain Sunil James, who was languishing in a jail in Togo in western Africa for five months, has been released, the ministry for external affairs said today. He will leave for India later today, the ministry said.

"Sailors from #India Capt Sunil James & Vijayan released from detention in #Togo. Will leave for home later today," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, ministry of external affairs, tweeted today.

"After meet between #India's High Commissoner in Accra & Prez Gnassingbe of #Togo Capt Sunil James & Vijayan released. Now with HC Sagar (sic)," he added.

Mr James' family had been fighting for his release since July, when he was arrested on charges of aiding the pirates who had attacked and looted his ship, MT Ocean Centurion, near Togo. They met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, asking his officials to coordinate efforts to free the Mumbai sailor.

His 11-month-old son, Vivaan, died earlier this month of septicemia. The baby's body has been kept in a morgue, with the family hoping his father can see him one last time.

The sailor's family has alleged that Mr James was tortured by the pirates and has lost 15 kgs in the custody of the Togo police, but the government took too long to step in. "Does it take the death of a baby for the government to act?" his brother-in-law Rakesh Madappa questioned earlier this month.
support from: NDTV 

Wärtsilä’s 2-stroke dual-fuel engine introduced

The marine industry is already showing significant interest in the new Wärtsilä 2-stroke, low-speed, dual-fuel (DF) engine technology. More than 130 industry executives from 89 leading shipping companies attended the introductory event in Trieste, Italy on November 12, which is in itself a clear indication that there is global recognition of the role that LNG fuel will play over the coming years.

Wärtsilä launches 2-speed marine gearbox to significantly reduce fuel consumption

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading provider of innovative products, solutions and services, has launched its new 2-speed marine gearbox offering notable economic and environmental benefits. The product will serve vessels having multiple operational modes or reduced transit speed, including among others RoPax ferries, offshore support vessels, tug boats, and fishing vessels.

Alfa Laval Wins a Repeat Environmental Order for Marine Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems

Alfa Laval - a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling - has won an order to supply Alfa Laval PureSOX exhaust gas cleaning systems to the Dutch ship owner Spliethoff. The order is booked in the Marine & Offshore Systems segment and delivery is scheduled for 2014. Due to a confidentiality agreement Alfa Laval is unable to disclose the value of the order.

MOL, WFS Sign Deal to Build, Charter Methanol Carrier: World's First Dual-Fuel Engine Uses Methanol and Heavy Oil

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. yesterday announced the signing of a contract with Waterfront Shipping Company Limited(*1)  to build and charter up to three methanol carriers. The vessels will be equipped with the world's first flex-fuel engines running on methanol, fuel oil, marine oil, or gas oil.

The Shipping Industry must continue to take reasonable security measures through the Suez Canal

Shipowners and Charterers should continue to take normal precautionary security measures when transiting through the Suez Canal, said Andrew Varney, Managing Director Port2Port Maritime Security in a recent webcast discussion: “Is the Suez Canal Safe for Shipping?” with the US Journal of Commerce.

Korean companies investing $940m in floating power plant

Korean firms Polaris Shipping, Korea Midland Power, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and 

Siemens Energy Solutions have decided to invest in floating power plant and have agreed to 

put $940m to create a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU).

This ambitious project will be ready according to plans in 3 years. The 'Mobile Powership' will 

have similar design to the known HHI's LNG FSRU with power capacity of 880MW. The floating

 power plant will be able to handle the needs of power in the time of natural disasters. Polaris 

Shipping informed that the produced power will be transmitted with the help of the existing 

infrastructure of cables.

How Variable Geometry Turbocharger for Marine Engines Works?

In order to draw the highest efficiency from marine engines, they must be run at the highest rated RPM. However, with several norms, traffic rules, fuel efficiency factor etc., marine engines cannot always be operated at high speed. As the RPM of the engine reduces, the air supply from the turbocharger also reduces, starving the combustion space of air and resulting in improper combustion and increased fuel consumption. To counter this problem, auxiliary blowers are fitted. These blowers come into action at particular low loads.
Variable Geometry Turbocharger or Variable Turbine Angle (VTA) Turbocharger is the solution for supplying sufficient scavenge air to marine engine’s cylinder at all load ranges. Let’s find out what is VTA and how does it works.

What is Variable Geometry Turbocharger or VTA?

DNV GL and SDARI introduce new Green Dolphin bulk carrier concept

DNV GL and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) have introduced the Green Dolphin 575 concept design for a handymax bulk carrier. This second design builds on the success of the handysize Green Dolphin 38 for which around 80 orders have been placed with the major share to DNV GL class. Green Dolphin 575 aims to be fuel and energy efficient, robust and reliable, operationally flexible and able to meet current and future environmental regulations. It uses technologies that are already available for commercial use, so it can meet ship owners’ current needs in tight market conditions.

The Green Dolphin 575 is a 190m long Common Structural Rules (CSR) compliant handymax bulk carrier with five cargo holds. It is available in single hull standard or double-hull (open hatch) configurations.

Why are 10-year-old vessels essential to shipping analysis?

Older vessel prices are another indicator that reflects shipping companies’ fundamentals. Because these vessels are sold and bought in the secondary market, it doesn’t take as long for the buyer to receive these vessels. So changes in price for older vessels often reflect a nearer-term fundamental outlook, and they tend to move ahead of new builds.

Wärtsilä expands its portfolio with two new auxiliary engines

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading provider of innovative products, solutions and services, is expanding its engine portfolio with the introduction of two additional auxiliary engines, the Wärtsilä Auxpac 16 and the Wärtsilä Auxpac 32.

New ICS initiative to maintain IMO primacy on shipping AND CO2 issues

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – the worldwide trade association for shipowners – has made an important written submission to the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) suggesting a possible way forward with respect to complex discussions about additional global regulations to further reduce CO2 emissions from merchant ships.
 

In particular, ICS wishes to ensure the primacy of a global IMO framework for addressing the reduction of shipping’s CO2 emissions in the face of proposals by the European Commission for unilateral regional regulations that will apply to international shipping trading to the EU. 
 
In a carefully worded ‘political’ paper, ICS has suggested that IMO Member States should initially focus on developing regulations for the mandatory reporting of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by internationally trading ships, deferring further discussions on how the information collected might subsequently be used to develop additional efficiency measures.