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.
 

Wartsila Completes Testing of Brand New 2-Stroke Dual-Fuel Engine Technology

The biggest service provider in the maritime business, Wartsila, introduced a completely new 

brand of vessel engines, which are based on well-proven and established low pressure

 technology. Wartsila successfully completed tests with the new 2-stroke dual-fuel engines on

 gas.

The 1st of the Wartsila's engines, RT-flex50DF is scheduled to be delivered by the end of 

2014. The implications of the new Wartsila engines are for the vessel operators and owners 

are going to be referred to as a game-changer for merchant shipping. The other series of the 

brand new engines of Wartsila, the X-series are scheduled to be ready for delivery in 2015 

and 2016.





Both new 2-stroke engines of Wartsila are going to be dual-fuel (DF) low pressure versions.

 The brand new Wartsila engines will offer capital expenditure reductions (CAPEX) of 15-20

 per cent, revealed studies. This results will be achieved by substantially lower and much 

simpler cost of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas handling system, which operates at 

pressure, working under 10 bars. Which is really impressive with the new engines technology is

 that there are no needed cleaning systems for exhaust gases to meet any emission 

regulations. The brand new Wartsila engines are constructed to meet IMO Tier III emissions

 compliant in gas mode and to cover the Tier II minimum level with liquid natural gas
.
In addition, there will be considerable gains on the operating expenditure (OPEX) side with the

 new engine technology of Wartsila. This OPEX will be due to the otioseness of the external 

high pressure compression system for gas and the NOx abatement system on the ship will be

 no longer required. The new technology of the engines makes the gas operation across the 

whole load range stable. Due to this, there will be no longer needed to switch to diesel as is the

 current case with other ship technologies. Furthermore, the fuel consumption of the technology

 is only 1% of the entire fuel amount, and therefore pretty much lower compared to other 

technologies.



The new engine low pressure system for gas of Wartsila fulfils all the safety requirements

. Since gas technology with low pressure is the standard for all four-stroke engine makers 

today, the merit of this concept is clearly proven.

“The benefits of the new low pressure dual-fuel technology for 2-stroke engines are significant. 

Describing this as a game-changing development for merchant shipping is certainly no 

exaggeration, since the many advantages of being able to use gas and LNG as primary fuel 

are now, for the first time ever, available to virtually all vessel types. Our well proven 

technologies for both the engines and the onboard gas and LNG handling systems, can now be

 applied to this wider market. With the adaption of low pressure dual-fuel technology to 2-stroke

 engines, Wärtsilä brings the proven advantages it has demonstrated in the 4-stroke, medium-

speed DF engine market to its 2-stroke low speed engine customers,” says Mr Martin Wernli, 

Vice President, 2-stroke, Wärtsilä Ship Power.

The spokesperson of Wartsila announced that the company is currently in finalising all required

 documents for the 1st of its brand new engine types, the Wartsila RT-flex50DF. Furthermore, 

the Classification Society approvals preparations are underway.

Cocaine worth £136m found among bananas

The biggest shipment of cocaine for the last two years has been caught in the Hampshire, UK

. Border Force officers together with the National Crime Agency found 850kg 80% pure drugs

 with an estimated value of £136m if sold on the street.

The massive shipment was found onboard MV Crown Jade, a Panamanian vessel, hidden 

between bananas cargo. The ship was sailing from Colombia and according to an officer from

 the NCA's border policing command, Tom Dowdall, this was a ''major blow''.

Retrofit Solutions for Exhaust Gas and Water Cleaning by WARTSILA

Upcoming environmental regulations will affect existing vessels, and as a consequence there is a growing demand for exhaust gas cleaning and ballast water treatment systems.

Retrofitting both scrubbers and ballast water management systems is – or will soon be – required for many ships to comply with regulations. There are retrofit solutions available across all ship types, from cruise vessels to merchant and offshore ships. Space requirement is usually the most critical factor when planning and executing a retrofit project but Wärtsilä has found solutions to the challenge.

The execution of retrofit projects for both scrubbers and ballast water management systems requires similar types of planning and engineering. There are typically three things that are analysed when planning a retrofit of exhaust gas or a water cleaning system. First, the space requirements of the system are analysed, taking into consideration the available space in the vessel. Next, engineers study the impact of the additional systems in terms of their weight, ship stability in case of scrubber systems, structural modifications, and relocation of any existing equipment inside the ship. Finally, engineers assess how to further optimise the installation method, with the aim of minimising costs and downtime during installation.

“Retrofitting exhaust gas or ballast water cleaning systems is feasible for all ship types – but how it is done can vary depending on the ship type. Finding space for the system is the most common challenge. When it comes to scrubber installations, we, for example, sometimes need to make changes in the funnel shape or rethink the use of spaces in the vessel to create more room for cleaning systems. However, we have not come across any project in which retrofitting would not be possible. It is just a matter of identifying the best solution or compromise with the ship owner,” says Leonardo Sonzio, Director Retrofit, Wärtsilä Environmental Solutions.

Indian man collapses at Sharjah Airport, dies later in hospital

22-year-old-sailor was about to board a flight home to Chennai early this month.

Abu Dhabi: The body of a 22-year-old Indian sailor has been lying in a mortuary in Sharjah for two weeks and his family is still in the dark about their son’s sudden demise, XPRESS has learnt.

H2S gas affects sea man

An accident happened on loading the cargo in chemical tanker.The crude had to load CST (crude sulphate turpentine),2000 tonnes. The MARPOL annex II gives a category X to the CST.
       The crew members were explained  onboard before loading but not perfectly or exactly with this type of cargo,they strictly fallowed all procedures and check list, including P&A and SMS of the tanker.

     The chief officer gave prior instruction  and arrival but the MSDS were missing and the cargo hazards were not explained properly. 

ROTTERDAM PORT WINS ----------PORT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Rotterdam port was awarded 'Port of the Year' in London during the 2013 event of

 "Containerisation International Awards". The award was given by experts. They complimented

 the port of Rotterdam for the significant investments they made to be leading European

 industrial complex and logistics hub. Innovations like the initiatives NextLogic and  InlandLinks

 and the port's sustainable object development also were  praised by the jury and gave their 

contribution to the award. 

The director of Containers, Breakbulk and Logistics,  Port of Rotterdam Authority, Emile 

Hoogsteden was very happy with the award:

Brodosplit signed the contract for the construction of Multipurpose Container vessels

Shipbuilding Industry Split Inc. and the domestic shipping company Brodosplit-Navigation Ltd., have signed a contract for the construction of a two Multipurpose Container vessels.

The special feature of this vessels is that it will use the LNG fuel (liqufied natural gas), which is the cleanest and environmentally friendly fossil fuel. This is so important because the container vessels with LNG fuel will be more attractive in the global shipping market due to new national and international regulations that will prescribe the permitted quantities emissions (NOx, SO2 and CO2), which is gradually introduced into a new seas (first U.S. and Baltic).

Brodosplit container vessel will have a low speed 2 stroke "dual fuel" (LNG/HFO) engines that have higher efficiency (lower energy) and work at lower rpm (low speed engines), resulting in lower maintenance costs and longer life span . Now, in the world is made ​​only one container vessel with a 2 stroke "dual fuel" engine. Also can use diesel fuel, and in emergency situations has the ability to drive with the cooking oil from food sectors, as well as all other oils or fuels. According to that, coantainer vessels from Brodospolit shipyard will have four to five times lower cost per mile than the other ships of this class, and 30-50 times less will pollute environment. Thanks to more efficient consumption and superb efficiency, investments in the 2 stroke "dual fuel" engines will be paid out after two to three years of exploitation. Extremely important in this project is that the engines will be made by the Brodosplit diesel engine factory, under the license of the MAN, as well as the special tanks for LNG fuel will also produce in Brodosplit shipyard.

Source: Brodosplit Shipyard

AdvanFort Chief Engineer Attempts Suicide

Indian media is reporting this morning that the captain of the maritime security vessel, Seaman Guard Ohio, which has been detained by Indian authorities,  attempted to hang himself in his stateroom.  He was saved by his crew before he was able to carry out his plan.

Captain Dudnik Valentyn has been through a lot.  In 2011, he and his crew aboard the MV Bilda spent 11 months under the watchful eye of Somali pirates after their vessel was hijacked on New Years day.  This latest personal tragedy once again puts himself in a situation that he may feel hopeless to fix and perhaps quite unjustified.

The below graphics via windward  Maritime Analytics Services Company depict the track of the Seaman Guard Ohio before it was detained by Indian authorities.Analysts at Windward point out that for the past month, the Seaman Guard Ohio has bee conducting patrols approximately 50 to 60 nautical miles south of India for the past month.

On the 9th of October, the vessel started to head toward shore and anchored near Tuticorin Port (Tamil Nadu state), where it had previously anchored a month ago, before leaving to its last patrol activity. It anchored 13 nautical miles offshore, just outside India’s territorial waters.

On the 12th of October, the Seaman Guard Ohio began sailing towards the port.

AdvanFort president Will Watson commented in a recent phone conversation that the vessel was directed into port while the vessel was beyond the 12 nautical mile territorial waters limit.  He notes that the hard turn to port in the second image above indicates the turn made when Indian authorities called the Seaman Guard Ohio on the radio requesting them to come in to port due to bad weather from Cyclone Phailin.

When the ship came closer, Indian authorities then arrested the entire crew, claiming they had violated Indian territorial waters.  Watson notes that India has claimed that a pair of islands off the coast extends the territorial waters of India and that the Seaman Guard Ohio was thus inside the 12 nautical mile limit when it was detained.  AdvanFort’s legal council disagrees with India’s claims, noting that these uninhabited “sandbars” do not extend India’s territorial waters and that their territorial waters should be measured from the shoreline of India.

At face value, it seems like India may be trying to avoid getting egg on their face by insisting that the ship was inside territorial waters when it was detained.

Is this a legitimate claim by the Indian government or state-sponsored piracy?  Regardless, this is truly a sad situation for the seafarers on the Seaman Guard Ohio, and an industry as a whole, who’s mission is to protect the very people that are now being held.

The entire crew is currently being held in an Indian jail, with the exception of one individual who is in the hospital.  AdvanFort is currently reaching out via all diplomatic channels to try and resolve this issue.

Biggest Ship in the World PROJECT ITS REALLY AMAZING

What if a futuristic dream for the biggest ship in the world might just come true.

All we have seen similar illustrations in sci-fi publications or vintage popular science, trying to 

present a concept of a floating city in a completely mind-boggling way. Who has ever though 

that may live to see such a project given serious consideration and being on a step away from 

reality?