Ship Technology

Political instability tops list of maritime leaders’ concerns

Cat Vitale — Wed, 17 May 2023 16:56:43 +0000

The ICS Maritime Barometer Report 2022-2023 was revealed at Seatrade Maritime Logistics, Middle East, which formed part of the UAE Maritime Week.

The 27-page publication unveiled the results of a survey, featuring 132 C-suite executives from around the world, half of which are shipowners with 35% consisting of ship managers.

The report is divided into two sections with one highlighting the top risks for shipping leaders and the other section being insights into the concerns on climate issues which are driving industry discussion.

ICS Chairman Emanuele Grimaldi highlighted the impact of political instability on the maritime industry: “The need for clear direction from our regulators and political leaders shines through in the data gathered from maritime leaders around the world for this report.

“Delays in government decision-making will have far-reaching consequences for the shipping industry as key choices regarding supply chain resilience and greenhouse gas reduction measures will determine how the industry evolves over the next decade.”

As noted in the graph, the political and financial risks were the highest, attributable to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as was confidence in the industry’s ability to cope with these difficulties.

ICS Maritime Barometer Report: Top risk factors 2023

Credit: International Chamber of Shipping

Political instability has a ‘risk multiplier’ effect on the marine industry, posing a threat to economic volatility and reduced growth, which can have serious consequences for trade and shipping.

Despite multinational attempts to resume commerce, the crisis in Ukraine had a significant influence on food and energy costs.

Numerous areas of the marine industry have been impacted by political instability, including trade flows, port access and the availability of seafarers.

In addition, the escalating territorial conflicts in the South China Sea and the continued unrest in South Asia led to trade in both regions being threatened.

In comparison to the 2021 pilot survey, maritime executives’ evaluation risk level for industry elements in 2023, as well as their confidence in managing such issues, indicate a change in the operating situation.

The top concerns identified in the 2021 pilot survey were epidemics, supply chain fragility and trade barriers.

According to the ICS study, the political instability risk levels in the 2021 questionnaire indicated a low/moderate risk level with moderate/high confidence.

In comparison, the 2023 survey indicated a high/very high political risk with some/no confidence.

Although particular risks have the potential to have a significant impact on operations, maritime executives have great confidence in the sector’s overall ability to handle these circumstances.

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Maersk opens global Innovation Centre in the US

Noah Bovenizer — Wed, 17 May 2023 11:14:29 +0000

Shipping and logistics giant Maersk has opened a global Innovation Centre in the US to discover how emerging technologies can improve the global supply chain.

With an aim of accelerating supply chain innovation, ideas from the centre in Jersey City, New Jersey will be tested in pilot programmes before being “introduced as scalable solutions for customers if successful.”

Erez Agmoni, global head of innovation for logistics and services, said: “We want to build an innovative supply chain ecosystem for customers using the best analytics, technology, research, engineering and partnerships.”

In looking to improve the business and customer experience, the centre will focus on key areas, including end-to-end supply chain traceability; climate-neutral solutions; accelerating middle mile transportation; expanding fulfilment offerings, solutions and models to support resilience; using predictive data and analytics to optimise distribution and supply chains and education and training.

Though the physical hub has only just been officially launched, the innovation centre has already partnered with the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Centre for Transportation and Logistics on doctoral and post-doctoral level research on supply chain challenges.

There have also been partnerships with leading tech companies and their products, such as Boston Dynamics’ automated robots, Fetch’s scanning tech, BionicHive’s warehouse automation tech and Verity on projects such as the use of drones to manage warehouse inventories.

Narin Phol, president of Maersk North America and executive vice-president of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said: “Every company is navigating the macroeconomic environment, looking for new ways to ensure their supply chains are resilient.

“Our goal is to ensure we bring an intelligent pipeline of business solutions to make their supply chains more agile, more responsive to market fluctuations and more competitive.”

Maersk’s global coverage was recently emphasised by the company through the opening of two new Global Service Centres for the Americas in Mexico City, Mexico and Santos, Brazil, which will include partnerships with the company’s technology teams.

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How shared data can align maritime decision-makers

Peter Nilson — Tue, 16 May 2023 15:27:14 +0000

The upheaval of the past few years has created an existentially challenging environment for the companies that keep trade moving.

Ship owners, operators, and charterers face several complex market factors, including increased global conflict, new and lasting volatility in market rates, increased fuel prices, the new normal of supply chain congestion, an increased risk of global conflict, and new demands being placed on them by their customers, financial institutions, and regulators.

Organisations are under pressure to meet these priorities whilst remaining profitable – and when the pace of change is now so rapid and radical, it can no longer be ignored.

Pelle Sommansson, chief product & AI officer at ZeroNorth

Driving the green transition

Decarbonisation is the highest item on the global trade agenda and is an increasingly important factor in maritime organisations’ decision-making process. Pressure is mounting for industry stakeholders to take decisive action to start reducing carbon emissions and meet the IMO’s target of 40% emissions reduction by 2030.

Industry players must grapple with making changes that drive the green transition, while also balancing a myriad of other priorities.

This encompasses everything from making well-informed pre-chartering decisions – maximising operational efficiency while ensuring compliance and minimising emissions – to controlling costs to deal with growing inflation and higher fuel prices.

“Organisations need solutions that drive immediate change.”

While building more efficient vessels and implementing alternative fuels will have a huge part to play in decarbonising shipping, both are costly, long-term options.

What is clear is that the industry no longer has time to wait. Organisations need solutions that drive immediate change and also enable them to remain profitable while navigating the transition to greener operations.

This is where digital technologies – and particularly data – can take a new and central role in creating a shared reality to join-up stakeholders across an organisation. This enables them to align their varying priorities when making decisions and ensure that any decision-making reflects their obligations to protect both profit and planet.

Creating a shared reality

Data holds the key to smarter, more sustainable decision-making, in tandem with software platforms that are able to interpret the information and provide actionable insights.

In a time where shipping organisations must contend with a growing number of often-conflicting strategic priorities, data insights can help underpin decision-making and align stakeholders from across the business to ensure differing goals can be transparently and measurably met.

With the maturity of today’s technology and the availability of data, this is achievable in situations where humans would find it nearly impossible to gain the same results.

Insights from this data can be used to identify areas within the business where operations can be optimised, which can significantly reduce emissions as well as drive cost efficiencies that have a positive impact on companies’ bottom lines.

In this way, businesses are able to benefit both profit and planet and these savings could also be reinvested back into initiatives that drive the green transition. Aligning commercial and environmental goals is made much easier by data-driven connected platforms.

These solutions can bring together data from across a business, breaking down silos to create a shared reality between different stakeholders. This can enhance collaboration, as access to the same data points enables enhanced accuracy, visibility and context, bringing industry players together to make more informed decisions on vessel activities and goals.

Standardising for success

However, to be able to create this shared reality, industry data must be of high quality, validated, and standardised. While shipping is making strides in its digital transformation, there is still more to be done when it comes to developing industry-wide common data standards, processes and practices.

Overcoming these barriers will be critical to enable the seamless flow of data and information between different departments within a company, as well as collaboration between different organisations.

This will be especially important as the maritime industry works ever closer to achieving its shared sustainability goals. Solutions that can help remove data silos and provide a connecting point for previously siloed parties through one source of intelligence will be critical to driving the green transition.

“Solutions that can help remove data silos will be critical to driving the green transition.”

It can be difficult for maritime businesses to know how to meet all of their conflicting responsibilities – of which decarbonisation is certainly one of the most pressing. Stagnation or inaction is no longer a viable option, and steps must be taken to begin lowering emissions today.

Digital solutions that identify where organisations can drive efficiencies can help deliver immediate, more sustainable outcomes that also have a positive commercial impact.

These platforms also help to create stability in an increasingly complex market, aligning decision-makers through a shared data reality and enabling them to make smarter decisions that benefit both profit and planet.

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Wartsila and Corsica Linea sign 10-year agreement

Cat Vitale — Tue, 16 May 2023 13:50:17 +0000

Finnish technology group Wartsila has signed a ten-year Guaranteed Asset Performance (GAP) agreement with French ferry operator Corsica Linea.

The deal is intended to guarantee that the electrical systems onboard Corsica Linea’s new LNG-fuelled ‘A Galeotta’ RoPax ferry operate effectively.

GAP is an innovative solution offered by Wartsila that ensures operational reliability by setting performance targets based on measured data.

Wartsila guarantees that these targets, which can include availability, reliability and fuel consumption, will be achieved through automated performance measurements, optimized maintenance practices and remote advisory services.

The 206-meter-long ship features two Wartsila 50DF dual-fuel main engines and two Wartsila 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines.

According to Wartsila’s announced order book, this GAP deal was signed in Q4 2022.

Henrik Wilhelms, director of agreement sales at Wartsila, highlights the impact this deal will have on performance guarantees and Wartsila’s lifecycle support approach: “With this agreement, we can support our customer with the most advanced partnership solution, including performance guarantees.

“It delivers cost predictability over the ten-year span and will maximise the ship’s uptime, optimise performance and carbon footprint. This is all part of Wartsila’s lifecycle support approach, serving the customer with an optimal total cost of ownership.”

Scheduled maintenance of the main and auxiliary engines, the LNGPac fuel gas handling system and the gas valve units are all included in the agreement’s framework.

Data-driven dynamic maintenance planning will guide the execution of service allowing overhaul intervals to be maximised without endangering the equipment’s reliability.

From Wartsila’s geographically dispersed Expertise Centres, remote operational assistance is offered continuously allowing any issues to be quickly addressed without the need for onboard service visits.

“Wartsila’s vast experience in LNG systems and solutions is unmatched in the industry and their engines and related equipment were selected for this vessel. It is entirely natural therefore that we look to them to undertake the maintenance responsibilities, for which they are uniquely qualified,” said Lionel Adenet, technical director at Corsica Linea.

This agreement continues a partnership between Corsica Linea and Wartsila that dates back more than 30 years.

During this time, several ships in Corsica Linea’s fleet have been fitted with Wartsila solutions, including the 2017 agreement of Eniram’s solutions.

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Wärtsilä to supply reliquefaction equipment for Energos retrofit project

Noah Bovenizer — Tue, 16 May 2023 09:34:08 +0000

Wärtsilä has agreed to supply specialist reliquefaction equipment for a retrofit project converting a Liquiefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier vessel to a floating storage unit for Energos Infrastructure.

The manufacturing and technology company will supply a reliquefaction system for the vessel, named the Energos Grand, which limits waste by allowing boil-off-gas (BOG) from the LNG to be reliquefied and returned to the cargo tanks.

Tim Twomey, senior vice-president of fleet technical for Energos, said his company had “no hesitation” partnering with Wärtsilä on the project due to the company’s experience and expertise in this field.

Twomey said: “We are therefore glad to again team up with Wärtsilä as a critical partner for our conversion projects and view their reliability and robust technology as an important factor to proceed with this project.”

LNG fuels have become increasingly popular in the shipping industry as a transitional fuel thanks to their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% as well as almost eliminate all fine particle and sulphur emissions, reduced by 99%.

Wärtsilä’s equipment was booked in March 2023 and is expected to be delivered during the first half of 2024 to the 145,880 m3 capacity vessel, which is being chartered by New Fortress Energy.

The Finnish company describes itself as a pioneer in the reliquefaction field of its reversed nitrogen Brayton cycle refrigeration-based technology that can contribute to a reduction in emissions and costs.

Pål Steinnes, head of sales and business development midstream for Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, said: “This project shows New Fortress Energy’s and Energos’ commitment to improving the environmental profile of their fleet and we are happy to once again be shown the trust of these partners in this conversion project.

“Our robust and reliable Compact Reliq technology is a perfect match for such applications. It combines cost-efficiency with low maintenance to deliver a solid environmental and commercial return.”

Wärtsilä has become known for its advancements in sustainable tech in the shipping industry through its decarbonisation modelling offerings and its Sustainable Technology Hub in Vaasa in Finland, which produces green technology solutions in areas such as sustainable fuels like LNG.

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Why ballistic and protection steels are ideal for military or civil applications

lawrence — Tue, 16 May 2023 09:06:39 +0000

Steel is the mother of all manufacturing materials; if things aren’t made of it, they’re made with it. In an increasingly dangerous world, the need for reliable and effective steel is critical. From military vehicles to civilian buildings, ballistic steels are the go-to solution for shielding against shocks, extreme piercing objects and other lethal forces.

The uses for ballistic steel may be widening, but are potential beneficiaries taking advantage? Its reliability and efficiency mean ballistic steel is gaining a foothold as an important material for infrastructure and buildings. A variety of vehicles – from delivery cars to marine vessels – are using it to protect precious cargo. And even in the military, where using the right materials has always been a matter of life and death, new kinds of steel are being deployed to help meet new threats. Stakeholders need to be aware of these trends to ensure they do not fall behind.

Infrastructure and buildings

Rising threat levels must be met with stronger protection for goods and people. Enter Armox® and Ramor® steels. Readers unfamiliar with the names may well have benefitted from their industry-leading credentials; they have been installed in infrastructure projects worldwide, including airports, police stations, public authority buildings, railway stations and banks.

Innovation in how Armox® and Ramor® steels are deployed is ramping up. For example, IT entrepreneur Jon Karlung and his company, Modular Data Center (MDC), recently created a range of flexible, armoured data centre modules in close cooperation with steel manufacturer, SSAB. The scalability of these modules allows companies to expand or scale back data centres precisely when needed, avoiding long planning periods. The complete unit, ready for operation, can be delivered in just twelve weeks. A conventional data centre can take years.

Johan Anderson, head of business development at SSAB, is bullish about the benefits of Armox® and Ramor®. “Certainly there are other companies that deliver data containers around the world,” he says. “But they do not look like data centres. And they cannot offer anything near the security we can provide.” The modules are made from military-grade Armox 500T – the versatility and reliability of which has wide-ranging potential. Future uses may include safe storage of documents, antiques, money, medicine, and chemicals.

Vehicles and marine vessels

The use of Armox® or Ramor® steel in the automotive sector is a nascent but growing phenomenon. Vehicles equipped with the steel can maintain their original factory appearance while providing superior protection against bullets, projectiles and fragments. VIP cars enjoy blast resistance against explosive charges and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), while NGOs, official bodies, and delivery companies use armoured SUVs and delivery vehicles to transport valuables like money and precious metals safely.

The MaxiDoor solution – deploying doors, sections, walls, and facades that require the highest level of fire safety and protection – provides an example of ballistic steel usage in marine contexts. MaxiDoor added explosion-proof doors to its product portfolio in 2016, catering to customers requiring top of the range security-rated products.

During the development of the RC 4 security door, the company faced stringent security and technical requirements. The steel used would have to be durable, tough, bendable, weldable and scalable across the manufacturing process. SSAB’s Ramor® 500, a tested and certified armour plate used as drill protection for lock cases, met the brief. SSAB experts met with MaxiDoor specialists, providing steel samples that allowed the latter to test the material’s resilience under continual stress. All tests led back to the Ramor® 500: its ability to resist drilling through the faceplate, remain flat and attractive after painting and unparalleled springback qualities made the results of break-in attempts barely noticeable.

Defence and security

Steel has played a critical role in the defence and security industry for centuries. As technological advancements have increased the range and accuracy of modern weaponry, the need for more effective armour has intensified too. Armor steel is manufactured through quenching and tempering, balancing desired levels of hardness and toughness. The result is a high-strength, low-alloyed structural steel, processed to provide high penetration resistance and blast protection. Its versatility makes it an ideal material for use in the defense and security industry, where decision makers are constantly striking a balance between steel durability (providing superior protection) and workability (allowing a greater range of uses).

Two main groups of bulletproof metal dominate the defence industry: blast protection steel and ballistic protection steel. Both are characterised by tempered martensitic microstructures and are certified according to military standards. Blast protection steel has a relatively low hardness of around 400 HBW on the Brinell Scale – an industry standard measure of hardness – and is also tough in freezing conditions. Rolled homogenous armor (RHA) belongs to this category, designed to absorb the energy of a blast without cracking. Meanwhile ballistic protection steel has its own hardness classifications, with high hardness armor steel (HHA) being the most common grade. HHA is usually bent and welded, with good fatigue resistance. A thickness of 6.5 mm of HHA is sufficient to protect against a NATO-standard 5.56 mm calibre bullet.

Innovations in steel manufacturing are increasing hardness protection all the time. Very high hardness armor steel (VHH) sits at around 550 HBW; still bendable and weldable, just 5.5 mm of VHH steel is required to stop a NATO standard bullet. Ultra-high hardness armor steel (UHH) and extreme high hardness armor steel (XHH), with hardness of 600 HBW and 650 HBW respectively, are at the top of the ballistic chain. These steels provide additional protection against projectiles but are less bendable and require more complex processing methods.

Military operators seeking to combine high protection with low weight have two options. One is to mount two thinner armored steel plates with a space between them instead of using a single thicker plate – a design feature that can cut overall weight by a quarter. Perforated outer plates offer another option. Provided the perforations are smaller than the expected projectile, they can slow it down enough to neutralise its penetrating power while keeping vehicles light.

Armox to the rescue

Ballistic steel plates are rolling out across a wider range of civil and military applications than ever before. The secret lies in their unique properties and production processes.

For example, SSAB’s Armox® and Ramor® steel plates are cleaner than most other steels due to their low carbon content, making the material easy to weld and minimising the risk of cold cracking. And the steels’ uniform properties ensure reliability in use and predictability in the workshop.

SSAB continuously improves its production processes to develop new and better products. As a result, Armox® and Ramor® steel plates come with guarantees of tight thickness tolerances, tight flatness tolerances and tight bending guarantees. This makes them more workshop-friendly compared to other steels available on the market.

SSAB’s experience in deploying and innovating metallurgical processes makes all this possible. As the steel industry advances, military and civil manufacturers need to choose a partner who can help them get the most out of a new generation of ballistic steels while combining cost efficiency and safety. SSAB can help. Download the whitepaper on this page to find out more.

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The current and future state of the global steel market

Manufacturers with decarbonisation in their sights are scrutinising supply chains – and understanding the contribution of the global steel market is essential. New innovations are revolutionising energy efficiency in steel production, promoting the popularity of protection armoured steel and helping to combat the challenges businesses face in investing in energy efficiency. This free whitepaper examines how lighter and stronger steel can help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and save energy while also boosting productivity. With entirely new methods of manufacturing steel on the horizon, firms have massive opportunities to get ahead of the curve – if they prioritise energy efficiency and invest in it wisely. Fill in your details to find out more.

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Wärtsilä opens latest land and sea academy in Finland

Noah Bovenizer — Fri, 12 May 2023 17:06:12 +0000

Wärtsilä has opened its newest land and sea academy in Finland as the company looks to deliver high-quality training as part of its Sustainable Technology Hub.

The training centre in Vaasa is open to anyone who operates equipment made by the marine and energy solutions company and offers a combination of e-learning, interactive instructor broadcasts and the use of web-based simulators.

Stefan Wiik, vice president of field services and workshops, said: “Our global fleet of training centres is a central element within Wärtsilä’s lifecycle offering. They allow us to deliver optimal support to our customers in managing their assets.

“At the same time, thanks to the internal training possibilities, we can ensure that our own personnel have the necessary competencies and know-how.”

The Vaasa academy is the ninth to be opened by Wärtsilä and the first in the company’s home country, joining the existing locations in the USA, Brazil, India, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Indonesia and China which provided training for over 48,000 students in 2022.

Training delivered by the academies includes the use of both 3D models and real equipment and components covering all aspects of an installation including safety, reliability, maintenance, performance and availability.

Its location as part of the company’s sustainable technology hub also means that the newest academy will have access to the hub’s resources such as the floating test lab Aurora Botnia.

The hub is used by Wärtsilä to create and produce green technologies to be used as part of its decarbonisation vision including tech surrounding the field of sustainable fuels.

As part of this vision, last year the company launched a medium-speed four-stroke engine that can run on diesel, liquefied natural gas or gas or liquid carbon-neutral biofuels.

More information on how to access the services of the Wärtsilä land and sea academies can be found on the company’s website.

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GCN signs strategic partnership with CTX

Cat Vitale — Fri, 12 May 2023 16:32:32 +0000

GIGA Carbon Neutrality (GCN) established a partnership with the London-based Carbon Trade eXchange (CTX) and its Australian parent firm Global Environmental Markets (GEM) to further expand the world’s carbon markets.

CTX has launched a white label version of their technologies enabling GCN to negotiate deals with carbon trading platforms and regular stock exchanges to provide buyers spot market access to carbon credits, RECs and offsets.

A worldwide carbon market powered by AI and blockchain technology will be established, with carbon futures contracts based on reliable, high-quality carbon credits from hundreds of projects in several carbon registries with one example being the UNFCCC CDM Registry.

The UNFCCC DCM stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction limitation targets.

By bringing together GCN’s business and financial network with CTX and GEM’s “Technology Infrastructure for the Future of our Planet”, the partnership aims to execute larger-scale trading of carbon credits and expand the origination of voluntary credits globally.

This will help meet the Paris Agreement targets by scaling up carbon markets and reducing CO₂ emissions globally.

EU and its Member States, acting jointly, are committed to a binding target of a net domestic reduction of at least 55% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

CTX CEO Wayne Sharpe further stated: “The current carbon markets must scale by a factor of 10 to 100X to reduce CO₂ emissions globally and meet the Paris Agreement targets. The current registry infrastructure is insufficient.

“Stock Exchanges globally are struggling to handle the unique carbon trading requirements in the voluntary markets – which deliver the much-needed climate finance via carbon credits. CTX will supply and support the required technology then the buyers decide.”

In order for countries to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement, GCN commits to expanding the licencing of GEM technology infrastructure for National Carbon Meta-Registries.

It also supports the development of voluntary carbon credits, such as the recently launched Global Carbon Registry and credit standard as well as the Integrity Council’s core carbon principles for voluntary carbon markets.

This collaboration for CGN has been attentively facilitated with the aim of becoming the leading ECaaS (Energy data and Carbon credit as a service) internationally.

CEO Richard Martin stated: “The strategic partnership is a big opportunity for GCN to use its extensive network of partners, affiliates and investors to fast track our global expansion plans with a proven set of carbon technology infrastructure.”

With the shipping industry being responsible for around 940 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, which is at least 2.5% of the world’s total CO₂ emissions.

This agreement makes it possible for shipping firms to obtain trustworthy carbon credits from a variety of carbon registries and hundreds of projects, making it simpler and more affordable for them to lessen their carbon footprint.

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FourKites partners with Gravity to extend real-time visibility

Cat Vitale — Fri, 12 May 2023 09:03:30 +0000

American-based supply chain visibility solutions provider FourKites has announced a partnership with Gravity to extend real-time visibility for global shipments offered by the FourKites platform.

Based in Singapore, Gravity offers a range of supply chain management solutions including shipment visibility, transportation management and logistics management.

This collaboration will extend visibility from the first mile throughout the supply chain from the time an order is placed with a supplier all the way through to product delivery via a seamless integration with Gravity’s, Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.

FourKites CEO and founder Mathew Elenjickal emphasised the significance of the first mile and how it might affect the remainder of the supply chain cycle.

“Last-mile delivery generates a lot of attention and a lot of headlines and often overshadows the importance of the first mile. If you don’t have sufficient control over your upstream supply chain, everything that comes after the first mile will be less effective.”

The partnership between Gravity and FourKites aims to move away from traditional and cumbersome approaches attempted by companies in the first mile.

Due to the potential impact that delays or interruptions may have on the whole supply chain, this first link in the chain is essential in guaranteeing the timely and effective delivery of goods.

According to FourKites, their platform, which offers 21 innovative dashboards and reports, is the only visibility platform with comprehensive analytics which include carrier and lane performance, sustainability and GHG emissions and facility performance.

Gravity’s SaaS solution along with FourKites’ real-time shipment visibility and order intelligence solutions ensure that customers have an exception-based, definite source of truth for the entire order life cycle.

The highly adaptable system will offer seamless connection, easier collaboration and streamlined operations with real-time updates – all on one centralised platform.

Graham Parker, CEO and founder of Gravity Supply Chain Solutions, highlights the benefits of this collaboration: “Of any visibility provider on the market, we chose to partner with FourKites because of its deep, trusted relationships with many large Fortune 1000 customers,”

“Our partnership will give these brands a seamless, end-to-end picture of their supply chain so they can react quickly and confidently to any situation. We have been impressed by FourKites’ innovative solutions, its collaborative culture and its impressive track record of delivering value to customers and we’re thrilled to work together to fortify our efforts and provide a unique offering to the market.”

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MSC Cruises completes first LNG bunkering operation in Marseille

Noah Bovenizer — Thu, 11 May 2023 16:37:17 +0000

MSC Cruises and Totalenergies Marine Fuels have completed the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling bunkering operation in Marseille allowing guest operations to continue as normal during the process.

The best-performing large cruise ship in the world for CO₂ emissions per passenger, the MSC World Europa was refuelled by Totalenergies’ Gas Vitality LNG bunker barge during the operation on 22 April at the Port of Marseille Fos in southern France.

MSC Cruises managing director Patrick Pourbaix described the success as an important milestone for the company.

He said: “Featuring a range of unprecedented innovations in terms of environmental and marine technologies MSC World Europa represents a major step forward on our journey towards meeting our target of net-zero emissions by 2050.”

LNG has received increased attention as a transitional fuel for the marine industry as one of the cleanest options currently available at the scale needed for large ships such as MSC World Europa, its use reduces sulphur and fine particle emissions by 99%, nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85% and greenhouse gas emissions by 20%.

This operation is the start of a previously announced LNG bunker supply contract between MSC and Totalenergies, which will see the fuel supply company deliver approximately 45,000 tons of LNG to the MSC vessels in Marseille every year.

Totalenergies’ lubricants and specialities senior vice-president Phillipe Charleux said: “We are excited to support the Cruise Division of MSC Group in their decarbonisation journey and to help the Port of Marseille Fos become an LNG bunker hub for the Mediterranean region.

“This operation also expands our LNG bunkering capabilities to the cruise ship segment, demonstrating our ability to serve a broader range of shipping clients, as the industry strives to reduce emissions.”

There are currently 21 LNG-powered cruise ships in use or construction around the world including MSC Cruises’ next ship Euribia which will launch this year and MSC World America, which is set to launch in early 2025.

MSC World Europa’s environmentally focussed features also include a solid oxide fuel cell demonstrator that can use LNG to produce electricity and heat, an advanced wastewater treatment system that can treat onboard wastewater to near tap water standards, and an underwater noise management system to reduce disturbance to marine life.

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