US classification society ABS has launched an advanced service using sophisticated modelling and simulation technologies to assess the impact of a wide range of vessel decarbonisation technologies at the design stage as well as simplifying EEXI and CII compliance.

The SIM-based Energy Efficiency Evaluation Service will allow both newbuild vessels and existing vessels to compare different design and operational options and evaluate the performance impact of adding new technologies. This is just the beginning for the service, with an update due next year adding CII compliance planning, allowing time to prepare for any required retrofitting and modifications to the fleet.

“Just as simulation is being used in automotive design to decarbonise vehicles, shipping must embrace new ways of seeing things to bring forward innovation for greener vessels. At ABS we can now use advanced simulation and modelling to assess new concepts in design, engineering and operations while a vessel is in its design stages, allowing ship owners and shipyards to make more informed decisions. We believe simulation is a technology with the potential to make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of our industry, and ABS is leading the way by beginning to realize those gains today,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

For newbuilds at design stage, SIM-based Energy Efficiency Evaluation Service supports propulsion system design optimisation, providing system level assessment of the fuel consumption of a vessel, supporting life-cycle cost analysis as well as detailed design comparison and equipment parameter optimisation. For existing vessels, the service assists with evaluating the retrofitting options and operational changes to reduce fuel consumption and maintain compliance with regulations.

The launch of the service follows the announcement of a joint development project between ABS, Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Wärtsilä using advanced multi-physics modelling and simulation to support development of a flexible, future-ready and modular concept for a multi-fuel electric Liquefied Natural Gas Carrier (LNGC) vessel.

Following the official handover held last month at Damen Shipyards Mangalia, Debmarine Namibia’s new diamond recovery vessel departed on a four-week long maiden voyage to the Port of Cape Town, South Africa, where it will be fitted with mission equipment before beginning operations off the coast of Namibia early next year.

The successful delivery marks the end of the shipbuilding phase of a landmark project that began over three years ago. It is the first vessel to be delivered by Damen Shipyards Mangalia, the Romanian yard that joined the Damen group in 2018, to take on large and complex, engineered to order projects under the banner of the Mid-Sized Vessels division.

Debmarine Namibia is a subsidiary of the well-known diamond mining and jewellery company De Beers, owned in equal shares with the Government of the Republic of Namibia. The Additional Mining Vessel (AMV#3) as it is technically known, will use sub-sea crawling extraction techniques to retrieve diamonds from the seabed off the coast of Namibia. These will then be processed on board. 177 metres in length, it is now the largest diamond recovery vessel in the world and the new flagship of the Debmarine Namibia fleet. The vessel is expected to operate for at least 30 years.

The build involved many challenges, ranging from the onset of COVID-19 early in the project to the management of many subcontractors, each contributing their specialist skills and products. Engineering challenges included the installation of a DP2 dynamic positioning system based on a seven-thruster propulsion system powered by six generators, to enable greater flexibility in the vessel’s operations. Project management was undertaken by De Beers Marine South Africa.

With the constraints of COVID-19 Damen also undertook the complete commissioning process, implementing incremental ways of working to ensure that it was all completed on time. “De Beers celebrates the completion of the vessel which, after a long period of design, construction and testing has now proceeded to sea” said Michael Curtis, Head of the AMV3 Project. “The vessel build has been a truly multinational effort which has converged successfully at Damen Shipyards Mangalia.  The build of this magnificent ship has enjoyed a high profile in Namibia as the largest ever single investment in the history of marine diamond recovery.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the project and for our company as the vessel starts its journey to Cape Town where it will be outfitted with the mission equipment.  Damen’s dedication to building this high-quality and complex vessel, under very difficult circumstances and to do so with an excellent safety record is acknowledged and the quality of the ship is a testament to the skills of all who have been involved.”

The International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) has announced a near $1.2m investment in safe navigation in the Middle East Gulf, that will see significant recapitalisation of the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) sites it operates in the region as well as the construction of a new workboat that will strengthen its capabilities when it comes to maintaining Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) in the Middle East Gulf.

The announcement, made during London International Shipping Week, underlines IFAN’s commitment to safe navigation in this important waterway. And the investment, implemented through its Gulf arm, the Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS), will mean the upgrading of the four DGPS sites in the Gulf, starting with Ras Al Khaymah to ensure against redundancy in case any site fails, or has to be shut down for maintenance.

The Ras Al Khaymah DGPS site will be relocated 5km away from the previous location, and only a few meters away from the shore.  It will have a range of more than 250 Nm covering the entire southern part of the Arabian Gulf and part of Gulf of Oman. The DGPS capability will boost positioning accuracy for less than 1 meter compared to 10+ metres promised by traditional GPS systems.

Dual units at each site will ensure continuous coverage, even in the case of one unit malfunctioning, and they can be remotely controlled. Meantime between failure of the system is greater than 50,000 hrs with availability of 99.95% over two years, in compliance with IALA requirements.

The new work vessel, which is being built in the United Arab Emirates, should be operational by the beginning of October and will have a range of more than 40 Nm, enabling it to reach offshore waters in the Gulf.

Operated through MENAS, the workboat will have a shallow draft allowing it to access inshore areas to maintain light beacons. Its overall size and the size of the cabin will allow for a much wider weather window for operations. Being able to accommodate more workers and spares, it is an altogether more fuel-efficient vessel than the vessel that it is replacing. It is fully equipped with radar to check the Racons signal, AIS receiver to monitor AtoNs, as well as AIS functionality and other standard navigation aids such as DGPS receivers.

Welcoming the announcement, Peter Stanley, CEO of IFAN, said the investment would greatly enhance MENAS’s ability to undertake its important maintenance work in the region. “Investment in the DGPS sites is crucially important if we are to upgrade ageing equipment, he said. “And the enhanced capabilities of the new workboat will strengthen our maintenance of AtoNs in the region. It is part of our overall strategy of renewing our equipment and systems in the region to ensure continued safe navigational aids for ships using this important trade lane.”

MENAS, which is part of the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) Group, provides a service of AtoNs fitted with satellite monitoring system and Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to track the location and the status of the AtoN equipment, and using AIS data, to monitor passing traffic and carry out risk assessments. It also provides essential information and advice such as the issuance of Notices to Mariners advising on hazards to shipping coordinating additions to navigation charts for the Gulf and the broadcast of Navigation warnings every four hours and the weather bulletin every 12 hours covering the entire gulf. Over 2,000 vessels rely upon MENAS equipment and services each month.

Energy major bp and Japanese ship operator NYK Line have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on future fuels and transportation solutions to help industrial sectors, including shipping, decarbonise.

For shipping, the companies will collaborate and identify opportunities to help transition from current marine fuels to alternatives such as LNG, biofuels, and methanol, and to develop future fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen. Getting this journey right will be critical to enabling the shipping industry to meet its long-term decarbonisation ambitions.

For other hard-to-abate industrial sectors, the two companies will also consider potential marine transportation and other solutions for carbon dioxide, and explore participation in the supply chains for ammonia and hydrogen to be used in heavy industry and power generation, to help those sectors to decarbonise.

bp is focusing on working with corporates in key industrial sectors that have significant carbon emissions to manage, to help them to decarbonise. The company’s ambition is to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world to get to net zero.

William Lin, EVP regions, cities and solutions, bp, said, “bp and NYK Line have a combined experience of almost 250 years working in the shipping sector, strong existing relationships and a shared understanding of the need for the marine industry to decarbonise. By bringing together our technical expertise, understanding of the supply chain, and insights from our customers, I am confident that together we can do more to drive change at pace in hard-to-abate sectors.”

Akira Kono, Senior Managing Executive Officer-Chief Executive of Energy Division, NYK Line added, “We are very pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with bp. We look forward to developing even more valuable solutions in the field of decarbonisation. By combining bp’s technological expertise and worldwide network in integrated energy with NYK Line’s expertise and technology as one of the world’s largest shipping and logistics companies, we hope to become a leader in the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.”

Nautilus Labs, the energy efficiency technology firm has expanded the pilot phase initiated with TotalEnergies, the French energy company to optimise LNG carrier’s fleet performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their path towards carbon neutrality.

TotalEnergies was looking for a technology partner to analyse fleet data in order to optimise overall operational efficiency and cut emissions. The charterer works with various owners and therefore requires a solution that can easily and seamlessly integrate with all existing ship-to-shore systems. The partnership with Nautilus Labs started in November 2020 and has since been expanded to the full long-term chartered fleet.

Nautilus Labs leverages high frequency sensor data and builds machine learning models to predict true vessel performance, normalizsed for environmental factors, allowing TotalEnergies to reduce emissions along with fuel consumption and increase voyage outcomes. TotalEnergies, founder signatory of the Sea Cargo Charter, leverages Nautilus Platform to improve, streamline, and automate emissions monitoring and reporting, including CII tracking, to comply with binding and non-binding regulations, ultimately striving for their goal of carbon neutrality.

Jerome Cousin, Vice President LNG Shipping at TotalEnergies, commented on the partnership, “As a charterer, your systems and partners have to be flexible, smart, being able to adapt to new requirements and regulations. In Nautilus we found a solution that can work with any owner and seamlessly integrates all data sets, helping us optimise performance and decisions made during voyages, to ultimately cut greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, we leverage Nautilus Platform to ease and streamline the process of emissions monitoring and reporting. Nautilus is an important partner for us to achieve our ‘Net Zero by 2050’ goal.”

“We’re excited to work with TotalEnergies, supporting their path towards carbon neutrality,” added Matt Heider, CEO at Nautilus Labs. “We often see siloed data and stakeholders in the industry, resulting in fuel waste and excess emissions. Nautilus Platform supports TotalEnergies in breaking down those barriers and embracing open collaboration. Our solution provides actionable insights, rooted in machine learning and naval architecture to help the industry drive towards maximum efficiency and decarbonization.”

“TotalEnergies and Nautilus partner to optimise total LNG consumption through dynamic operational recommendations. Nautilus’s machine learning-based voyage optimizations will soon include recommendations for management of cargo temperature and pressure to minimize boil-off gas, allowing us to cut down fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Eric Lepesan, Head of LNG Shipping Operations at TotalEnergies.

Norway-based Kongsberg Digital has signed a contract to deliver its Vessel Insight infrastructure solution to the entire Island Offshore fleet of 26 highly advanced OSVs. This is one of the largest contracts for Vessel Insight since the software solution was launched in 2019.

By installing the Vessel Insight infrastructure, Island Offshore will collect all the data from its fleet using a common platform. The data collected will enable the company to use advanced decision support tools and benchmark its vessels, comparing operational data from all vessels to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. It will also facilitate automation of reporting processes.

“We are very pleased to contribute to further strengthening Kongsberg’s collaboration with Island Offshore,” said Andreas Jagtøyen, Executive Vice President of Digital Ocean at Kongsberg Digital. “We look forward to working closely with them to deliver and further develop solutions that can give them a competitive advantage in the market, as well as helping them to achieve their goals for safety, efficiency and sustainability.”

Four vessels in the Island Offshore fleet are already connected to the Vessel Insight platform, using the Kongsberg Maritime Vessel Performance application and MARESS, a partner application from Yxney Maritime, available via Vessel Insight’s Maritime Ecosystem. This has led to the vessels moving from manual to automated reporting in a very short time. Kongsberg Digital is now installing the Vessel Insight platform on the remaining vessels in the fleet.

“By collecting all data on one common platform, we gain a correct and efficient starting point to analyse our operations and compare all the vessels in the fleet,” says Trond Hauge, Technical Manager, Island Offshore. “In this way we can share experiences between the vessels and ensure that we operate as efficiently and safely as possible, while at the same time making our fleet even more sustainable by reducing fuel consumption. With increasing demands for reporting, moving from a manual to an automated reporting process will save us a lot of work.”