PUBLISHED JUL 19, 2021 7:06 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR and oil and gas contractor Technip Energies have signed an agreement to study the use of floating wind turbines to power offshore oil and gas operations in the Caspian Sea. If realized, the pilot project would be the first deployment of offshore wind technology in Azerbaijan.

At present, upstream operations in the Caspian Sea mainly use electricity generated from natural gas. Among the main objectives of the pilot project is to determine the prospects for the supply of sustainable energy to the country’s upstream sector, reducing natural gas consumption and increasing gas exports.

“The energy efficiency is in focus of many energy companies and is an important part of SOCAR’s strategic plans. In line with the development trends of technology, we are already entering this area. Our goal is to reduce operating costs, increase energy efficiency and ensure the sustainability of operations at SOCAR,” said Rovnag Abdullayev, SOCAR president.

Technip Energies is a young company with a long history. In February, French-American oil and gas services contractor TechnipFMC spun off its “green” energy and petrochemical engineering services as an independent entity, Technip Energies. The new firm is focused on the energy transition, with emphasis on LNG, hydrogen and ethylene production; it also holds large contracts for petchem plant construction and upgrading, including a recently-completed petchem project for SOCAR.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/socar-studies-floating-offshore-wind-power-for-offshore-gas-platforms

PUBLISHED JUL 19, 2021 10:36 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The brand new cruise ship Crystal Endeavor has set sail from Reykjavik, Iceland for her maiden revenue voyage, a 10-night tour around the island nation. The sailing is the first of its kind for a luxury expedition vessel in Northern Europe and the Arctic since the pandemic shutdown began, the company said.

“This is an incredible moment for the entire Crystal family,” said Jack Anderson, president of Crystal. “Our new expedition yacht will take our guests further than ever before on bold adventures to the far corners of the globe.”

According to Crystal, the Endeavor is the roomiest, fastest and most powerful expedition ship in the cruise industry today. At 10,000 cubic feet per guest and a passenger space ratio of more than 100, she has the most room per guest of any cruise ship at sea. Her hotel operations can accommodate 200 guests in 100 all-veranda, all-butler suites, with a one-to-one staff-to-guest ratio.

The ship carries with her a small fleet of Zodiaks and kayaks, as well as the kinds of toys more commonly found aboard private yachts – a six-guest submersible and two helicopters (in select regions). She is also fitted with an ROV capable of making 300-meter unmanned dives. Wildlife lovers need not leave their suites to see amazing sights: the ship carries a mast-mounted high specification video camera capable of 90-power zoom, and it streams its output to high definition TVs mounted throughout the vessel. (Guests can give input on where to aim the camera with the help of an operator.)

To manage the COVID-19 risk, Crystal Endeavor set sail with a fully-vaccinated crew and passenger roster. Vaccination is mandatory under Crystal’s new operating protocol. As an upside, vaccinated personnel have the capability to visit shoreside attractions independently in Iceland – not something that would be possible for the unvaccinated.

After Iceland, the Endeavor will sail for Norway in September, then moving south to call in Scotland, France, England and Portugal.

Crystal Endeavor was delivered on June 26 at the MV Werften shipyard in Germany. The yard is owned by Genting Hong Kong, the owner of Crystal Cruises, and the Endeavor is the first ocean-going vessel it has delivered under the current ownership structure. The project was delayed by more than a year due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic; MV Werften was forced to close in early 2020, putting Crystal Endeavor and other projects on hold. With hundreds of millions of dollars in loan support from the German government, MV Werften reopened and resumed work on the stalled project. As part of the German rescue package, Genting is also receiving a $374 million post-delivery financing facility for the expedition cruise ship.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/genting-s-first-german-built-luxury-expedition-ship-sets-sail

PUBLISHED JUL 20, 2021 2:08 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) has announced plans to use a vessel to monitor foreign-flag operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, intending to use it as a platform to gather photographic evidence of Jones Act violations. The evidence will be submitted to enforcement authorities, made public and shared with the media.

The Jones Act requires seaborne cargo shipped between two U.S. points to be carried by U.S.-built, crewed, and owned vessels. It is at the center of America’s maritime policy and domestic shipping law, and it is a mainstay support for U.S. shipowners, mariners and shipbuilders. The law is vital to sustaining a domestic maritime industry that is strong enough to support national defense objectives, and it enjoys the support of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, U.S. Maritime Administration, and many members of Congress.

According to OMSA, the Jones Act is not fully enforced by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency tasked with overseeing compliance. CBP’s interpretation process has left room for foreign-flag offshore vessels to perform certain functions on the U.S. continental shelf, like heavy lift and pipelay operations, so long as these vessels do not “transport cargo” between U.S. points. However, the definitions of “transport” and “cargo” have been a matter of debate for decades, and OMSA says that CBP has allowed foreign-flag operators to push the limits too far.

“The Jones Act is very simple, if a foreign vessel picks up cargo at one point in the United States, and takes it to another point, it has broken the law,” Smith continued. “Foreign vessels have succeeded in confusing this issue for a long time. Now, we’re going to shine a bright spotlight on their actions and show everyone just how many foreign mariners are taking money out of U.S. mariners’ pockets. If foreign vessel owners or the companies they work for don’t like this scrutiny, I suggest they hire U.S. owned, U.S. crewed, and U.S. built vessels.”

OMSA’s new patrol vessel, the Jones Act Enforcer, is a 150-foot crewboat built in 2007. Formerly known as the Harvey Hustler, she is fitted with a 7,000 HP powerplant and can make 20 knots.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/omsa-launches-jones-act-enforcement-vessel-to-patrol-u-s-gulf

t the beginning of July, the Swedish flag replaced the German flag on “Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania” and it marked the end of the 118 years old German rail shipping. The Swedish shipping company Stena Line has completed its restructuring of the German ferry business and the maritime industry of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will bear the bitterness of it.

Stena Line GmbH has shifted its headquarter from Rostock to Hamburg as the management considers Hamburg to be more central than Rostock in terms of their business and logistic activities. It is expected that the company will be shedding its human resources too. In spring 2020 there were 300 employees working with the company in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania out of which only 25-35 are expected to be retained.

The job-loss story started in April 2020 when Stena Line suddenly closed the traditional route of SASSNITZ-Trelleborg which led to dozens of crew members losing their jobs. For more details, please read an article on our blog about the “Königslinie”, the oldest German ferry line connecting SASSNITZ and Trelleborg which was closed in 2020.

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34513/stena-line-germany-completes-its-restructuring-ger/

Chinese officials have announced their plan to make Shanghai, the busiest container port in the world, even bigger. In its fourteenth five year expansion plan, the government has announced the “Shanghai port expansion plan”, which focuses on the enlargement of regional port operation and enhancement of the technology at the port.

This plan aims at achieving 8% overall growth in TEU volumes at Shanghai Port over the next five-year period. China has forecasted that by 2025, Shanghai will be achieving the landmark of handling 47 million TEUs annually.

When the world was going through a pandemic and there was covid-19 induced lockdown all around the globe, Shanghai Port managed to clock a growth of half a percent. In the first half of 2020 Shanghai had a total of 43.5 million TEUs throughput, which was huge enough to place Shanghai as the busiest container port in the world.

Shanghai Port has also achieved good growth in the transhipment and inland container segment. To further strengthen the inland port operations, the government has outlined a series of development and optimization projects.

China is committed towards introducing new technologies at Shanghai Port to improve the shipping services as well as enhance the cruise port operations. As per the new expansion plan, Shanghai Port will be increasing the level of automation so that the container handling time at terminals is reduced. Currently, the Shanghai terminal has the capacity of handling 5 million TEUs annually through its automated operations. The goal is to handle 30 million TEUs annually through the automated terminals in the next five years. To achieve this, the automated capacity of the terminal has to increase by 7 million TEUs annually.

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34517/shanghai-expansion-plan-aims-achieve-47m-teu-2025/

Container ship CARLA LIV ran aground since around 0430 UTC Jul 16. En route from Venice to Trieste.
UPDATE 1330 UTC: The ship was refloated with tugs assistance at around 1300 UTC, no apparent damages, no leak reported. The ship is under way under own power, sailing in Venice direction. Cause of grounding yet unknown.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34521/container-ship-grounding-near-venice-italy/

General cargo ship GULLAAS ran aground on northeast coast of Vagsoy island, Vestland county, Norway, in the afternoon Jul 15, while en route from Sandnes to Vogra island. The ship reportedly, managed to refloat by own means, sailed to Maloy under own power, escorted by SAR boat. GULLAAS berthed at Maloy in the evening same day, remained berthed as of morning Jul 16. Understood to serious damages sustained, if any.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34509/freighter-grounding-norway/

Reefer ro-ro cargo ship THORN1 was disabled after engine failure and blackout on Jul 2 in Gulf of Aden NE of Djibouti, while en route from Suez to Alang, where she’s to be dismantled. The ship anchored to prevent drift, later she was local salvage or tug service towed THORN1 to Djibouti anchorage, where she remains anchored as of Jul 16. All the equipment and mechanisms on board are either inoperable or in very poor condition, fuel said to run out, 11 crew have to live without conditioner and refrigerator. One of mostly Ukrainian crew suffered cerebral thrombosis and died, two managed to leave the ship, to be repatriated to Ukraine. The ship was renamed and re-flagged in Jun 2021, according to AIS records.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34505/scrap-reefer-ro-ro-ship-stuck-djibouti-after-break/

Swiss shipping major Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and energy giant Shell have agreed to work closely together to help accelerate the decarbonisation of the global shipping sector.

MSC and Shell International Petroleum Company Limited signed a long-term memorandum of understanding (MOU) in an effort to “play enhanced roles” in the energy transformation of shipping, as developers and early adopters of innovative technologies and fuel solutions.

Specifically, the companies plan to develop a range of “safe, sustainable and competitive” technologies that can reduce emissions from existing assets and help to enable a net-zero emissions future for shipping.

“MSC’s efforts to decarbonise include strong partnerships with a range of companies across the industry. This partnership with Shell is a great example of the type of commitment that is needed to catalyse low-carbon solutions for the shipping sector,” Bud Darr, EVP Maritime Policy and Government Affairs, MSC Group, commented.

“To reach that ultimate goal of complete decarbonisation, we must look at a set of solutions. We need significant advances in research and development and fuel development. MSC welcomes partnerships like this with Shell that are designed to facilitate cross-sector information sharing and prove how collaboration is key in defining the best pathway to a net-zero future.”

“Shell wants to play a central role in the transition to net zero. Partnering with our customers to develop new technologies and fuels will help accelerate progress. Combining MSC’s experience … with Shell’s expertise … will help bring about effective solutions for this vital part of the world economy,” Melissa Williams, President, Shell Marine, said.

The two giants have worked together over the last 10 years on projects, including bunkering biofuels and trialling very and ultra-low sulphur fuels.

As explained, MSC and Shell technical and commercial teams will collaborate to develop and deploy net-zero solutions such as zero-emission fuels of the future and the technologies that will enable them, including fuel cells, with the ambition of contributing towards a zero-carbon flexi-fuel concept vessel. They will also work together on energy efficiency technologies, including digital services and platforms.

The partners continue to envisage a range of fuel solutions on the route to a net-zero future and are also exploring options such as hydrogen-derived fuels and the use of methanol as a marine fuel. Both companies are also members of the Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition.

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MSC, Shell partner up to accelerate maritime decarbonization

Germany’s bulk operator MINSHIP Shipmanagement and compatriot multipurpose (MPP) vessel specialist Auerbach Schifffahrt have decided to join forces to create a consolidated ship management company.

As informed, the two companies will merge their ship management activities in Bavaria and Hamburg as of August 1, 2021.

The new setup will provide full service for a combined fleet of 26 bulk and MPP vessels.

According to the two partners, the new ship management company will continue to serve the MPP/heavy-lift and bulk vessel market and operate with a two-brand, one-team strategy under the names AUERBACH Marine and MINMARINE. All commercial activities including but not limited to project development, chartering and operations will continue to be handled by MINSHIP, MINCHART and Auerbach Schifffahrt, respectively.

“We are very happy for MINSHIP to have struck a deal with Auerbach Schifffahrt to allow them to combine their respective strengths, ambitions and shipmanagement expertise in a new entity… With the combined experience … we will be well-positioned to master the challenges of the future,” Matthias M. Ruttmann, CEO of MST GmbH, commented.

“Following years of gradual organic growth we are delighted to have found the perfect partner to expand our operational business,” Lucius Bunk, founder and managing partner at Auerbach Schifffahrt, said.

“The new entity will be well placed to actively support our joined decarbonization and digitalization strategies to help transform our industry.”

Earlier this year, MINSHIP made a huge step forward in its decarbonization strategy after its bulk carrier performed a trial biofuel run in Rotterdam.

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MINSHIP, Auerbach form joint ship management firm