Global defense and technologies partner HII announced on Monday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to begin the combat systems availability for the Zumwalt-class destroyer, Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002). During this availability, Ingalls will complete the installation, activation and testing of the combat systems to ensure a fully functional system is ready to operate in the Navy fleet, as part of the Navy’s phased delivery approach.
“HII is excited to support our Navy colleagues in bringing this new capability to the fleet,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. “As a dedicated partner in the construction and system activation of Navy destroyers, Ingalls is eager to leverage our shipbuilders’ expertise and modernized facilities in supporting the Navy’s future generation systems and platforms.”
The $41.6 million cost-incentive-fee contract allows Ingalls to begin program management, labor, materials, and facilities to accomplish industrial efforts and fleet industrial efforts to support the ship’s combat system.
The DDG 1002 features a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design and is equipped with the most advanced warfighting technology and weaponry. This ship will be capable of performing a range of deterrence, power projection, sea control, and command and control missions while allowing Navy to evolve with new systems and missions.
Swedish and Finnish rescue services began evacuating families and elderly passengers from a fire-stricken Swedish ferry in the Baltic sea late on Monday, but said the situation was calm and that no one had been injured.
About 70 out of around 300 people onboard were scheduled to be evacuated by helicopter as the powerless vessel was drifting toward the island of Gotland and risked running aground later on Monday, at roughly 2100 GMT.
“We are evacuating families with children and the elderly. We have strong winds that make evacuation by boat difficult,” a Swedish Maritime Administration spokesperson said. “But the situation is calm and under control,” the person added.
With the brand new ship of the Italian Navy Thaon di Revel, “a concentrate of avant-garde Italian technology”.
A special VTC meeting was held in these days between the Information Fusion Center of the Singapore Navy and the Force Headquarter of Agenor – the maritime operation born from the European initiative called EMASoH (European-led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz ), in connection with the latest ship delivered to the Italian Navy, the Thaon di Revel, of the brand new Ppa class (multipurpose offshore patrol vessel).
The event was opened by a speech by the Ambassador of Italy in Singapore, Mario Vattani. “This program – explained Vattani – has not only a strategic significance, it is also a concrete signal of the will of Italy, together with the other European partners, to be more present from now on in this region, in line with the Strategy European for the Indo-Pacific in which Italy has played an important role, thanks to the work done in recent years by the Farnesina ”.
The topic – very topical in light of the growing threats to maritime navigation – is the opportunity to improve collaboration at a trans-regional level, and establish standard operating procedures for sharing information on civil shipping, in order to extend maritime knowledge to the entire region. Indo-Pacific, and therefore the safety of the seas.
“It is a pleasure to note – underlined Ambassador Vattani – that the European multinational staff of Operation Agenor will embark for the next 4 months, aboard our ultra-modern multipurpose offshore vessel, a concentrate of cutting-edge technology, which shows the very high capabilities of our defense industries (in particular Fincantieri, Leonardo and Electronics), well known in South East Asia and throughout the world ”.
The Commander of Task Force 474, Rear Admiral Stefano Costantino (Commander of the Tactical Force of Operation AGENOR, assigned for the first time to Italy) has in turn promoted cooperation at the multilateral level in sectors of common interest with Singapore thanks to the involvement of ‘Defense Attaché of the Embassy in Singapore, Commander Armando Simi.
“The Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca are apparently distant bottlenecks, but they are united by crucial factors that strongly unite them – said Admiral Costantino – and highlight the importance and vulnerability of maritime communication lines, on which 90% of world goods travel today, vital for the European and national processing industries so hungry for raw materials and energy ”. Hence the importance of collaborating with other stakeholders, such as the IFC of Singapore to help ensure freedom of navigation and safe passage.
The ordeal of several seafarers from Pakistan continues on the vessels owned by Saint James Shipping. More than 20 seafarers from Pakistan remain stranded on arrested vessels, while the MT Ariana ship is now off the radar.
Pakistani media covered the story of Pakistani seafarers toward the end of last month. They reported that almost 100 Pakistani crew members are now encountering a life-and-death crisis.
Sam Tariverdi is the son of Dr. Hassan Tari Verdi. He is the CEO as well as the owner of Saint James Shipping. Seafarers accused him of putting their lives and security at risk and making them suffer even for basic needs like food, bunker, water, and spares for the vessel.
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Earlier, Saint James Shipping endangered vessels in war zones without any insurance cover. About 23 seafarers from Pakistan were stranded on a ship named Ariana in Al-Mokha (Yemen). At gunpoint, they were removed from the vessel with Naval Escort at the owners’ behest, and some local crew members were placed on the vessel. These crew members were reportedly repatriated in highly critical and risky conditions.
In a recent development, Ariana has gone missing. It cannot be seen on the maritime radar. The vessel was last observed on 23 August off Sharjah; after that, the vessel’s location could not be tracked.
The Pakistani seafarers who’ve reached Pakistan safely have appealed that it is high time for international maritime monitoring agencies to execute a formal search and rescue mission to ascertain the safety of the vessel and the crew members onboard.
They have raised a concern that in maritime affairs, typically, the owners resort to putting the vessel off the radars when they consider using the ship for illegal business purposes. Such activities include transporting sanctioned cargo, entering prohibited territories, or even evading some critical maritime regulations.
Sam Tariverdi, the CEO of Saint James Shipping, was asked to clarify the entire situation, but it yielded no results. Sam, Iranian by origin, is the passport holder of Grenada and has his residence in the UK as well. He had informed the seafarers that he would resolve their issues, but no progress had happened.
A group of Pakistani seamen who are extremely worried about their colleagues has reported that criminal indifferences and violations of Saint James Shipping and its owner/CEO Sam Tariverdi is unprecedented and persistent in the maritime sector.
Saint James Shipping owes millions of dollars to its managers, vendors, crew, and lenders. Ariana is operating without an operating license (DOC) and insurance coverage. The seamen added that the owner is jeopardizing the lives of innocent crew members by using the vessel in critical conditions without complying with International shipping regulations.
Safety of the vessels remains crucial as the owner does not release necessary funds for routine repairs and spares of the vessel, ship managers have informed. They have also said that it is unexpected that such transgressions were made for financial gains and vested interests, as done by Sam Trivedi.
They have said that it’s high time that renowned international maritime firms take note of Saint James' unlawful activities endanger seafarers’ lives. Besides the seafarers being repatriated in severe conditions; still, some Pakistani sailors are on the Saint James’ vessels.
The firm also owes a colossal amount to ship managers at GRSM, Entrust — a US-based financier, and vendors besides the unpaid wages of seafarers. It is, hence, warranted that Pakistani maritime authorities take note of the sufferings of seafarers of Pakistanis at the hands of Saint James Shipping and the CEO named Sam Tariverdi and officially approach international naval organizations to take legal action against offenders.
A man, a Chinese national, was seen last Saturday at 8 am when he completed his shift, Maritime NZ mentioned in a statement today.
He failed to report at 4 pm for duty on Saturday.
The crew members searched the vessel, and the ship got back along its track to look for signs of the missing individual in the water, Maritime NZ mentioned in a statement.
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A thorough search around the Otago coast was carried out with an Otago Rescue Helicopter and a closeby vessel.
The search is temporarily on hold as a thorough review is undertaken to assess the likely success of the additional search effort.
A cold-water survivability specialist has been engaged by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) and believes there is little possibility the person would have survived. The search assets have now been withdrawn pending the review and search assessment. The statements mentioned that their thoughts and prayers are with the near and dear ones of the missing Chinese individual.
Broadcasts continue shipping carried out in the area, requesting vessels maintain a strict lookout.
Maritime Union urges thorough investigation; in a statement published on Sunday night, Craig Harrison, the National Secretary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, mentioned that such as incident is more common than people are aware of, adding that the loss of a crew member on a bulk carrier is undoubtedly concerning.
He added that New Zealand has to step up and do more to safeguard the welfare of international crew members in their territorial waters. Harrison mentioned that he would like Maritime New Zealand to examine whether the crew members were taking adequate rest breaks and that they weren’t needed to secure cargo when underway. He said that it’s a typical practice with a few New Zealand stevedores with poor standards to have overseas seafarers lash the cargoes when a vessel is underway, rather than shore-based stevedores carrying out the work at the port.
He said the sea time the crew member had also been working needed to be examined. He added that the authorities would like to know how long the seafarer was at sea as well as on duty and have assurances that they were not kept on the vessel longer than the contracted period, as rising mental health issues have been observed among seafarers kept captive on vessels for several months and sometimes years.
Harrison mentioned that the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and Maritime Union would like to meet the crew members and discuss their welfare and what the shipping company, company, and cargo owners are doing for the crew and family members of the lost seafarer.
He urged relevant New Zealand authorities to do an investigation into this incident.
About 400,000 seafarers are working on cargo vessels all over the world. Official figures reflect that between 2015 and 2019, about 527 were reportedly killed at sea, and almost 509 went missing.
APM Terminals (APMT), a leading port operator and part of A.P. Moller – Maersk, has announced an agreement to divest its minority stake in Global Ports Investments, the top container terminal operator in Russia.
Maersk will sell its 30.75% stake in GPI to its long-standing partner Delo Group, which also ownes 30.75% of the shares in GPI.
The sale comes as Maersk has decided to cease all our operations in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, Maersk said the transaction has been done at “an arm’s length basis” and includes an ability for APMT to re-enter the partnership with Delo in the future.
“We are pleased that we have now concluded this transaction according to the plan and with our long-standing partner Delo, enabling us orderly exit from GPI in line with our decision to discontinue activities in Russia,” said Keith Svendsen, CEO of APM Terminals.
With the divestment of its shares in GPI, APMT will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets it the country.
The transfer of share ownership will take place after regulatory approvals have been obtained, Maersk said.
APM Terminals ranks as the world’s second biggest port operator with 50.4 million TEU capacity under its belt in 2021, according to industry analyst Drewry.
The American Waterways Operators reports that its Tankering & Barge Operations Subcommittee has presented AWO affiliate member ERL Inc. with the panel’s third annual safety award.
The award was given ERL for he creation and testing of its EverGreen Seal. The EverGreen Seal replaces current braided Teflon gaskets and reduces cargo vapor emissions from tank barge hatches by more than 90%, improving safety for mariners and shore tankering personnel as well as environmental sustainability.
The award was presented during AWO’s Summer Safety Committees’ meeting in Chicago by the subcommittee’s newly elected chairman, PSC Group vice president of marine & plant operations Josh Dixon, to ERL Inc. Vice President Houston, Craig Theiler.
Stephen Wilkins, CEO of ERL Inc., said, “I would like to thank the AWO Tankering and Barge Subcommittee for choosing ERL Inc. for the Third Annual Safety Award. It is an honor to be a part of AWO, which continues to improve maritime safety and environmental sustainability. We are proud of the team at ERL that develop and manufacture innovative products, like the EverGreen Seal, that reduce emissions, prevent spills, and increase tankerman and deckhand safety.”
“We were honored to have received the 2022 AWO Annual Safety Award,” said Craig Theiler, VP Houston, ERL Inc. “This accolade not only highlights ERL’s desire to partner with our customers in innovating new products, but it also demonstrates AWO’s and the entire domestic maritime industry’s commitment to improving operations in a safe and sustainable manner. We look forward to continuing our relationship with our industry partners to develop new products and innovate on existing ones in our collective effort to continuously improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of domestic maritime transportation.”
ERL Inc. vice president Todd Marshall said: “Thanks to AWO for being good stewards of our working environment through actively promoting engineered solutions for a safer world for us all. We at ERL take the safety of our mariners and the preservation of the environment very seriously and are honored to be recognized by our peers with this safety award.”
“AWO applauds ERL Inc. on this well-deserved award,” said AWO president & CEO Jennifer Carpenter. “ERL Inc. and their EverGreen Seal are a shining example of the ingenuity and innovation that are propelling the tugboat, towboat and barge industry forward into the future. Their leadership is a fantastic representation of AWO members’ commitment to mariner safety and environmental sustainability.”
Although shipping is still grappling with those short-term climate measures, IMO member nations and organizations have now turned their full attention to developing the mid-term measures necessary to progress the decarbonization of shipping.
In a recent paper submitted to IMO’s Intersessional Green House Gas Working Group (ISWG-GHG 13) and MEPC 79, the World Shipping Council (WSC) examines the current proposals, highlighting three key suggestions to support swift progress and ensure that regulations are effective in driving the transition to alternative fuels and propulsion technologies in line with global climate goals.
WSC’s John Butler: “It is not just about getting to yes, but getting to yes on something that will make a difference for the future of our planet.”
“This is the time for open-minded discussions and a shared focus around what is needed for our climate and the sustainability of global supply chains,” says John Butler, President & CEO of WSC. “We have to think practically about what the proposals before the IMO can deliver in actual carbon emission reductions and also how to get to a decision. It is not just about getting to yes, but getting to yes on something that will make a difference for the future of our planet.”
The WSC paper examines the main mid-term decarbonizationmeasures under deliberation, identifies cross-cutting issues relevant to numerous proposals, and proposes three key suggestions for consideration by IMO member nations at IMO ISWG-GHG 13 and MEPC 79.
SIX CRITICAL PATHWAYS
WSC believes that six critical pathways need to be considered to decarbonize the industry in line with global climate targets.
Global Carbon Price: A global price on carbon combined with dependable and broad-based “buy down” programs that effectively level the playing field among newer low and zero GHG ships and the tens of thousands of ships that will still be burning conventional fuels.
This will play a large role in making it possible for companies to put zero GHG ships on the water and to operate them competitively.
New Build Standards: New build standards that support the energy transition, such as requiring ships built after a certain date to be able to operate on zero GHG fuels or not allowing the construction of vessels that operate on fossil fuels alone after a certain date.
Well-to-wake Fuel Life Cycle: Transparent well-to-wake life cycle analysis of fuels, breaking out well-to-tank emissions and tank-to-wake emissions, combined with regulatory mechanisms to incentivize first-movers for use of alternative fuels that offer significant GHG reductions even if they are not available from fully renewable sources from the start.
Fuel Supply Development: Integrated development of global production and supply of zero GHG fuels through partnerships between IMO member states and energy providers, as well as regulatory provisions that allow for flexibility in the initial stages of the energy transition, given that zero GHG fuels will not be available at the same time around the globe.
A Green Corridors Program to accelerate an equitable fuel and technology transition, introducing zero GHG ships and fuels across trade lanes where the necessary shoreside energy infrastructure is first available, to learn and develop best practices as well as for the IMO member states and interested parties to focus on government-to-government initiatives and coordinated public-private investments to build the necessary production facilities and supply infrastructure;
R&D Investment: Applied R&D for shipboard and shoreside systems that allow the safe use of zero GHG fuels is necessary to put zero emission ships on the water. To avoid accidents and stranded assets, a significant increase is needed in the level of effort and investment to develop the technologies necessary to use the most promising fuels onboard transoceanic ships.
CURRENT PROPOSALS
The current proposals before IMO include a GHG levy or feebate mechanism, a GHG fuel standard, emissions trading, and a funding/reward system tied to a specific benchmark.
WSC says that they all have their strengths, but share a set of challenges that are critical to the overall viability and success of IMO’s GHG Strategy:
IMO’s goal to phase out GHG emissions from shipping will require very significant investments in the production and supply of low, near-zero, and zero GHG fuels.
Well-to-Wake Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) is critical to avoid favoring fuels that have attractive Tank-to-Wake figures, but produce high life-cycle emissions instead of GHG reductions.
Countries across the globe face very different economic circumstances and some locations – especially those that are remote and import or export small volumes – already face very high transportation costs. Any proposal needs to identify an effective structure to address these issues of equity and sustainability of island states and developing economies.
THREE SUGGESTIONS
To address these challenges and enable swift progress at IMO, WSC offers three suggestions that would significantly strengthen the IMO GHG Strategy.
Modify the Global Fuel Standard (GFS) proposal to include fewer steps and to establish dates for each step based on projected fuel and technology production timeframes for those fuels that will enable significant GHG reductions based on Well-to-Wake LCA analysis. This will encourage earlier investment in the production of low and near-zero GHG fuels, increase R&D towards more significant technology advances, and reduce the risk of the regulation stalling investments based on incremental change.
Develop an IMO Green Corridors Program as a means to introduce new fuels and technologies and as a practical and explicit vehicle for an equitable transition. Building on existing initiatives, Green Corridors can be created to connect both developed and developing economies with the introduction of appropriate ships and fuel infrastructure serving specific routes with a graduated expansion;
Consider a benchmarking approach using a life cycle assessment (LCA) based GHG intensity metric that is more directly tied to meeting GHG reduction goals, rather than a relative benchmark based on the CII.
“Our core challenge is to create the regulatory structure to drive development, production, and adoption of low and near-zero GHG fuels and technologies, coupled with the necessary investments in renewable energy production for an equitable transition. Liner shipping is investing in decarbonization, and we urge IMO member nations to come together with a focus on future generations to ensure the advancements necessary for a timely energy transition,” says Butler.
A cargo vessel carrying 15 individuals on board sank in central Indonesia’s Makassar Strait. This resulted in 11 individuals missing, per reports on Saturday.
The vessel was hit by strong waves while sailing in the waters between Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands on Monday. However, the accident was discovered by a passenger vessel, which aided the victims on Friday. The Xinhua news agency quoted Dendy Prasetyo, a senior press officer at South Kalimantan’s rescue and search office.
They conducted rescue and search operation on Saturday to look for the 11 missing people; Dendy informed the news agency.
Dendy said that four people managed to survive the accident, as they had reportedly used a lifeboat and were assisted by a ferry.
The cargo vessel carrying cement set sail from a seaport based in South Kalimantan province and was heading toward a seaport based in South Sulawesi province, per the official.
Late this evening, engineers aboard the Stena Scandica were able to restart two of the engines aboard the vessel, which had been drifting in rough seas after a truck caught fire on the vehicle deck and caused the ship to black out. The situation had become tense and by early evening the maritime authorities had begun an emergency evacuation while waiting for a tug that had been dispatched to tow the vessel. While they had been able to extinguish the fire with no injuries to passengers or crew, the 35,500 gross ton RoPax was about 14 nautical miles from Gotland, Sweden and drifting toward the shoreline of the island.
The fire was reported at mid-day while the 17-year old ferry was sailing just north of the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic. Stena confirmed that a fire had been discovered on the vehicle deck of the vessel at around 12:30 p.m. The Swedish Maritime Rescue Society said conditions at the site are “relatively difficult,” with reports of waves up to 10 feet and winds around 35 mph. There are 241 passengers aboard in addition to 58 crew.
Pictures and social media postings show that the passengers were moved to what Stena called an “allocated area,” but images showed them on the outdoor top deck in lifejackets exposed to the elements. A small amount of smoke could be seen over the side of the vessel.
The fire caused the ferry to lose power and the Swedish Coast Guard said her anchor was not working. The Stena Scandica was drifting south toward Gotland at about 2 to 3 knots.
Three sea rescue vessels from Sweden were among the first to reach the scene and continue to standby. The Maritime Administration has also had three helicopters on site prepared to assist with an evacuation. The Coast Guard has both an airplane and a rescue boat monitoring the situation as well as pilot boats from shore. The authorities reportedly also asked the ferry Visby that was in the area to divert and standby in case an evacuation was required. A cargo ship also responded to the initial distress call.
They had been preparing for an evacuation but reported after an hour and a half that the fire was extinguished by the crew using the vessel’s onboard systems. Stena is reporting that it believes the fire began in the refrigeration unit of a truck on the vehicle deck. A team of specially trained firefighters from Sweden’s Marine Incident Response Group was also airlifted onto the vessel and is working with the crew to confirm the fire is out.
Swedish authorities said after the fire was extinguished that they did not believe an evacuation would be required and they were expecting a rescue tug would reach the vessel at approximately 8:40 p.m. Stena in Latvia was advising that the ferry would return to the port of Ninashamn in Sweden early Tuesday morning.
After about 7:00 p.m. the Swedish authorities however decided that they should commence an evacuation of the passengers from the ferry, but due to the rough seas they were only able to remove them by the helicopter. Approximately 25 people were flown across to the Visby, which had continued to standby. News reports said that families with children and the elderly were being evacuated, but the operation was later suspended because of nightfall.
The Stena Scandica is now reported to be proceeding at a speed of five to six knots with the trip expected to take up to six hours depending on weather conditions. She is being accompanied by the tugboat and the coastguard on the trip to Nynashamn with media reports saying the mood aboard the ship is calm. The Visby proceeded to Visby, Sweden where she arrived around midnight.
The Stena Scandia was sailing between the Port of Norvik in Sweden and the Port of Ventspils in Latvia when the fire broke out.
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