Maritime Safety News Archives - Page 56 of 260

Not since the ghost ships of maritime legend has a single floating vessel caused more collective dread. To the horror of many Sydneysiders, the cruise ship Coral Princess docked in Circular Quay this week with more than 100 COVID-19 positive cases on board.

According to news reports, most of the infected were crew members, with 114 in isolation on the ship. However, four passengers were also isolating after positive COVID results.

But how has the ongoing threat of COVID-19 impacted travel insurance offerings? Do insurers cover travellers impacted by outbreaks like the one being suffered aboard the Coral Princess?

According to recent research from Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) – which operates in New Zealand and Australia – 80% of Australian travellers now consider travel insurance a high priority for international travel and even 65% of Australian travellers now consider domestic travel insurance a high priority.

“With that in mind,” said Auckland-based SCTI CEO Jo McCauley (pictured above), “I’d hope that most affected passengers would have some level of travel insurance in place.”

SCTI’s domestic policy doesn’t cover cruises but their international comprehensive policy, TravelCare, does offer cruise cover. McCauley said this international travel policy also covers a cruise hit by a COVID-19 outbreak so long as the cruise is heading to a destination that has an Australian government Smartraveller travel advisory of Level 2 or below.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Level 1 indicates travellers should exercise normal safety precautions, Level 2 recommends a high degree of caution.

“Some insurers though, may not cover cruises as standard and others may ask you to pay an additional premium to include cruise cover on your policy,” said McCauley. “So it’s important for travellers to make sure they fully understand the benefits available to them before buying travel insurance and the circumstances in which they can realistically make a claim.”

She said there are “many exclusions and significant differences in COVID cover between different insurers.”

The SCTI CEO said nearly three years of the COVID-19 pandemic had caused them to significantly rethink their travel insurance offerings.

“It was something we didn’t provide cover for initially,” said McCauley. “However, as travel restrictions began to ease, we knew Australians wanted cover for COVID-19 related cancellations.”

As a result, SCTI spent “considerable time assessing different options and trying to find the right balance between price and cover to deliver the level of COVID-19 cover we have available now,” she said.

McCauley said the pandemic also put the spotlight on the fact that many Australians are not clear on what their travel insurance policy covers them for.

“Our aim is to provide simplicity,’’ she said.

“We know nobody likes reading the small print but when it comes to looking at COVID-19 cover we strongly encourage Australians to carefully read their policy to really understand the benefits available to them and the circumstances in which they could practically make a claim,” added McCauley.

Despite the ongoing risks of COVID, other SCTI research suggests the appetite for travel is very strong in Australia. The Future of Travel found that more than 90% of Australians are planning to travel within Australia or overseas during the next two years.

However, 75% of these future travellers said they are now more concerned about health and safety when travelling than before the pandemic.

“The pandemic hasn’t reduced our desire for travel but is shaping the decisions we make about it including destination considerations, accommodation choices, holiday activities and attitudes towards risk and travel insurance,” said McCauley.

“It has made us more aware now, than ever, of the things that could potentially go wrong during our travels and the importance in planning for these unforeseen circumstances as much as we can,” she added.

SCTI’s comprehensive travel insurance offering, said McCauley, includes unlimited medical expenses if the insured is diagnosed with COVID-19 while on the journey, and $2,500 up to unlimited to change travel arrangements if the insured or a “relevant person” is diagnosed with COVID-19 before you leave. To be eligible for cover, people must be fully vaccinated.

“The majority of Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s COVID-19 claims have been for cancellation due to being diagnosed while on their trip, or before they were due to leave,” she said.

However, she added, other insurers may only offer cover for cancellation if you’re hospitalised with COVID or may not offer cancellation cover.

She also said that travel insurance with SCTI doesn’t kick in if Australia experiences a general COVID lockdown or state order while travelling, or if an overseas country closes its borders and this impacts travel plans/cancellations. There are also other exclusions.

“Therefore, when booking accommodation, activities and other travel-related expenses, we would always recommend choosing options that provide flexible or penalty free cancellation or rebooking options to avoid being left out of pocket,” said McCauley.

Brisbane based Rodger Cook (pictured directly above), general manager of Global Security Services for World Travel Protection said that the pandemic has caused the travel industry generally, including the cruise sector, to adapt to COVID risks.

Cook’s firm recommends a risk-based approach to travel of all kinds.

“We help educate travellers on the risks incurred based on three main factors: the traveller’s personal risk profile, the locations they’re traveling to, and the activities being conducted. We recommend this framework for risk mitigation during any travel – both leisure or business,” he said.

Cook also stressed the importance of up-to-date and accurate information about any potential medical and security disruptors that could impact a trip.

The Australian government further eased COVID-19 border restrictions this month. Cruise ship and airline passengers no longer have to fill out a Digital Passenger Declaration or Maritime Travel Declaration when entering Australia, prove their vaccination status or seek exemptions to enter the country.

Source: https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/breaking-news/covid19-and-the-ongoing-travel-risks-of-cruise-ships-413223.aspx

We are offering COVID-19 vaccinations at the upcoming Foyle Maritime Festival, Derry/Londonderry, one of the North West’s biggest events of the year, with thousands expected to attend the hugely popular sea-faring celebration.

Located within the Derry and Strabane District Council offices on the Strand Road, right in the heart of the festival, the pop-up vaccination clinic will run from 11.00am to 5.00pm on Saturday July 23rd and will provide first dose, second dose and booster jabs of the Pfizer vaccine to all those eligible from age 5+. No booking is required, but ID must be provided and those attending must be residents in Northern Ireland.

The Western Trust’s Senior Manager for Health Improvement, Equality and Involvement, Siobhan O’Donnell, has called on all those eligible to make the most of the opportunity to come forward at the event and ensure they are fully vaccinated.

“The latest wave of pop-up vaccination clinics is about accessibility, and trying to make it as convenient as possible to get a jab. There are still a large volume of people who, for whatever reason, have not been able to attend one of the Trust vaccine hubs which we are currently operating from.

“The Foyle Maritime Festival is one of the highlight events in the North-West this year, and we are delighted to be afforded this opportunity by Derry City and Strabane District Council to bring a vaccine centre to the Festival.

“Despite the easing of restrictions, COVID-19 has not gone away as the recent high rates show. Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community, and I would remind everyone that you are not fully vaccinated unless you have received all available jabs, including a booster where appropriate, to ensure the highest level of immunity.”

Jacqueline Whoriskey, Events Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council, expressed the organisation’s support for the vaccination clinic, and how they are looking forward to including it as part of an action-packed Foyle Maritime Festival later this month.

“This will be our fifth Foyle Maritime Festival, where we welcome the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race to the city. The festival is our largest event, we will welcome hundreds of thousands of people over the five days for a mix of music, arts, markets and maritime activities as the place becomes awash with colour.

“We are delighted to welcome the Western Trust as part of the festival, as we continue our support for the Trust in the delivery of their vaccination programme.”

The Western Trust vaccination programme is currently operating from three hubs: Level 5, Tower Block, Altnagelvin Area Hospital; Key Worker Accommodation, South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen and Children’s Centre, Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex.

An extensive programme of mobile clinics in community settings, across the geographical area of the Trust, also continues into the summer months.

Source: https://westerntrust.hscni.net/pop-up-covid-vaccination-clinic-at-foyle-maritime-festival/

In 2020, the ITF, FNV Havens and Nautilus NL took the case against Marlow Cyprus, Marlow Netherlands and Expert Shipping over their refusal to adhere to the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause to court in the Netherlands. The companies signed up to the agreement in 2018 and the clause came into force two years later.

The ruling from the Rotterdam District Court means that the companies who employ seafarers on shipowners’ behalf, must ensure that cargo handling must be performed by trained local dock workers where possible, and not given to seafarers as an additional responsibility.

The decision means greater safety for seafarers and also secures jobs for dockers.

The court emphasised the importance of the proper implementation of agreements reached through social dialogue and the binding nature of such agreements. It also reaffirmed the ‘Albany exemption’ which provides that collective bargaining agreements are exempt from certain requirements of EU competition law.

“The court makes clear that the parties are bound to the terms of the agreement. Given the weight attached to social dialogue within the European Union, and in the principle statements of companies – it is of paramount importance that they follow through. That starts with employers doing what they say they will,” said ITF President and Dockers’ Section Chair, Paddy Crumlin.

“Employers like those we’ve won this important case against, have been reminded this week by the court about what it actually means to be a social partner. It means doing what you say you’ll do. It means keeping your word.”

“Seafarers, dockers and our unions have upheld our parts of the agreement, which has delivered these companies stable profits. This case is a big step forward in our campaign, but we won’t be happy until we get all charterers to respect the clause.”

“Now, it is time for these employers, particularly short sea shipping charterers, to return to true social dialogue and restore good faith with unions, this must include working with shipowners to implement the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause.”

“Our industry has important issues to tackle together, and we will continue to be part of the IBF process that has improved wages and working conditions for seafarers for almost 20 years,” said Crumlin.

ITF Dockers’ Section vice-chair Niek Stam, who is also the leader of Dutch dockers’ union FNV Havens, said the ruling was both a victory for seafarers’ safety and for dockers’ jobs.

“Those who don’t fight will never win. This is the only logical outcome of the lawsuit. Otherwise a signature would no longer be worth anything. A deal is a deal,” said Stam.

“Lashing can be extremely unsafe for seafarers, who are often untrained in port operations, such as the dangers of moving cranes. Automated terminals and supply chain pressures have further increased these dangers to ships’ crew,” he said.

ETF General Secretary Livia Spera said, “This ruling makes clear to shipowners and others that it is a legal requirement to honour the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.”

“This is the result of years of hard work from the union side and this verdict represents a victory for both seafarers and dockers. It is about the safety of our transport workers, it is about the obligation of the charterers to use the specialised workforce of dockers, and to not exploit seafarers’ safety in this way.”

Source: https://www.itfglobal.org/en/news/victory-seafarers-safety-dutch-court-sides-unions-container-lashing

INCHEON — When a button was pressed on a control tablet, the 9-meter (29-foot) Quicksilver coolly plied the waters off of Yeongjong Island with nary a helmsman at the wheel.

The boat was its own skipper.

Equipped with Avikus autonomous navigation technology, the boat left the dock at Wangsan Marina, Incheon, did a wide loop in the calm shallows of the Yellow Sea and returned to the other side of the dock and docked itself.

Avikus, subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries specializing in autonomous navigation technology, was holding a demonstration of its first fully autonomous leisure boat.

“If you mark the destination on an electronic chart, the boat automatically finds the optimal route and begins navigation accordingly,” said Lee Jun-sik, recreational boat solution team leader at Avikus. “It’s like entering a destination into Tesla’s navigation system and driving in autonomous driving mode.”

When Lee entered a route around the Wangsan Marina dock on a tablet, the optimal route immediately appeared on the screen. The screen blinked information about the route, telling passengers that the entire ride would be 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles). A passenger volunteered to press the “Start Autonomous Mode” button on the tablet, and the boat left the dock and set off.

There was no one sitting in the captain’s seat, but the boat sailed smoothly. Lee explained that the boat was equipped with six surround cameras, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and augmented reality technology.

“We’ve input more than 150,000 images into the boat’s data system,” Lee said. “This allows the boat to recognize any obstacles or other vehicles that may approach during the ride.”

Five minutes into sailing, when another boat approached the Avikus, it turned sideways to avoid collision, correcting its course. Passengers could see the modified route on the tablet in real time.

This system, called the Hyundai Intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS), was developed by Avikus in April last year. So far, six boats equipped with HiNAS have been delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries to various countries, while an additional order of 70 ships have been received this year.

The boat reached a speed of 5 knots (9.26 kilometers per hour) and sailed around the Wangsan Marina dock. Passengers could see a full 180-degree view of the boat’s path through two side screens attached at the left and right side walls in the inside of the boat. The speed of the boat could also be controlled through the tablet. Lee pressed hit a “plus” sign on the tablet, and the boat sped up to 7 knots (13 kilometers per hour).

After a full circle around Wangsan Marina that took about 20 minutes, the boat slowed down and began its way back into the dock.

“This boat has better docking skills than I do,” Lee commented, who holds a piloting license, as the boat made its final course.

“By using autonomous navigational technology in leisure boats, users can greatly reduce the time required for berthing and unberthing as well as the risk of accidents during operation,” said Lim Do-hyeong, CEO of Avikus, in a press conference afterwards. “There is no other company in the shipping industry that is developing autonomous unmanned ships like we are.”

Avikus has sold 210 Level-1 autonomous boats so far, the most of any company. Autonomous boats are divided into four levels by the International Maritime Organization depending on how autonomous they are. Level-2 boats only require human assistance in emergency situations. Level 3 allows for remote control of boats. Level 4 boats do not require human intervention.

Avikus plans to take part in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in Florida this October to showcase its Level 2 autonomous boats. Lim announced that Avikus is planning to market Level 2 autonomous boats by the first half of next year.

The captain’s seat is left empty on a leisure boat equipped with autonomous navigation technology. [AVIKUS]

Avikus and Hyundai Heavy Industries are developing technology for leisure boats because the commercial market is not big enough. Only about 500 high value-added vessels, such as LNG ships and eco-friendly carriers, are ordered every year. Even if Avikus manages to sell their autonomous navigation technology to all 500 ships, the volume is too small.

“In comparison, the market for leisure ships is much bigger and has a lot of potential,” said Lim. “There are about 10 million leisure boats worldwide. Those who own leisure boats are affluent and tend to be open to new technologies. This is a good target for us.”

Avikus was found by Hyundai Heavy Industries in December 2020 to help advance and deepen technologies and expertise related to autonomous ships.

“There is still a long way to go for the development of autonomous ships,” said Lim. “And naval officers won’t disappear even if autonomous ships are commercialized. It has been 20 years since autonomous driving technology came out, but we still have taxi drivers. It will be the same for autonomous ships.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]

All 25 crew on a motor vessel survived on Tuesday evening. The vessel burst into flames in the waters off East Java’s Paiton coast in the Probolinggo District.

Slamet Prayitno, the Adjunct Commissioner and Chief of the Water Police Unit based at Probolinggo District Police said that based on the information received, crew members managed to survive. He added that they would be taken to the Indonesian Navy post in Paiton.

The motor vessel caught raging fire close to the Paiton special terminal on the route that extends from the fishing port on Mayangan Coast to the fishing ground in Aru, Timor, and the Arafura Sea.

MV Lautan Papua Indah — Image for representation purpose only

Herman Yulianto, a spokesman associated with the Port Authority and the Probolinggo Harbormaster’s Office said that he made a distress call to other ships in the area to help out, after the fire incident was reported.

He informed that four tugboats — JKW Pelita 1, Banyak, Intan Megah 20, and Bomas Potenza — helped in putting out the flames and evacuating crew members.

The primary cause of the fire still remains unknown.

Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/all-25-crew-of-motor-vessel-lautan-papua-indah-safely-evacuated/

A joint European / Japanese research project aims to lower the energy requirements and costs for manufacturing green methanol, the future fuel of choice for Maersk and one of the leading candidates for decarbonizing deep-sea shipping.

Methanol can be synthesized from carbon dioxide and hydrogen at high temperature, then converted to methanol for use as fuel. If the carbon comes from CO2 capture and the hydrogen feedstock is produced using renewable power, the product – green methanol – is considered a net-zero fuel.

However, it takes a lot of energy to make. CO2 is a stable, unreactive molecule, and it takes a push (a catalyst and a lot of heat) to get it to react with hydrogen. In 2018, researchers at Penn State found a way to do it using a palladium-copper catalyst at a relatively cool temperature of 350-480 degrees Fahrenheit, but this is still quite hot. Maintaining that kind of temperature requires industrial scale heating, which raises energy consumption and cost of production.

Courtesy Laurelin

The Laurelin project, a four-year international research initiative, hopes to cut that cost down. Its experts hail from Belgium, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, and they are combining their efforts to survey multiple combinations of catalysts and reaction chambers in search of the best arrangement.

“Reducing the e-methanol production costs would lead to an increase in the opportunities to use it as fuel. This would directly benefits society thanks to the reduction in GHG emissions and costs, creating further jobs and wealth,” explained Professor Teruoki Tago of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The team will test out more than 100 different catalyst materials and three reactor technologies (microwave heating, magnetic induction and plasma induction). “Catalysts are the key for methanol to become the main product, minimising the production of undesired complex mixtures,” explains Adolfo Benedito Borrás, head of technical coordination for the project.

If successful, the Laurelin project’s efforts would complement the push for higher efficiency in green hydrogen production, and would help expand the availability of green methanol for shipping.

The initiative has about $4.8 million in funding from the EU and additional funding from Japan.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/joint-eu-japan-project-aims-to-reduce-cost-of-green-methanol

[Brief] State-owned Russian port operator Rosmorport has issued a commendation to a marine pilot who helped navigate a burning chemical tanker out of the Sea of Azov port of Temryuk last week.

According to Rosmorport, pilot Konstantin Dereberya was assigned to bring the Turkish chemical tanker Ahmet Telli into port at Temryuk on July 9. The vessel navigated into the port, but once within the complex, a fire started in the engine room. The blaze disabled the main engine, leaving the vessel adrift and on fire.

The Telli dropped anchor as a precautionary measure, but as the fire grew, it became clear that it would be necessary to move the vessel out of the port. The fire could not be extinguished and raised the possibility of an explosion aboard the vessel. This could potentially spread fire to nearby marine terminals.

Dereberya remained aboard the vessel and helped direct the operation to tow it to the outer anchorage, and for his efforts he has been awarded a commendation. Once the ship was safely outside the port, the fire was extinguished by first responders of Russia’s Marine Rescue Service.

The Telli’s chief engineer was injured in the blaze and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The injuries are reportedly not life-threatening.

Courtesy Russian Marine Rescue Service

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/burning-chemical-tanker-towed-out-of-port-of-temryuk

The UK MAIB has published a report on the death of a chief officer who was struck in the head by a tensioned mooring line aboard a bulker in 2021, finding that a short-handed operation and an unfamiliarity with the mooring arrangement contributed to his death.

On August 29, 2021, the bulker Teal Bay arrived at Kavkaz, Russia, to rendezvous with a transloading vessel and take on grain from small powered barges. With guidance from the local pilot, Teal Bay tied up with the geared bulker Kavkaz V on the Kavkaz’s port side. The crew had never made fast to another vessel of this size, nor had they conducted ship-to-ship loading operations in this manner before. They used a combination of three head lines, three stern lines, two bow spring lines and two stern spring lines. (Spring line naming conventions vary among maritime nations, and “stern spring line” refers here to an forward-leading spring line originating from the stern.)

The transloading operation got under way, and the crane operators aboard the Kavkaz V scooped up grain from small barges on Kavkaz’s starboard side, swung the cargo over the deck and over the port side, depositing it into Teal Bay’s holds. As the operation proceeded and her holds filled up, Teal Bay’s freeboard decreased. Over the course of the next day, her main deck level dropped to about 25 feet below the deck of the Kavkaz, and her mooring lines took on an upward lead.

At about 2220 on August 30, loading was nearly complete. The third officer aboard Kavkaz V asked Teal Bay to move ahead so that the crane operator could reach another part of Teal Bay’s hold. Teal Bay’s master decided to warp ahead, since this was a small move. He could have treated this as a full mooring operation per the SMS, but this would have meant waking up the off-watch crew to add more personnel on deck. He did not want to wake the crew, so he sent the chief mate to the stern and the third mate to the bow, each with one AB.

At about 2235, as the team on the bow slacked off their spring line, the AB on the stern spring line activated the winch to pull in and warp the ship ahead. The line was run through an open roller fairlead, and the chief mate was standing next to the fairlead near the deck edge, where he would have been able to watch and supervise the evolution. As soon as the line came under tension – with a vertical lead towards the Kavkaz’s higher main deck level – the line popped up and out of the roller fairlead and struck the chief mate in the head. He fell immediately unconscious to the deck.

The open fairlead and chief mate’s position (far left) and a diagram of the mooring arrangements (MAIB)

The open fairlead (center) and the substantial height difference between the decks of the Teal Bay and Kavkaz (MAIB)

The local maritime rescue coordination center was contacted and Teal Bay’s second officer gave the chief mate first aid, including oxygen. The victim had a pulse and was breathing, and there were no outward signs of injury.

A tug arrived to evacuate the victim at 2316, but the crew would not take him aboard before receiving permission from the port. Alternate arrangements for a helicopter were discussed but none were available. The tug ultimately took the chief mate aboard, getting under way for shore at 2350. At this point, the officer’s pulse had weakened. By the time a paramedic met the tugboat at the pier at 0045, the chief mate had no vital signs.

An autopsy determined that he had died from a brain hemmorhage resulting from blunt force trauma.

Through its investigation, MAIB determined that the crew’s decision to run the line through an open roller fairlead, combined with the vertical lead from the deck of the Teal Bay to the deck of the Kavkaz, allowed the line to pop out of the fairlead when it came under tension. The appropriate choice would have been to select a closed roller fairlead; the crew may not have known this as they were unfamiliar with this particular mooring operation. No risk assessment was conducted before the evolution, and so the opportunity to identify this hazard was lost.

The short distance of the move and the desire to complete the loading operation quickly could have motivated the master to warp ahead without making a fuller assessment of the situation. As the captain did not bring out the crew for a full mooring operation, the chief mate was operating with fewer people on hand than he usually would have, and was tasked with supervising both the aft deck and the evolution as a whole. If the full crew had turned out, the chief mate would not have been on the stern.

The extra time taken up in making medevac arrangements reduced the officer’s chances of survival, MAIB determined, though it is impossible to know whether he would have survived even with prompt care.

Among other post-casualty recommendations, the shipmanager has been advised to remove all open fairleads from its fleet and replace them with closed or universal type fairleads, which will not release a line with an upward lead.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/uk-maib-improper-mooring-arrangement-led-to-chief-mate-s-death

The Vatican is pushing for shipping lines and governments across the globe to allow seafarers to take shore leave in order to enhance their wellbeing and reduce the pressures of being aboard ships for months on end.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said that even after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the rights of seafarers continue to be violated by being denied shore leave.

In a message during Sea Sunday, Cardinal Czerny noted that although the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) requires companies to provide decent and clean accommodation, nourishing food, a safe working environment, proper hours of work and shore leave to seafarers, the significant gains made since MLC came into force in 2013 continue to be seriously undermined.

“Let us take the issue of shore leave. The ability to leave the vessel and go ashore, if only for a short time, is crucial for seafarers’ wellbeing. Most of us take for granted the freedom we have to go outside, enjoy open spaces, place our feet on firm ground or soft grass and see different people. But seafarers have no such freedom. They cannot leave the ship, and every day they walk on metal [decks] and see the same faces. The only way they can share in the freedom we enjoy is to have access to shore leave. They may only have a couple of hours but that can make all the difference,” said Cardinal Czerny.

Shipping companies and ports are facing criticism for preventing shore leave at a time when countries are opening their borders and lifting COVID-19 restrictions. At the height of the pandemic and before the vaccination campaign for seafarers began, governments and companies canceled all shore leave and seafarers were required to stay on board to avoid infections and spreading the virus. Official restrictions still exist in many ports, and even where they do not, seafarers may face pressure to stay on board in order to minimize the chance of bringing COVID back onto the ship.

The Vatican believes that although the situation is improving around the world as countries open their borders and lift restrictions, enabling people to move freely again, seafarers continue to be prohibited from going ashore.

“This is a gross injustice. Even though they are fully vaccinated, seafarers are frequently denied the free movement we enjoy,” observed Cardinal Czerny.

The push by the Vatican for seafarers to be granted shore leave comes when COVID-19 cases are rising globally. The World Health Organization sees Europe as the center of the resurgence with some countries in Asia also witnessing a spike in infections.

South Korea, for instance, has introduced anti-epidemic measures to counter the resurgence that has seen infections rate rise by 86.5 percent in a span of a week, largely due to the BA.5 variant. China is also seeing an increase in infection numbers with the financial capital Shanghai recording 69 new infections Sunday, the most since late May and up from 57 the day before.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/vatican-calls-for-access-to-shore-leave-for-seafarers-wellbeing

The world’s first fully electric and zero-emission fast ferry, classed as a high-speed craft, recently completed construction and is being delivered to its new homeport in Stavanger, Norway. After final trials, the vessel, MS Medstraum, is scheduled to begin regular commuter service in Norway as a further demonstration of the future electric ferries.

The vessel was built using a unique modular manufacturing method at the Norwegian shipyard, Fjellstrand. According to the shipyard, modularisation helped to cut both production costs and engineering costs and will contribute to making electric-powered high-speed vessels competitive in terms of both cost and the environment.

“It’s been challenging building this ship, as it’s never been done before, but we’ve learned a lot. Fast ferries require a lot of energy so we needed to make Medstraum lighter and a lot more efficient than traditional fast ferries,” said Edmund Tolo, head of research and development at Fjellstrand AS.

The Medstraum is approximately 260 gross tons. The vessel is approximately 98 feet long with a capacity up to 147 passengers and operated by a crew of three. It will sail a regular service between Stavanger, Byøyene, and Hommersåk in Norway for Kolumbus. The typical schedule is for sailings lasting between 35 and 40 minutes.

“It is revolutionary that a vessel of this size can operate at 23 knots for an entire hour by electricity alone,” said Tolo. The shipyard reports that the vessel achieved a maximum speed of 27 knots. The catamaran has two electric 550 kW motors and a 1524 kWh battery capacity with charging power of 2.3 MW.

Fjellstrand shipyard in Hardanger, Norway notes that the world’s first fully-electric ferry, Ampere, was built just seven years ago in 2015. They estimate that there are now approximately 70 emission-free ferries operating in Norway, but this is the first to be classed as a high-speed craft.

“Not only have the project partners developed and demonstrated a new and emission-free propulsion system that can maintain higher speeds than before, but we have also adopted a completely new modular design and construction methods that will revolutionize the way we build boats in the future,” said Hege Økland, CEO of Maritime CleanTech, the cluster organization that initiated and established the EU-funded TrAM-project, which resulted in Medstraum.

“We are very happy to finally get this flagship delivered,” said Mikal Dahle Project Manager at Kolumbus. The company which currently has ten conventional fast ferries, estimates the Medstraum will cut its emissions by 1,500 tons a year, despite operating on its least energy-demanding route.

The project to develop the fast ferry involved a broad coalition of companies located in Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands and also involved both the University at Strathclyde in Great Britain as well as the National Technical University in Athens. The Medstraum was classed by DNV.

The vessel cost approximately $11 million to build with 50 percent of the cost underwritten by the European Union as a demonstration project.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/world-s-first-electric-fast-ferry-is-ready-to-enter-service