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The world’s first vessel, Neo Orbis, will be powered by a solid form of hydrogen — said to be much easier and safer to store than liquid or compressed forms of H2 — and is expected to get into operational trials at the Port of Amsterdam in June 2023.

The vessel — designed to sail in Amsterdam’s canals and the channel between the North Sea and the city — will be running on hydrogen produced from a salt named sodium borohydride (NaBH4).

This solid chemical is mixed with pure water and a stabilizer to produce a liquid fuel (non-combustible) with the dissolved form of NaBH4. It then reacts with a catalyst to produce hydrogen used to operate a fuel cell.

The advantage of the hydrogen carrier is its high-energy density. It can be bunkered safely in several places. The vessel will pave the way for scaling up this technology for short-sea and inland shipping.

Per Galaxy FCT, a Malaysian firm that works on NaBH4 solutions, the stable solid can be stored at ambient pressures and temperatures and release 126kg of hydrogen per cubic meter — compared to 71kgH2/m3 for liquid hydrogen that needs to be stored below minus 253°C or 42kgH2/m3 for compressed hydrogen.

A long-term goal of the project is to form a closed-loop system wherein heat produced by the catalytic process can warm the Neo Orbis’ interior. At the same time, the water gets recycled, and the residual material or sodium metaborate (NaBO2) is transformed into new sodium borohydride fuel when in contact with water and any reducing agent like magnesium.

References: Recharge, Energy Central

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography today announced that naval architecture and marine engineering company Glosten has been selected as the naval architect for the university’s new California coastal research vessel. The new vessel will feature a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system.

Selected after participating in the university’s request for proposal process, Glosten will provide the preliminary design, contract design and detailed design for the research vessel to be operated by Scripps Oceanography.

“This vessel will be the first of its kind, and the selection of the naval architect is a major milestone for Scripps,” said Bruce Appelgate, associate director and head of ship operations at Scripps Oceanography. “Fundamentally, our ships have to be reliable and capable in order to support the innovative research our scientists conduct at sea. On top of that, the ship we envision needs to demonstrate that zero-emission power systems work effectively under demanding real-world conditions. It’s the job of the naval architect to provide the necessary engineering, design, and integration skills needed for this project to succeed on every level.”

California legislators last summer allocated $35 million toward the design and construction of this vessel, which will serve as a platform for education and research dedicated to understanding the California coast and climate change impacts to the coastal ecosystem.

“I am proud to see Scripps Institution of Oceanography arrive at the critical milestone of selecting a naval architect for this one-of-a-kind hydrogen-hybrid research vessel,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins. “Scripps and California continue to set the global standard for developing innovative solutions to address our most pressing environmental challenges. This vessel will play a critical role in supporting policy decisions to protect our state’s precious coastal environment from climate change impacts, while demonstrating hydrogen’s critical role in California’s carbon-free future.”

As a student-centered, research-focused public university, seagoing experiences are a cornerstone of educational programs at UC San Diego. This new vessel will continue the university’s educational mission to train the next generation of scientists, leaders and policymakers. It is envisioned that the vessel will carry up to 45 students and teachers to sea on day trips, improving the university’s capacity for experiential learning at sea. The new vessel will replace research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul, which has served thousands of University of California students in its 42 years of service but is nearing completion of its service life.

“Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s hydrogen-hybrid coastal research vessel is a significant demonstration of California’s commitment to fighting climate change, decarbonizing our blue economy, and improving air quality for port-adjacent disadvantaged communities,” said Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB). “The selection of a naval architect is an important step in bringing this innovative project to reality.”

This new vessel will feature an innovative hybrid propulsion system that integrates hydrogen fuel cells alongside a conventional diesel-electric power plant, enabling zero-emission operations, in line with the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative, which targets carbon neutrality by 2025. The design is scaled so the ship will be able to operate 75% of its missions entirely using a non-fossil fuel—hydrogen—with only pure water and electricity as reaction products. For longer missions, extra power will be provided by clean-running modern diesel generators.

The proposed 125-foot vessel will be equipped with instruments and sensing systems, including acoustic Doppler current profilers, seafloor mapping systems, midwater fishery imaging systems, biological and geological sampling systems, and support for airborne drone operations. These capabilities, along with state-of-the-art laboratories, will enable multidisciplinary research, advancing our understanding of the physical and biological processes active in California’s coastal oceans. This new vessel will be dedicated to California research missions, with the capability to study issues vital to the California economy such as the health of marine fisheries, harmful algal blooms, severe El Niño storms, atmospheric rivers, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and oxygen depletion zones.

Scripps Oceanography has worked with Glosten previously, initially more than 60 years ago on the design of Research Platform Floating Instrument Platform known as FLIP. Glosten was also involved in the midlife refit of Roger Revelle, a $60 million renovation that advanced the scientific capability and service life of Scripps’s largest ship.

The anticipated schedule for design and construction includes one year to complete the basic design. Following U.S. Coast Guard approval of the design, the university will select the shipyard where the design will be constructed. Construction and detail design will likely take an additional three years.

When completed, it will join the fleet of vessels managed by Scripps including the Navy-owned research vessels Sally Ride and Roger Revelle, which conduct global oceanographic research, and the Bob and Betty Beyster, a nearshore scientific workboat. All research vessels are stationed and maintained at the university’s Nimitz Marine Facility in Point Loma.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/glosten-tapped-design-scripps-new-498454

Deltamarin has been selected as the designer of a new Finnish archipelago connecting vessel which will start operating in summer season 2023. Finferries – Suomen Lauttaliikenne has recently signed a shipbuilding contract with Oy HL-metal Ab, that will build the vessel at their premises in Pargas, Finland.

Deltamarin carried out the concept design of the vessel for Finferries during the tender period, and the further work for the project includes the complete basic design and major parts of the detail design. The vessel will be 30.8 meters long and 7.8 meters wide with a carrying capacity of 25 tonnes and the maximum number of passengers is 99. The vessel will start operation May 1st, 2023, and serves islands north of Nagu in Turku archipelago.

Esa Jokioinen, Director of Sales at Deltamarin: “We are very happy to continue our long-term collaboration with Finferries and look forward to working with HL-Metal on this project. This contract is particularly important for us as it showcases our capabilities in the smaller ferries and workboats segment.”

Mats Rosin, CEO of Finferries: ”We are glad that Deltamarin had the flexibility to provide us the design capacity for this project at a short notice. We have been satisfied with the quality of Deltamarin’s work in the concept design phase and are pleased to continue the successful cooperation on these next stages of basic and detail design.”

Markus Flinckman, CEO of HL-Metal: “We are proud that we as a local company has got the opportunity to build this connecting vessel, which will serve the archipelago and its people. We see this as a strong confirmation that we have succeeded in developing our business and our know-how, so that we can act as a valued partner in the service and newbuilding market for smaller ferries and workboats.”

Source; https://www.seanews.co.uk/maritime-events/deltamarin-creates-an-island-to-island-vessel-for-finferries/

Claims that maritime traffic in the Suez Canal has fallen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been rejected by the Egyptian government, which says the key trading link is setting new records.

The government’s media center said that it had contacted the Suez Canal Authority, which described the claims on social media as rumors.
Navigation movement in the canal during February 2022 reached a new high in terms of ship transit rates and net tonnages, the authority said.

“A total of 1,713 ships crossed from both directions, with a net tonnage of 100.1 million tons, compared with the transit of 1,532 ships during February last year, with a total net tonnage of 97.6 million tons,” the authority said.

It said that flexible marketing and pricing policies have encouraged new shipping lines to use the canal.

According to the government media center, the Suez Canal achieved record profits in 2021, with revenue totalling $6.3 billion, despite the effects of the pandemic on the global economy.

Performance rates in February this year are the highest for the month in the history of the canal, with revenue rising by 15.1 percent to $545.5 million, not including navigation services. This compares with $474.1 million for the same month last year.

Transit rates of various types of ships also rose compared with the same month last year, with bulk vessel numbers increasing by 29 percent, container ships by 11.8 percent and car carriers by 22.2 percent.
Source: Arab News

Seaway 7 is pleased to announce that it has taken delivery of a new semisubmersible heavy transport vessel. The company entered into a bareboat contract with United Faith for its new build vessel MV Xin Qun 3, renamed Seaway Swan.

Seaway Swan is a 50,000 Te DWT Heavy Transport Vessel (HTV) with an open stern and large deck free from obstructions.

This addition to Seaway 7’s world-class HTV fleet will further extend the company’s capacity to load larger and longer cargoes such as XXL monopiles, and modules that would typically need to be skidded on and off the vessel over the stern. The Seaway Swan is suitable for float-over operation projects, feeder duties alongside installation vessels, and offshore (subsea) construction support, due to its Dynamic Positioning (DP2) capabilities.

The vessel has been built by the reputable Qingdao Beihai shipyard, part of the CSSC group, with whom Seaway 7 have long-standing relations. Successful sea trials were completed at the beginning of April and all systems, functions, and capabilities are reported to be working well. Its maiden voyage will commence later this summer when Seaway Swan will transport four large Ship-to-Ship cranes from their pick-up point in Qingdao, China to Alexandria, Egypt for discharge in September.

The vessel is registered in Norway and carries the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) flag.

Seaway 7 now operates six HTVs, as well as two heavy lift vessels, three cable vessels, and currently has two new build next-generation offshore wind installation vessels under construction.

Reference: Seaway 7

Dutch officials are investigating an explosion aboard a river cruise ship docked in Amsterdam as a likely malfunction of the vessel’s battery power system. The newly launched Viking Gymir, which was introduced by Viking for river cruises on the Rhine in 2022, features a new hybrid propulsion system that was developed in place of solely diesel propulsion on Viking’s other Longships.

According to reports from the Amsterdam fire brigade, they were summoned to the vessel Monday, July 25 around 6:30 p.m. after reports of an explosion in the engine room followed by a small fire. Pictures posted on social media show the fire teams venting the ship. Testing is reportedly ongoing to determine what if any substances or toxins might have been released.

The river cruise ship was preparing to depart from Amsterdam when the explosion occurred. Reports indicate that were approximately 200 passengers aboard. At the time of the explosion, however, passengers had gathered in the lounge for a briefing from staff. They were quickly evacuated to the pier with no reports of injuries. Approximately nine crew members however were treated by the medical personnel for smoke inhalation.

Passengers reported that Viking moved them to an alternate ship for dinner. Later they were taken to a nearby hotel. Fire crews remained at the ship venting it and testing the air quality before the crew was permitted to reboard. Viking now reports that the ship is operational but it is unclear when it would resume sailing.

The 443-foot long river cruise ship was built by Neptun Werft and delivered to Viking in 2021 as the last of a 65-ship class of riverboats Viking calls Longboats. The class of ships was first introduced in 2010 and became the basis of Viking river cruise operations in Europe.

The Viking Gymir and her sister ship Viking Egdir were part of the final five ships of the class to be built and they were outfitted with a new hybrid propulsion system. According to Neptun Werft, in the past, a total of five engines for power generation were installed on the ships.

The newest ships instead are outfitted with three diesel engines combined with a battery pack. The battery solution, Green Orca 1050, provided by EST-Floattech provides a reported 745.5 kWh of capacity. The batteries are being used in place of auxiliary engines and can also provide the energy required during peak loads. The engines, according to Neptun Werft can be run in the optimal range with the use of the battery so that they consume less fuel and produce fewer exhaust gases.

According to EST-Floattech, its energy storage system has a raft of integrated safety features. “Its unique active balancing and passive safety system is applied at the module and string level. Heat is dissipated by a simple off-the-shelf aircon unit.” Their website says the battery racks are a favorable option as they can easily be installed in a modular fashion.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/river-cruise-ship-evacuated-after-possible-battery-explosion