NYK Line, Nihon Shipyard (NSY), ClassNK, and IHI Corporation signed a joint research and development agreement for the commercialization of an ammonia floating storage and regasification barge (A-FSRB).
Specifically, the parties will work on the R&D of the world’s first barge equipped with a floating storage and regasification facility for ammonia. A barge is a flat-bottomed vessel designed to carry heavy cargo mainly in inland waterways and ports. Almost all barges cannot navigate by themselves because they are not equipped with an engine; they must be towed or propelled by a tugboat.
Since ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted, it is expected to be a next-generation fuel that contributes to global warming countermeasures.
In Japan, technological development is underway for ammonia fuel mixed combustion power generation at coal-fired power plants as an innovative next-generation thermal power generation technology that contributes to the reduction of CO2 emissions.
On the other hand, when using ammonia in existing thermal power plants, there are issues such as the problem of securing land for new onshore facilities including storage tanks and regasification facilities, and the large initial investment cost.
Advantages of A-FSRB
An A-FSRB is an offshore floating facility that can receive and store ammonia that has been transported via ship as a liquid, warm and regasify ammonia according to demand, and then send it to a pipeline onshore.
An A-FSRB offers the advantages of shorter construction time and lower costs in comparison to construction of onshore storage tanks and regasification plants. In fact, the A-FSRB is expected to speed up the adoption of ammonia fuel and contribute to its wider use as a lower-environmental-impact next-generation fuel.
In August 2020, NYK Line, Japan Marine United Corporation (which has a 49% share of NSY), and ClassNK started joint R&D of an A-FSRB. However, since the demand for fuel ammonia is expected to increase further in the future, the three parties have concluded a new joint R&D agreement with IHI, an ammonia-related equipment manufacturer.
VOC capture and utilization during loading of crude oil tankers is an important contribution to decarbonisation of shipping. Vaholmen has the solution for avoiding between 60-80% of the emissions during loading operation at offshore terminals, bringing the hydrocarbons back into the loop and realising its values.
The international community is rightfully focusing on decarbonisation of shipping, however with main emphasis on propulsion and less on the significant emissions from crude oil loading operations.
Vapor from oil cargoes releases millions of tons of CO2 equivalents – through the release of volatile organic compounds (VOC) – into the atmosphere. Between 60-80 % of these emissions are generated during loading of the crude oil cargoes.
Representation Image
Norwegian authorities have set strict limitations to VOC emissions during loading of shuttle tankers at offshore oil fields since the turn of the century and efficient technology for on board treatment is developed and operated since. Most of this equipment is provided by Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.
When crude oil is loaded into VLCCs and other crude oil tankers at loading buoys or sea islands at distances from shore, the utilisation of onboard VOC capture and processing system is not economically feasible. Installing VOC capture system on loading buoys or sea islands is not very feasible as the capture and transportation of the VOC back to shore for utilization is technically challenging and very costly.
Plugging an emission leak
Vaholmen VOC Recovery AS has, in close cooperation with its partners American Bureau of Shipping, Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and Wärtsilä Gas Solutions AS, developed and patented a concept that addresses the challenges caused by offshore loading of crude oil tankers. The concept includes a VOC recovery plant installed on a dynamically positioned vessel.
The vessel – the Vaholmen Unit – will operate close to the loading tanker for capturing and processing the VOC generated on the tanker through a hose connected to the tanker’s vapour return manifold. The output from the process – the liquefied VOC– can be monetized through injection into a stream of relevant hydrocarbons like crude oil, as feedstock for powerplants, refineries or other as well as providing fuel for electrical power production on the Vaholmen Unit. The value of the captured hydrocarbons will normally exceed the costs of the operation of the Vaholmen Unit.
“As pollution is resources gone astray,” says CEO of Vaholmen VOC Recovery AS, Arve Andersson, ”the combination of two proven technologies into a new and innovative product allows capturing and utilization of values that otherwise are lost in a profitable way.”
Designing for optimal operation and utilisation of the VOC
“Ulstein has vast experience from developing and delivering ships and ship designs for more than 100 years. This ship design for Vaholmen has been developed in close cooperation with the parties involved in this project, and the design and systems onboard are configured to allow for optimal operation and utilisation of the VOC to achieve low operational cost.
Ulstein is continuously working to find ways to reduce the need for energy in operation and to find alternative energy sources. By contributing to this project, we aim to reduce emissions from operations, and this is a great motivation for us as ship designers,” says Lars Ståle Skoge, commercial director in Ulstein Design & Solutions AS.
“Wärtilä Gas Solutions is a leading provider of gas handling equipment both on ships and onshore. Since early 2000 we have delivered 15 VOC plants for shuttle tankers in the North Sea” says Hans Jakob Buvarp, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions’ General Manager Sales.
“ABS is excited to work with this elite group of companies on such an innovative project. The Vaholmen units will serve an important need in reducing emissions as the industry works to meet decarbonization and sustainability goals. We are proud to bring our decades-long experience to the table, supporting OSVs with a focus on safety and innovation, and this project is a perfect example of the future of these vessels – multi-functional, sustainable, and highly capable of adapting to new applications,” says Matt Tremblay, ABS Vice President, Global Offshore.”
On initiative from Norway and Canada, IMO is now in the process of taking up the issues related to VOC emissions from tankers through an upcoming revision of MARPOL Annex 6. Vaholmen has the solution for avoiding between 60-80 % of the emissions, bringing the hydrocarbons back into the loop and realizing its values.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has inaugurated a new multipurpose terminal, Terminal Kijing, at the Port of Pontianak, West Kalimantan on August 9 to support expansion of existing capacity, which has reached peak capacity. The new terminal has a capacity to handle 5,000 twenty-foot TEU of containerized cargo, with a throughput of 200,000 TEU, and eight million tons of general bulk and breakbulk commodities.
To develop Terminal Kijing, state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) spent around IDR2.9. trillion (US$194 million) and six years of construction, which started in 2013. Pelindo faced many obstacles and progress was stalled several times until 2016 when the central government stepped in to give the project a boost by designating it a national strategic project. This status cleared all bureaucracy.
This situation reflected the reality that a state-run port does not have full control of the port development program. The government retains a big portion of authority in the hands of the Ministry of Transport with the power to allocate budget and give endorsement. However, this policy triggers an asymmetrical business practice among state-run ports and private port operators.
By virtue of Shipping Law No. 17/2008, the port business is opened to both public and public sectors. Nonetheless, the private sector has more support from the government than state-owned port companies.
For example, private port operators do not pay dividend to the state, only income tax and concession fee. Pelindo, on the other hand, has to financially support the state. Moreover, Pelindo’s financial performance is subject to scrutiny by the Audit Board or BPK (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan), the national supreme auditing institution. The private port operators are not subject to this scrutiny.
Unlike counterparts from other countries, Indonesian state-owned port companies do not enjoy any advantages, preference or special treatment from the government. In fact, the government often hampers the growth of the state-run ports.
For example, the government’s poor handling of the development of Patimban Port in Subang, West Java. The Ministry of Transport claimed Patimban Port is complementary to the Port of Tanjung Priok, Indonesia’s busiest port, which is located not far away.
However, the facilities at both ports are similar with the same container and car terminals. When the Patimban Port was officially launched in December 2020 by Jokowi, the ministry was reportedly deviating car carriers from Tanjung Priok to Patimban. Some responded positively but many, especially big car carriers, still called at Tanjung Priok.
The Patimban Port is financed partly by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which funded IDR14.17 trillion of the IDR17.16 trillion needed for the first phase of the construction, which included the building of car, container and multipurpose quays, vehicle and box yards and other supporting facilities. JICA has a 49 percent stake in the port.
PT Pelabuhan Patimban Internasional (PPI), the port operator, handed over the operation of the car terminal to Toyota Tsusho for a two-year contract, and reportedly the contract to operate the container terminal is given to a company majority-owned by Chairul Tanjung, an Indonesian businessman and former cabinet minister. It seemed that PPI has morphed into a landlord instead, which may be in breach of the agreement it has with the Ministry of Transport.
Another similar story involved the Tanjung Carat project in South Sumatra, which was located close to the existing Boom Baru Port operated by Pelindo. Pelindo, again, has to compete with Tanjung Carat Port.
The Terminal Kijing project has shown that port development by the Ministry of Transport and state-owned companies tended to favor small facilities scattered across the archipelago. Consequently, they attracted less interest from main line operators and limited cargo flow from the hinterland.
The government should give Pelindo, the biggest national port operator, the authority and freedom it deserves to develop ports. Pelindo, whose work can trigger great impact in the country, is to be hailed for its tenacity amidst unfavorable business climate. So, next time, if Pelindo wants to develop a port, the government should give it permission to construct it adjacent to the Strait of Malacca with giant capacity and modern technology. Hopefully.
The UK’s Royal Navy is scrambling to determine the scope of the mechanical problem aboard its newest aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales after an embarrassing incident in which one of the two largest vessels of the fleet was forced to anchor off the south coast of England only hours after she received a grand sendoff on a “landmark mission.” Large crowds gathered on the holiday weekend in the UK to see the carrier off on one of her first missions as she continues to work toward full readiness, but hours later the Royal Navy issued a brief update saying she was anchoring while “investigations into an emerging mechanical issue,” were underway.
The Royal Navy issued a further update on its social media today, Monday, saying, “You might be aware of issues with HMS Prince of Wales since leaving her home port of Portsmouth on Saturday. We are in the process of moving her to a different anchorage which is better suited to allow for further inspection of the ship. Right now our focus is on the ship and our people; everyone is working hard to understand the problem and what can be done next.”
The carrier, which cost nearly $3.5 billion to build is a sister ship to HMS Queen Elizabeth, commissioned in December 2019. In trouble-plagued early operations, the carrier suffered minor flooding in May 2020 followed by a more significant fault in October 2020 that sent her back to the shipyard for major repairs. It is reported that she spent only 20 days at sea in all of 2020 but by October 2021, the Royal Navy declared that she was fully operational and would be fully ready for frontline deployment by 2023.
Serving as a command ship for NATO, HMS Prince of Wales was setting off on a nearly four-month long mission that is scheduled to take her to the United States and then the Caribbean on what the Royal Navy said is a “landmark mission to shape the future of stealth jet and drone operations.” With her task force, they declared HMS Prince of Wales is “ready to push the boundaries of uncrewed technology and the tactics used by the UK’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.”
The departure had been scheduled for Friday, but was delayed for 24 hours due to an unspecified “technical issue.” Reports are suggesting that she might be having a problem with her starboard propeller shaft. The Royal Navy has declined to comment but reports suggest that she was being moved to a more sheltered area to facilitate divers carrying out an unspecified underwater inspection.
There was great fanfare as she set off on Saturday at the head of a task force. The 65,000-ton warship is initially deploying alongside frigate HMS Richmond, tanker RFA Tideforce and an air group of helicopters and drones before F-35B stealth fighters were scheduled to join the deployment once the ship arrives in North America. Operating with the Americans, she was to be incorporating the F-35B jets along with uncrewed systems, which they said will “define Royal Navy aviation of the future.”
“Taking the HMS Prince of Wales task group across the Atlantic for the rest of this year will not only push the boundaries of UK carrier operations, but will reinforce our close working relationship with our closest ally,” said Commanding Officer, Captain Richard Hewitt during the sendoff ceremonies. “From operating the F35 Lightnings and drones to hosting the Atlantic Future Forum, none of this would be possible without the efforts of the amazing sailors on board, many of which are on their first deployment with the Royal Navy.”
There are rumors that the 932-foot-long carrier may be forced to enter dry dock for repairs. She was scheduled for the North America exercise while her sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to deploy in the Mediterranean.
Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/royal-navy-s-hms-prince-of-wales-has-mechanical-issue-after-departure
New Zealand authorities are investigating the loss of a crewmember over the side of the bulker Berge Rishiri on Saturday. The man is missing and likely deceased, and Maritime Union NZ has called for the national government to look closely at the conditions on board to find any potential factors behind the incident.
The seafarer, a Chinese national, was last seen at 0800 hours at the end of his watch on Saturday morning. He was first noticed missing when he did not show up for duty at 1600 hours later that day. The ship notified Maritime NZ, and a search was launched; however, it was suspended after about one day, given the low likelihood of survival in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean.
Maritime Union NZ National Secretary Craig Harrison called on the government to do more to protect the welfare of international seafarers. He noted that globally, more than 500 seafarers a year go missing and another 500 are killed at sea (as of 2019). In a statement, he said that he would like Maritime New Zealand to investigate whether the crew were having adequate rest breaks, and that they were not required to secure any cargo while underway.
“We would like to know how long the seafarer had been at sea and on duty and have assurances they were not kept on the vessel longer than their contracted period, as we have seen huge mental health issues with seafarers basically kept captive on vessels for months and sometimes years,” Harrison said. “These crew members are in New Zealand waters, their work is essential for New Zealand, and in our view their rights and welfare are often overlooked.”
Berge Rishiri put into port at Napier on Monday, where police planned to board her and interview members of the crew. A spokesman for Maritime NZ told Stuff.co.nz that the incident occurred outside of the nation’s territorial seas, so its jurisdiction is limited.
Berge Rishiri is a 35,000 dwt bulker built in 2017 and flagged in the Isle of Man. She has few recorded PSC deficiencies and none related to hours of rest or crew welfare.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. has conducted a trial use of marine biofuel which was supplied by pioneering marine biofuel supply company GoodFuels on Supramax bulker “ALBION BAY” with the cooperation of JFE Steel Corporation.
“K” LINE signed a deal for marine biofuel supply with GoodFuels. The vessel completed the loading operation of Hot Rolled Steel Coils at JFE Steel Corporation West Japan Works on July 24th, 2022 and started navigation to discharging port at Pakistan. The marine biofuel was delivered to the vessel at off Singapore on Aug 3rd, 2022. After leaving Singapore, the vessel conducted the trial use of the marine biofuel and safely arrived at discharging port on Aug 16th, 2022.
Marine biofuel has the potential to become an environmentally friendly alternative fuel generally. Bio-diesel will be able to reduce CO2 by about 80-90% in the well-to-wake (from fuel generation to consumption) process without changing current engine specifications. “K” LINE conducts this trial by using marine biofuel blended with bio-diesel and fossil fuel.
In addition to this trial, “K” LINE is planning same kind of trial use of marine biofuel by cape size bulker for raw material shipment of JFE Steel Corporation.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group (HHI Group) is speeding up the development of eco-friendly technologies ranging from ship fuel supply systems to auxiliary propulsion systems. With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) toughening environmental regulations in line with the global trend of carbon reduction, HHI is seeking to lead the global eco-friendly ship market by securing of eco-friendly technologies.
HHI obtained design approval of Hi-Rotor, a rotor sail of its own development, from the Korean Register (KR) on Aug. 26. A rotor sail is a wind power auxiliary propulsion device. The cylindrical structure is installed on the deck of a ship. It uses wind to generate additional propulsion, thus reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. A rotor sail helps a ship save its fuel by 6 to 8 percent compared to other ships.
HHI plans to conduct a Hi-Rotor demonstration on land in the second half of this year, and seek orders for the product.
In June, HHI Group developed a fuel supply system that can reduce LNG carriers’ fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and HHI developed Hi-eGAS, a next-generation LNG fuel supply system, and received a basic design certification on it from Norwegian and British ship classification organizations. This system recycles the heat discarded during LNG carriers’ fuel supply process. It can prune fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 1.5 percent, respectively, compared to other systems.
I’m standing at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, mesmerized by a mind-blowing scene of natural destruction. A milewide section of glacier front has fractured and is collapsing into the ocean, calving an immense iceberg.
Seracs, giant columns of ice the height of three-story houses, are being tossed around like dice. And the previously submerged portion of this immense block of glacier ice just breached the ocean – a frothing maelstrom flinging ice cubes of several tons high into the air. The resulting tsunami inundates all in its path as it radiates from the glacier’s calving front.
Fortunately, I’m watching from a clifftop a couple of miles away. But even here, I can feel the seismic shocks through the ground. Despite the spectacle, I’m keenly aware that this spells yet more unwelcome news for the world’s low-lying coastlines.
As a field glaciologist, I’ve worked on ice sheets for more than 30 years. In that time, I have witnessed some gobsmacking changes. The past few years in particular have been unnerving for the sheer rate and magnitude of change underway. My revered textbooks taught me that ice sheets respond over millennial time scales, but that’s not what we’re seeing today.
A study published Aug. 29, 2022, demonstrates – for the first time – that Greenland’s ice sheet is now so out of balance with prevailing Arctic climate that it no longer can sustain its current size. It is irreversibly committed to retreat by at least 59,000 square kilometers (22,780 square miles), an area considerably larger than Denmark, Greenland’s protectorate state.
Even if all the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming ceased today, we find that Greenland’s ice loss under current temperatures will raise global sea level by at least 10.8 inches (27.4 centimeters). That’s more than current models forecast, and it’s a highly conservative estimate. If every year were like 2012, when Greenland experienced a heat wave, that irreversible commitment to sea level rise would triple. That’s an ominous portent given that these are climate conditions we have already seen, not a hypothetical future scenario.
Our study takes a completely new approach – it is based on observations and glaciological theory rather than sophisticated numerical models. The current generation of coupled climate and ice sheet models used to forecast future sea level rise fail to capture the emerging processes that we see amplifying Greenland’s ice loss.
How Greenland got to this point
The Greenland ice sheet is a massive, frozen reservoir that resembles an inverted pudding bowl. The ice is in constant flux, flowing from the interior – where it is over 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) thick, cold and snowy – to its edges, where the ice melts or calves bergs.
In all, the ice sheet locks up enough fresh water to raise global sea level by 24 feet (7.4 meters).
Greenland’s terrestrial ice has existed for about 2.6 million years and has expanded and contracted with two dozen or so “ice age” cycles lasting 70,000 or 100,000 years, punctuated by around 10,000-year warm interglacials. Each glacial is driven by shifts in Earth’s orbit that modulate how much solar radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. These variations are then reinforced by snow reflectivity, or albedo; atmospheric greenhouse gases; and ocean circulation that redistributes that heat around the planet.
We are currently enjoying an interglacial period – the Holocene. For the past 6,000 years Greenland, like the rest of the planet, has benefited from a mild and stable climate with an ice sheet in equilibrium – until recently. Since 1990, as the atmosphere and ocean have warmed under rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions, Greenland’s mass balance has gone into the red. Ice losses due to enhanced melt, rain, ice flow and calving now far exceed the net gain from snow accumulation.
Greenland’s ice mass loss measured by NASA’s Grace satellites.
What does the future hold?
The critical questions are, how fast is Greenland losing its ice, and what does it mean for future sea level rise?
Greenland’s ice loss has been contributing about 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) per year to global sea level rise over the past decade.
This net loss is split between surface melt and dynamic processes that accelerate outlet glacier flow and are greatly exacerbated by atmospheric and oceanic warming, respectively. Though complex in its manifestation, the concept is simple: Ice sheets don’t like warm weather or baths, and the heat is on.
Meltwater lakes feed rivers that snake across the ice sheet – until they encounter a moulin. Alun Hubbard
What the future will bring is trickier to answer.
The models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict a sea level rise contribution from Greenland of around 4 inches (10 centimeters) by 2100, with a worst-case scenario of 6 inches (15 centimeters).
But that prediction is at odds with what field scientists are witnessing from the ice sheet itself.
According to our findings, Greenland will lose at least 3.3 percent of its ice, over 100 trillion metric tons. This loss is already committed – ice that must melt and calve icebergs to reestablish Greenland’s balance with prevailing climate.
We’re observing many emerging processes that the models don’t account for that increase the ice sheet’s vulnerability. For example:
– Increased rain is accelerating surface melt and ice flow.
– Large tracts of the ice surface are undergoing bio-albedo darkening, which accelerates surface melt, as well as the impact of snow melting and refreezing at the surface. These darker surfaces absorb more solar radiation, driving yet more melt.
In August 2021, rain fell at the Greenland ice sheet summit for the first time on record. Weather stations across Greenland captured rapid ice melt. European Space Agency
– Warm, subtropical-originating ocean currents are intruding into Greenland’s fjords and rapidly eroding outlet glaciers, undercutting and destabilizing their calving fronts.
– Supraglacial lakes and river networks are draining into fractures and moulins, bringing with them vast quantities of latent heat. This “cryo-hydraulic warming” within and at the base of the ice sheet softens and thaws the bed, thereby accelerating interior ice flow down to the margins.
The issue with models
Part of the problem is that the models used for forecasting are mathematical abstractions that include only processes that are fully understood, quantifiable and deemed important.
Models reduce reality to a set of equations that are solved repeatedly on banks of very fast computers. Anyone into cutting-edge engineering – including me – knows the intrinsic value of models for experimentation and testing of ideas. But they are no substitute for reality and observation. It is apparent that current model forecasts of global sea level rise underestimate its actual threat over the 21st century. Developers are making constant improvements, but it’s tricky, and there’s a dawning realization that the complex models used for long-term sea level forecasting are not fit for purpose.
Author Alun Hubbard’s science camp in the melt zone of the Greenland ice sheet. Alun Hubbard
There are also “unknown unknowns” – those processes and feedbacks that we don’t yet realize and that models can never anticipate. They can be understood only by direct observations and literally drilling into the ice.
That’s why, rather than using models, we base our study on proven glaciological theory constrained by two decades of actual measurements from weather stations, satellites and ice geophysics.
It’s not too late
It’s an understatement that the societal stakes are high, and the risk is tragically real going forward. The consequences of catastrophic coastal flooding as sea level rises are still unimaginable to the majority of the billion or so people who live in low-lying coastal zones of the planet.
Personally, I remain hopeful that we can get on track. I don’t believe we’ve passed any doom-laden tipping point that irreversibly floods the planet’s coastlines. Of what I understand of the ice sheet and the insight our new study brings, it’s not too late to act.
But fossil fuels and emissions must be curtailed now, because time is short and the water rises – faster than forecast.
Ships calling at American ports in 2018 carried almost 1601 million tons of international traded goods for a total value of $ 1.762 billion, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Because of the quantities involved, ship cargo never has a low value, even if the vessel is small and the unit price of the traded commodity modest.
A 2020 report by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) about the causes of 1801 ship accidents in Europe within the 2014-2019 timeframe indicates humans were responsible for 54% of accidents. The primary factor was noncompliance with collision prevention rules issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The U.S. National Transportation Security Board reached similar conclusions. In “Safer Seas Digest 2020,” the board examined the causes of 42 major accidents in recent years within American waters or American vessels and concluded “those who do not attend (or attend to) accident lessons most risk paying a steep price—not necessarily only a financial one.”1
Paradoxically, the increased flow of information on the bridge provided by improved monitoring technology may increase cognitive stress and lead to delayed decisions by the officers on watch. Technology itself may trigger accidents it is supposed to prevent.
In the future, by ever-increasing vessel dimensions and sea traffic to a global scale, an intelligent, autonomous ship will be able to process information flows quickly enough to react accordingly and guarantee safe delivery of valued cargoes (see Fig. 1).
Efforts to produce a fully autonomous ship of IMO degree four, in which “the operating system of the ship is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself,” are underway in Scandinavia and other neuralgic maritime areas.
The four IMO degrees of autonomy are:
Degree 1: Ship with automated processes and decision support. Seafarers are on board to operate and control shipboard systems and functions. Some operations may be automated and at times be unsupervised, but with seafarers on board ready to take control.
Degree 2: Remotely controlled ship with seafarers on board. The ship is controlled and operated from another location. Seafarers are available on board to take control and operate the shipboard systems and functions.
Degree 3: Remotely controlled ship without seafarers on board. The ship is controlled and operated from another location. There are no seafarers on board.
Degree 4: Fully autonomous ship. The operating system of the ship is able to make decisions and determine actions by itself.
Beyond radar: electro-optical ship sensors
In 2015, Rødesth and Burmeister created a modularization scheme of components for the design of autonomous vessels based on the concept of an unmanned dry bulker of approximately 50,000 tons dwt.2 IMO recommended their Formal Safety Analysis (see Fig. 2).
(Image credit: Ø. J. Rødesth and H. C. Burmeister [2])
FIGURE 2. Schematic of an autonomous ship system proposed by Rødesth and Burmeister.
Several factors limit the identification of potential collision risks by radar and automatic identification systems (AIS). Radars have a blind spot and do not register smaller wood or fiberglass craft unless they carry a reflector. They are further subject to signal clutter in traffic-intensive ports or in access waters to ports. AIS is a passive type of sensor that provides information only on targets also carrying an AIS that must be switched on (not always the case).
Rødesth and Burmeister proposed integrating information from electronics with the input of electro-optical sensors: a visual camera and a FLIR camera in the far-infrared.
The specific advantages to seafaring of each IR waveband are:
MWIR and LWIR. A bit ahead of the times, the German Navy in WWII feared the Allies could track submarines on surface at night by the IR emissions of their diesel engines. Thermal emissions of a ship cause a temperature difference with its surrounding background of sky and sea that can be readily identified in darkness by thermal sensors—no external target illumination is needed. Some masters use thermal cameras to improve night navigation. Castaways, if alive, can be identified in darkness by the temperature difference between the sea and their bodies. Small craft, sail ships, buoys, or lost containers with little or no thermal emission are hardly perceived in the midwave-infrared (MWIR), but by residual temperature difference with the waters, it can occasionally be done in the longwave-infrared (LWIR).
SWIR and NIR. Signals in shortwave-infrared (SWIR) and near-infrared (NIR) are less influenced by scatter and allow more efficient long-distance sensing in adverse weather and visibility conditions (snow, rain, fog, haze, and smoke). Smaller craft and objects with temperatures similar to the sea background are more easily detected. SWIR cameras, like those in the visible, rely on reflected light via the sun, moon, or artificial sources. Data fusion is favored by analogous imaging of the two, and some NIR sensors perform down to 500 nm with a favorable overlap that enriches images in the visible.
Almost half of recent research on algorithms for ship detection focus on IR imaging, according to a 2021 survey by Liquian Wang and colleagues of Shandong University, with 20% dealing with the combination of visible plus IR.3 Because of the reduced atmospheric absorption, the majority of the researchers (68%) use LWIR. SWIR ship detection is primarily done via satellites in space.
Multispectral sensing, with information extraction from visible, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR images, provides comprehensive target detection and discrimination the shipping community needs for autonomous vessels. An intelligent system capturing and evaluating data in different spectral bands is more error-proof. The increase of contrast leads to more sensitivity—for instance, the advantage of blending visible and IR images (see Fig. 3).
(Courtesy of Groke Technologies, Finland)
FIGURE 3. Improved night vision of port and ship with thermal blending in the visible and the IR.
The three bands IR sensor
Four distinct cameras onboard a ship are located in strategic positions, which can be a rather cumbersome solution. More input sources complicate the data fusion algorithm and the detection process, but favorable developments of IR sensor technology may help in the near future.
Quantum well photoconductors (QWIPs) and sensors based on mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe; MCT) are available and feature dual-band IR detection. But QWIPs have a low response, and the use and production of mercury cadmium photodetectors face regulatory limits and cooling requirements that currently aren’t attractive solutions on merchant vessels.
Competing with MCT, a more ecofriendly antimonide technology, T2SL, may enable more flexible solutions. Research activity based on Type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices is targeting a new generation of IR imaging instruments with multispectral response. There is a further drive to reduce the cost of systems and increase their operation temperature to be more conducive to implementation on ships.
At Northwestern University’s Center of Quantum Devices, Professor Manijeh Razeghi is pursuing development of T2SL materials with “a remarkable tuning capability from SWIR to long infrared.”4 In 2020, Razeghi presented bias-selectable, multiband photodetectors based on indium arsenide (InAs)/gallium antimonide (GaSb)/aluminum antimonide (AlSb) and InAs/InAs 1-x Sb x type‐II superlattice that features a wide spectral response in the IR at temperatures of 77 and 150 K (see Fig. 4).
(Image credit: M. Razeghi, A. Dehzangi, and J. Li, Res. Opt. (2021); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rio.2021.100054)
FIGURE 4. Bias-selectable, multiband photodetectors based on indium arsenide (InAs)/gallium antimonide (GaSb)/aluminum antimonide (AlSb) and InAs/InAs 1-x Sb x type‐II superlattice, featuring a wide spectral response in the IR at temperatures of 77 and 150 K.
The system consists of three layers grown on each other for the LWIR, MWIR, and SWIR, respectively. Activation in sequence of each absorber depends on the applied bias voltage.
IR eyes on the seas: an example
Situational awareness systems for ships are designed to support and eventually surrogate humans in the key functions of organizing object detection, identification, classification, and tracking.
Finland is a pioneer in situational awareness systems for autonomous ships. A system designed by Groke Technologies is an example of IR cameras using the sensor pack for ship detection and identification in darkness. Mitsubishi Corp. is one of the main investors in the company, and Groke has a strong presence in Japan. Groke is participating in an R&D initiative led by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., JRC Ltd., and YDK Technologies Co. Ltd. Fujitsu is expected to develop the AI segment.
The goal of this R&D project is to design a system to prevent serious maritime accidents, such as ship collisions and groundings. The project aims to meet degree one of the IMO standard of autonomous ships development.
Groke has tested two awareness systems: the AS Lite is a pilot installation working on a fare in Japan, and the AS Pro, which has been in trials since March 2021 on the Ship Polaris VG on the route from Rauma in Finland to Rostock in Germany.
Data from AIS receivers, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and onboard inertial measurement units (IMU) are fused with those of a visible and thermal camera for measuring the position of the vessel and monitoring the sea surface.
“When we started at Groke, we evaluated the different technologies and we decided to go with the combination of daylight and thermal cameras,” says Iiro Lindborg, co-founder and VP of Groke; he is the former general manager of remote and autonomous operations at Rolls-Royce. “The unique part of this solution is the so-called ‘thermal blending,’ where we combine both visible and thermal image. We get the color from the camera in the visible and the thermal signature from thermal camera, and we join them together in our user interface.”
For data fusion, “our system uses data fusion by comparing the data from multiple sources, like AIS and camera detections,” Lindborg adds. “And then, if they are defined to be information on the same target, it is fused and only one object detection is shown. For that object, we can then provide details based on all the available sources.” The sea situation can be checked in real time on a bridge and from any location on the ship via handheld devices.
Groke had to develop its own IR sensor as well. “In the AS Pro, the 180 thermal camera is possibly the first in the world with such a field of view and performance,” says Teemu Helenius, hardware development lead at Groke. The situational awareness system developed by Groke will be installed on all company vessels owned by Tsurumi Sunmarine Co., Ltd, a chemical/clean tankers operator.
In 2018, the car ferry “Falco” of Finferry was the first vessel ever to navigate completely autonomously on a voyage from Parainen to Nauno within the Finnish archipelago. Rolls-Royce designed its situational awareness system, and Konghsbergs Maritime acquired Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine in 2019.
In 2020, the world’s merchant fleet consisted of 119,999 ships.5 Sooner or later, this expanding fleet will need some form of autonomy or at least more sophisticated sea-awareness systems. Supplying this promising market with broadband IR sensors based on antimonide technologies is the future task of the photonics industry.
The new terminal has received 6 Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 7 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from ZPMC. This was the last delivery of equipment before the terminal goes live, which is expected in November 2022.
The new, fully electric equipment arrived in Abidjan on a semi-submersible vessel and is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the facility compared to a terminal running on diesel equipment. Thanks to a total investment of 262 billion CFA Francs (approx. 400 million Euro), CIT will, once completed, be equipped with 6 STS cranes, 13 RTG cranes and 36 tractors – all electric. This is fully aligned with APM Terminals’ ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and a 70% emission reduction by 2030. As the next step, the terminal is also investigating the switch to green sources of electricity to power the equipment.
Koen De Backker, Managing Director of Côte d’Ivoire Terminal, said:
“The arrival of this equipment marks an important milestone for of our second container terminal, with the progress of the development of the container fleet estimated today at 95%. Arrival and commissioning of this equipment was the last element we were waiting for before we can start the operational testing phase.”
The new terminal aims to improve logistics services in Côte d’Ivoire and the countries of the sub-region and is expected to generate 450 direct and thousands of indirect jobs. It will contribute to development of skills and to training of young Ivorians in port operations and handling of next-generation equipment.
Hien Yacouba Sié, Director General of the Port Autonome d’Abidjan, said:
“We are pleased and proud to receive the latest gantries for container handling at Côte d’Ivoire Terminal. The arrival of these handling machines marks an important step in the finalization of the construction of the 2nd container terminal of the port of Abidjan. This project renews the Ivorian government’s commitment to the development of port infrastructure in Côte d’Ivoire and the increase of trade in the sub-region.”
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In August 2021, rain fell at the Greenland ice sheet summit for the first time on record. Weather stations across Greenland captured rapid ice melt. European Space Agency
