Ports of Stockholm is investing in the environment by building onshore power connection facilities for cruise ships at two city centre quays. This environmental initiative will result in significantly lower air pollution emissions in Stockholm and the Baltic Sea.
The groundbreaking ceremony to begin building onshore power connections for cruise ships took place during the World Water Week 2022. Building the facilities at Stadsgården quay berths 167 and 160 makes Ports of Stockholm the first port in Sweden to offer cruise ships onshore power connection.
“We are now taking a huge next step towards being an international class sustainable cruise destination. Onshore power connection for cruise ships in the city centre is an important joint environmental initiative that Ports of Stockholm is part of, together with other Baltic Sea ports,” explains Joakim Larsson, City Commissioner responsible for Ports of Stockholm.
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The environmental initiative is a collaboration with other Baltic Sea ports. It will result in significantly lower emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutant particles from the cruise ships in Stockholm and the Baltic Sea area. Ports of Stockholm is working with the ports in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Helsinki to enable cruise ships and shipping companies to connect to onshore power of a common international standard in all of the different ports. This will encourage more shipping companies to make the major investments in equipment that the ships need to connect to onshore power.
“It feels really good that we will also be able to connect cruise ships to onshore power next season. This will be the first facility of its kind in Sweden, and one of only a few in Europe. The cruise passengers are very important to Stockholm financially, and generate over 1,000 jobs in the region,” says Thomas Andersson, CEO Ports of Stockholm.
The work to equip the two city centre quays with onshore power connections will be completed, respectively, in 2023 and 2024. These cruise quay-berths are two of Ports of Stockholm’s most visited. It is estimated that at least 45 percent of the cruise ship calls will be able to connect to onshore power when the facilities are in place.
The total reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be at least 6,000 tonnes each year as a result of connecting to onshore power. This environmental investment for cruise ships in Stockholm is a top priority and has been awarded grant funding from both the EU and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leap program.
Facts international cruises Stockholm
In 2019 just over 656,000 cruise passengers and an additional 240,000 crew members visited Stockholm. Collectively they spent more than EUR 57 million on hotel rooms, food, sightseeing excursions, shopping etc. In addition, the cruise shipping companies spent a total of EUR 25 million on harbour dues, pilotage dues and fairway dues in Stockholm. The cruise industry therefore contributes hugely to the Stockholm region, generating a total economic effect of almost EUR 176 million and creating around 1,100 jobs. Stockholm is a popular cruise destination and the majority of cruise passengers state that they are very satisfied with their visit.
Jeffersonville, Ind.-headquartered marine transportation company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) is expected to operate Hydrogen One, a first-of-its-kind towboat that will run on emissions-reducing methanol-to-hydrogen generator technology—without diesel propulsion.
The groundbreaking vessel is being developed by Louisiana-based Maritime Partners, the U.S.’ largest lessor of marine equipment, and will be built by Intracoastal Iron Works in Bourg, La. for launch in 2023 as the maritime industry continues to plot its course toward cleaner vessel operations.
“Our industry must be diligent and innovative to keep our standing as the most efficient mode of cargo transportation for our customer base,” ACBL’s CEO, Mike Ellis told Marine News. “We are excited to be a key player in developing a more sustainable reduced carbon footprint supply chain for our customers and all of our stakeholders through our partnership with Maritime Partners on this project.”
Hydrogen One’s propulsion system, which relies on e1 Marine’s reformer technology to essentially convert bunkered methanol into pure hydrogen on demand, will emit no nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxide (SOx) or particulate matter (PM) pollution. The hydrogen will run through fuel cells, creating electricity for the vessel’s motors, which drive dual L-drive azimuth thrusters
While pure hydrogen can be difficult to carry in quantity and get distance, methanol—which is readily available and routinely carried on U.S. inland waterways—is very similar to fueling conventional diesel, said Mike Complita, principal in charge and VP of strategic expansion at Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), the Seattle-based firm that designed the vessel.
“Methanol, in my opinion, is probably the safest alternative fuel to transfer to the vessel beyond diesel and biodiesel,” Complita said. “You bunker it from a truck or a terminal through a hose. It does not take any special permitting, unlike hydrogen and ammonia and some other alternative fuels.”
RIX Industries has been tapped to manufacture Hyrdogen One’s M18 reformers and PowerCell Sweden AB will supply the PowerCellution Marine System 200 fuel cells. The vessel will also be equipped with batteries that provide additional power when needed, both while underway and for hotel power.
Equipped with ABB’s electrical power distribution and automation technology, Hydrogen One will be able to perform at standard operational speeds for up to 550 miles before it needs to refuel. It will meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2030 goals, which target 40% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to 2008. The vessel will also meet all requirements of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Subchapter M regulations.
Once Hydrogen One is completed, ACBL will likely use the towboat to move petroleum products in and around Louisiana and Texas. Increasingly, barging customers are seeking ways to remove emissions from their supply chains.
“This project aligns with our strategy and ESG goals and initiatives,” Ellis said. “We have to find more sustainable solutions to meet our customer demands.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, today announced that it has joined the “Human Capital Management Consortium,” which was established by seven founders including Kunio Ito, Director of CFO Education and Research Center, Hitotsubashi University.
In recent years, the concept of “human capital management,” which views human resources as “capital” and enhances corporate value in the mid to long term by maximizing their value, has gained greater attention both in Japan and overseas, accompanied by disclosure details and methods of human capital information.
In Japan, for example, the ideal of one-step further disclosure of information on human capital-reporting “human resources development policies” and “policies on the development of internal environments” based on the significance of human resources strategy in the mid-to-long-term improvement of corporate value, including the ratio of female managers, wage disparity between male and female employees, and so on, as specific disclosure items in annual securities reports-has been discussed.
In order to put “human capital management” into practice and improve corporate value by disclosing its policies to stakeholders, the “Human Capital Management Consortium” will serve as a venue where participating companies can share advanced practices, foster cooperation among companies, and consider effective information disclosure.
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MOL Group sets “Human & Community -Contributing to the growth and development of people and communities-” as “Sustainability Issues (Materiality)”, aiming to achieve successful coexistence among everyone in MOL Group and in the sustainable growth and development of communities through its activities as a corporate group that respects diverse personalities and that can maximize the capabilities of every employee.
By participating in the consortium, MOL aims to achieve higher quality “human capital management” through information sharing and discussion with other participating companies, and at the same time, strives to continuously enhance its corporate value by creating new value by combining the diverse individuality and capabilities of all group employees all over the world.
MOL Group 5 Sustainability Issues
MOL Group will contribute to realizing a sustainable society by promoting responses to sustainability issues, which are identified as social issues that must be addressed as priorities through its business. We anticipate this initiative to contribute especially to the realization of “Human & Community- Contributing to the growth and development of people and communities-“.
The ship’s remains are considered the Dolphins, a beach near Argentina’s Puerto Madryn. Tree ring data taken from the Timbers of a 19th-century vessel discovered in Argentina highlight that the ship was a Whaler based in Rhode Island. It was last seen to be sailing more than 150 years back. The remains — exposed on a beach close to Puerto Madryn, a city almost 700 miles the south of Buenos Aires — seem like that of the Dolphin per research published in Dendrochronology.
Ignacio Mundo, the research’s lead author and a leading dendrochronologist associated with IANIGLA-CONICET, an Argentinian lab, mentioned that he could not confirm with 100% certainty. Still, analysis of the tree rings seems to indicate that this may be the vessel.
The vessel was first found in 2004 on the shores of Puerto Madryn, and several years later, the remains — the remnants of the vessel’s ribs and some of the hull — were first excavated. Speculations that the vessel was the Dolphin have been making rounds for a decade, but the recent research group considers that the tree ring data confirms it.
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Tree rings benefit dating events, be it volcanic eruptions Thu colonialism in North America. They are used for encoding climatologically, like with droughts, and of course, tell time, as a tree starts growing one ring for each year it has lived.
Some wood samples were collected (a nicer way of mentioning that they were removed using a chainsaw) from the wreck. Then, they were cross-referenced with the North American Drought Atlas. The atlas has tree ring samples from almost 30,000 trees dating back more than 2,000 years.
The comparison confirmed that the wreck’s ribs were made with white oak, and the hull and the wooden nails were made with black locust and yellow pine, respectively. All three types of trees grow in the eastern part of the US. The dating of wood showed that some of these trees first began growing in 1679, and the latest oaks were cut in 1849, just a year before the construction of Dolphin started.
The details appear to line up. However, there’s no smoking gun for the wreck’s identity. It was a not-so-common story for the Discovery this year of the wrecked vessel carrying the Shackleton expedition. In that case, “Endurance” is emblazoned on the stern, over a century after the ship had sunk to the Weddell Sea’s bottom.
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.
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