Wärtsilä Voyage will deliver the next generation navigational simulator for Singapore’s Centre of Excellence in Maritime Safety (CEMS) to prepare seafarers for shore-based remote management of vessels and autonomous ship operations. CEMS is a collaboration between the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) and Singapore Polytechnic, supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The next generation simulation platform will be based on the Wärtsilä NTPRO (Navi-Trainer Professional 5000) Navigational Simulator in a shore-based operational configuration.

CEMS will execute research and development in multiple skills with the support of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality. The project will focus on new modelling and simulation tools that enhance marine and navigational safety, the development of a complex port environment, as well as validation of new operational concepts, particularly with smart and autonomous ships.

“This is a strategically important partnership as CEMS and Wärtsilä Voyage share common objectives of introducing next-generation smart marine technologies safely and with a human-centric approach, both on the vessel and on the shore side. We look forward to working with CEMS and link-minded global partners to advance this important topic,” said Chris Chung, Director, Ecosystem Development, Wärtsilä Voyage.

Two of the maritime industry’s most advanced digital service providers have joined forces through the product integration of Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight and the ABS My Digital Fleet platform.

The alliance brings together data acquisition capabilities from Kongsberg Digital and ABS’ business intelligence capabilities to offer shipowners, ship managers and charterers seamless access to the industry’s most powerful analytics services. It unlocks simplified access, both on board the vessel and at shoreside, to AI-powered insights that support voyage optimisation through reduced fuel consumption, lower bunker cost, lower carbon intensity and improved charter party compliance.

ABS My Digital Fleet is claimed to be the only customisable risk management platform that seamlessly integrates data to provide real-time insights for driving sustainable operations and reducing operational risks. Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight vessel-to-cloud data infrastructure captures, aggregates, and contextualises all data derived from a vessel’s sensors and other assets, transferring it for storage in the cloud through the proprietary KONGSBERG network – ‘Kognifai Cloud’ – a specialised VPN solution. The data collected through Vessel Insight will be made accessible to the ABS My Digital Fleet platform for the development of analytics services.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), SoftBank and e5 Lab have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the use of a next-generation high-speed communication satellites offered by UK-based OneWeb to provide maritime broadband communications on vessels at sea. SoftBank and OneWeb are currently collaborating on the development of the OneWeb’s satellite communication services.

MOL, SoftBank, and e5 Lab will promote the “introduction of maritime broadband communications” and secure, safe and efficient “digitalisation of the maritime industry” by using OneWeb’s next-generation high-speed satellite communication service at sea, where communication infrastructure lags far behind what is available on land.

The three companies are planning to launch the following initiatives to introduce maritime broadband communication and digitalisation.

• Study of various use cases related to digitalisation of marine transportation (Period: October 2021 – September 2023)
• Study various use cases and effects of introductions related to the digitalisation of marine transportation, which will be realised by introducing the satellite broadband communications.
• Demonstration of satellite communication services by OneWeb (Period: April 2022 – March 2023)
• Conduct demonstrations using of OneWeb satellite communication services at sea by installing OneWeb’s satellite antennas on the Sunflower ferries, which are operated by a MOL subsidiary.

MOL, SoftBank, and e5 Lab will leverage their varied technological expertise and knowledge and foster the sustainable growth of the maritime shipping industry by using Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions such as next-generation communication satellites and stratospheric communication platforms.

Maersk Growth, the corporate venture arm of A.P. Moller – Maersk has  invested in Vertoro – a Dutch start-up focused on developing liquid lignin technology which can be used as a marine fuel. Maersk’s investment will be used to further develop and commercialise Vertoro’s patented liquid lignin technology, and it will enable Vertoro to build a demo plant, which will become operational in 2022. The output of this plant will be used to develop marine fuels in partnership with Maersk as well as other applications for the materials and chemicals markets.

The minority investment supports A.P. Moller – Maersk’s work to decarbonise marine operations. Maersk expects several fuel types to exist alongside each other in the future and has identified four potential fuel pathways to decarbonisation: biodiesel, alcohols, ammonia, and lignin-enhanced alcohols. Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers which form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants.

Maersk said lignin fuels have a promising potential when it comes to decarbonising shipping. “We consider Vertoro to be a leading start-up in the sustainable biomass-to-liquids space and we are excited to invest in the company and become part of the efforts to effectively scale up production of green fuels. Furthermore, we believe that we can offer value beyond capital through the expertise and scale of the broader Maersk organisation,” said Peter Votkjaer Jorgensen, Partner at Maersk Growth.

Norway based marine technology specialist TECO 2030 ASA has signed a supply frame agreement with the Dutch shipowner Chemgas Shipping that could lead to the delivery of fuel cell modules with a combined capacity of up to 200 megawatts.

The modules are to be installed on Chemgas Shipping’s new hydrogen-powered tugboats and transport barges which will operate on the Danube River. The fuel cells will enable these boats to sail emissions-free. Chemgas Shipping plans to install fuel cell modules from TECO 2030 on up to 120 transport barges and between 40-60 tugboats. The exact number remains to be decided, and purchase orders outlining the price and delivery time for the fuel cells will be signed for each individual ship over the next few years.

“We are thrilled that Chemgas Shipping has chosen to cooperate with TECO 2030 on this ambitious and important project, and that we have now been able to progress from a letter of intent to a supply frame agreement,” said Tore Enger, CEO of TECO 2030 ASA. “The economic potential of this framework agreement is large for TECO 2030 and may lead to revenues of up to 150 million Euros over the next three to eight years”.

The vessels the fuel cell modules are planned to be installed on, will be used to transport green hydrogen produced from solar and wind energy in Romania emissions-free along the Danube to industrial buyers in Austria and Germany as part of the Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube project.