The future of sustainable maritime activity will be under the spotlight at Nor-Shipping 2022, taking place 10-13 January.

With increasing industry and regulatory focus on decarbonisation, emerging energy solutions and accessing the ocean’s resources responsibly, the dedicated Blue Economy Hall is shaping up to be a crucial arena. In particular, new technology, players and partnerships are key to progress, ensuring the hall’s Start-up Lounge is “a must visit”. The Mayflower, a unique autonomous, solar- and AI-powered research vessel, is the latest name to confirm participation.

Critical mission

“The Blue Economy Hall centres on showcasing and enabling innovations, organisations and talent capable of unlocking sustainable ocean success,” explains Nor-Shipping Director Sidsel Norvik. “It will draw players together from all spectrums of ocean business, and far beyond, to approach the challenges and opportunities we face in new ways, with new solutions. The Mayflower is the epitome of that ambition.”

The vessel is the brainchild of marine research non-profit ProMare, with support from IBM and a global consortium of partners. It spends long durations at sea (Spring 2022 will see it crossing the Atlantic) gathering critical ocean data while making its own decisions regarding route and mission optimisation. The Mayflower will join other exhibitors, including Miros Mocean, Fresh Water Norway, Young Yeon, and others in the Start-up Lounge, while also contributing to the Blue Talks programme of knowledge sharing presentations, debates and discussions.

Unleashing opportunity

“We have concentrated on building an immersive, innovative and dynamic space, where exhibitors and delegates can freely interact and make discoveries capable of changing their perspectives on our shared ocean space,” comments Norvik. “If we work in silos, we are sometimes blinkered to developments capable of unleashing both potential and profit. The Blue Economy Hall, and Nor-Shipping as a whole, is focused on bringing the industry together, face-to-face, to share insights and unlock opportunity. Set against the context of the last 18 months, allied to the challenge ahead of us, we believe that mission is more important than ever.”

Industry support

The Blue Economy Hall will feature exhibitors including NCE Maritime Cleantech, Sterling PBES, Ahlsell, eSEA, ENOVA and many more. It is supported by Marine insurer Gard and international law firm Wikborg Rein as Main Blue Economy Partners, with Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP), CAVOTEC and Telenor Maritime taking the roles of Partners. The Blue Talks, moderated by respected maritime expert Craig Eason, have been developed in consultation with a committee including segment leaders such as Equinor, Maersk, ABN AMRO, World Ocean Council, NTNU and Aker Offshore Wind, amongst others.

In addition to the Blue Economy Hall, Nor-Shipping 2022 will feature five further themed halls across a total of 22,500 sq ft of space at the Norges Varemesse facility in Lillestrøm, Norway. Almost 900 exhibiting companies are expected, from around 50 countries, showcasing their capabilities to an anticipated 50,000 participants. A range of activities, including the After Work at Aker Brygge networking and socialising programme, will take place around Oslo. The theme of Nor-Shipping 2022 is taking positive #ACTION within the ocean space.

For further details please see www.nor-shipping.com

Tug operator Kotug International has been awarded a long-term contract by Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon (Perenco) to provide towage support for their operations off Port Gentil, Gabon. The contract includes the chartering, operation and manning of three vessels, two of which are Kotug’s first-ever Rotor Tugs, the RT Magic and RT Spirit.

After successfully operating in several countries, the two tugs will set sail to Gabon to support Perenco Oil & Gas in optimising their marine spread thereby providing cost savings  simultaneously with redundancy in operations. In addition, Kotugs’ SD Honour will be temporarily deployed to support the operations in Gabon, before being replaced by a third Rotortug.

Kotug has established Kotug Gabon to align with the local community and provide knowledge and work experience for local people. The operation will start in later this month.

Kotug President and CEO Ard-Jan Kooren said, ”We are happy to be awarded this contract and look forward to supporting Perenco with our proven in-house developed Rotor Tug technology and our extensive experience in the Oil & Gas industry. The Rotor Tug technology was developed under the inspiring guidance of my father, Ton Kooren. It is with great pride that our first two Rotortugs are now being deployed for this prestigious operation in Gabon.”

As one of the first in the oil tanker industry, Euronav has recently tested a B30 biofuel on its 2006-built Suezmax, Statia. In a statement on its website, the company said the trial with the biofuel blend from energy supplier BP was successful.

Euronav is committed to accelerate the transition to lower carbon alternatives by testing the operational readiness and emission reduction potential of biofuels in a context of strategic partnerships.

Euronav bunkered 1,502 MT of a B30 biodiesel blend manufactured by BP on Statia. The biofuel is composed of 30% advanced carbon neutral biofuel mixed with 70% of a conventional VLSFO bunker fuel. Consumption of this fuel results in a decrease of lifecycle CO2 emissions. The blend was supplied in the port of Rotterdam, where there is a government incentive in place to allow for cost effective blending of biofuels into marine fuels (Incentive Scheme for Climate-Friendly Shipping).

Statia tested approximately 360 MT of the B30 biofuel blend during a two week trial in September while the vessel was in commercial operations on its way to Angola. The trial of the blend was successful and showed no significant differences in operations or any malfunctions that could lead to a breakdown. As a result, and after departure, the remaining B30 biofuel blend on the vessel is now the only fuel in operational use, both for the main engine and the auxiliary engines, on its way to Brazil.

Rustin Edwards, Head of Fuel Oil at Euronav said, “It is important for us to understand how to handle biofuels on our vessels, to test their longevity and stability, and how they behave when used in engines, generators and alike. The migration into using biofuels is a critical step on the road to reducing emissions, as the use of biofuel will reduce our overall impact on the environment with little additional investment. The use of biofuel blends will be a critical bridge to decarbonisation until the development and commercial availability of zero emissions fuels. As we continue this journey toward decarbonization, we will keep on adjusting our operations and our fuel procurement strategies as needed.”

According to the statement, sustainable maritime fuels and zero emission technologies are the key driver to support industry’s transition to zero emission shipping. The decarbonisation voyage Euronav, and the broader maritime industry, has embarked on will bring the industry into alignment with the Paris Agreement. Euronav looks to invest in initiatives on a variety of areas and platforms. Going forward, these will help shape the industry and will support the achievement of these achievable goals.

Konstantinos Papoutsis, Sustainability Manager at Euronav added, “As one of the key contributors to the establishment of the Poseidon Principles and the Sea Cargo Charter, and as signatory of the’ Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonization’ statement from the Global Maritime Forum, Euronav places a particular emphasis on building ambitious yet seamless decarbonisation trajectories. We are and will continue to be committed to embracing innovative fuel technologies towards achieving our ambition of zero emission shipping operations. Our strategic partnerships play a pivotal role in taking up such impactful market opportunities.”

Norway-based bulker operator Golden Ocean Group has announced the sale of two older Panamax vessels, Golden Opportunity and Golden Endurer, and an agreement to construct four Kamsarmax vessels.

The aggregate sale price of the vessels is $37.2 million, and the Company expects to record gain from sale of approximately $4.9 million in Q3 2021 and $5.0 million in Q4 2021 and receive net cash proceed of approximately $22.2 million in Q4. The net cash proceeds will fund close to half of the estimated required equity for the Kamsarmax vessels. The balance will be funded through cash on hand and long-term debt financing to be secured closer to delivery.

The four Kamsarmax vessels are dual-fuel 85,000dwt ECO-type and are being constructed at DSIC in Dalian where the Company currently has three other vessels under construction with the same design, giving added benefits in terms of building supervision and subsequently operating efficiency for sister vessels. The vessels will be delivered to the Company in the third and fourth quarter of 2023.

Ulrik Andersen, CEO of Golden Ocean Management AS commented, “Golden Ocean is committed to maintaining one of the largest and most modern fleet in the industry through our fleet renewal and expansion program and positioning the Company to generate significant cash flows in what we believe is a fundamentally strong dry bulk market outlook. These transactions not only expand our fleet size, but they also continue to improve the fuel efficiency of the fleet, ensuring best-in-class performance at a reduced carbon footprint. Importantly, the newbuild vessels are dual-fuel ready, which provides the Company with the flexibility to evaluate alternatives as the visibility of future emissions-related regulations and technology improves. Golden Ocean will be offsetting a portion of the cost to construct the new vessels with the net proceeds of the sale of two older less efficient vessels done at attractive prices. The Company will continue to assess opportunities to divest older tonnage at currently attractive levels. Golden Ocean will thereby be able to continue to improve its fleet composition without impacting its dividend capacity”.

As part of the first phase of its CO2 transport and storage infrastructure development, Northern Lights, the JV between Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, is building two dedicated CO2 carriers, each with a cargo size of 7,500m3 and a length of 130m. The ships will be built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. (DSIC) and will be ready for delivery by mid-2024.

The vessels are designed to transport liquid CO2 with purpose-built pressurised cargo tanks. The primary fuel for the ships will be LNG, keeping emissions low. Other innovative technologies, such as a wind assisted propulsion system and air lubrication will be installed to reduce carbon intensity by around 34% compared to conventional systems. The ships are the first of its kind and will potentially set a new standard for CO2 shipping on coastal trading routes.

“The award of these contracts is a significant milestone for Northern Lights. The use of ships will enable the development of a flexible and efficient European infrastructure network for transport of CO2 captured by our industrial customers, keeping costs as low as possible to help decarbonisation scale up. I am also very pleased that these ships will be built to keep their own emissions to a minimum through use of innovative technology”, said Børre Jacobsen, Managing Director of Northern Lights JV.

The ships will be registered in Norway (NOR) and operated by Northern Lights under Norwegian flag and classed by DNV.

“As a shipyard since 1898, DSIC has always been innovative and designed and delivered many record-breaking projects. Responding to the low emission strategy, DSIC worked together with Northern Lights for the development of the selected technical solutions over the last two years. The cooperation and efforts by both parties has been materialized in the award of these contracts today. Taking this opportunity, DSIC will devote ourselves to delivery of these pioneering projects in a safe, high-quality and timely manner and assist Northern Lights on the ambitions of low carbon emission,” said Riqiang Hu, Marketing Director of DSIC.

Once in operation, the ships will load captured and liquefied CO2 from European emitters and transport it to the Northern Lights receiving terminal in Øygarden in western Norway. The CO2 volumes will be accurately measured and reported throughout the value chain. These will be independently verified, and the necessary documentation provided to regulators and customs officials.

Through its cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, Northern Lights is enabling the first European full-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) value chain, paving the way for cost reductions and scale-up of similar, future projects.