Global defense and technologies partner (HII) has announced 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.

Source: https://www.maritimeeconomy.com/post-details.php?post_id=aGplbA==&post_name=&segment_name=

That’s because of something that could be called zombie ice. That’s doomed ice that, while still attached to thicker areas of ice, is no longer getting replenished by parent glaciers now receiving less snow. Without replenishment, the doomed ice is melting from climate change and will inevitably raise seas, said study co-author William Colgan, a glaciologist at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

Colgan said:

“It’s dead ice. It’s just going to melt and disappear from the ice sheet. This ice has been consigned to the ocean, regardless of what climate (emissions) scenario we take now.”

Study lead author Jason Box, a glaciologist at the Greenland survey, said it is “more like one foot in the grave.”

The unavoidable ten inches in the study is more than twice as much sea level rise as scientists had previously expected from the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet. The study in the journal Nature Climate Change said it could reach as much as 30 inches (78 centimeters). By contrast, last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report projected a range of 2 to 5 inches (6 to 13 centimeters) for likely sea level rise from Greenland ice melt by the year 2100.

What scientists did for the study was look at the ice in balance. In perfect equilibrium, snowfall in the mountains in Greenland flows down and recharges and thickens the sides of glaciers, balancing out what’s melting on the edges. But in the last few decades there’s less replenishment and more melting, creating imbalance. Study authors looked at the ratio of what’s being added to what’s being lost and calculated that 3.3% of Greenland’s total ice volume will melt no matter what happens with the world cutting carbon pollution, Colgan said.

One of the study authors said that more than 120 trillion tons (110 trillion metric tons) of ice is already doomed to melt from the warming ice sheet’s inability to replenish its edges. When that ice melts into water, if it were concentrated only over the United States, it would be 37 feet (11 meters) deep.

The figures are a global average for sea level rise, but some places further away from Greenland would get more and places closer, like the U.S. East Coast, would get less. Although 10.6 inches may not sound like much, this would be over and above high tides and storms, making them even worse, so this much sea level rise “will have huge societal, economic and environmental impacts,” said Ellyn Enderlin, a geosciences professor at Boise State University, who wasn’t part of the study.

This is the first time scientists calculated a minimum ice loss—and accompanying sea level rise—for Greenland, one of Earth’s two massive ice sheets that are slowly shrinking because of climate change from burning coal, oil and natural gas. Scientists used an accepted technique for calculating minimum committed ice loss, the one used on mountain glaciers for the entire giant frozen island.

The team doesn’t know how long it will take for all the doomed ice to melt, but making an educated guess, it would probably be by the end of this century, or at least by 2150.

Source: https://seawanderer.org/zombie-ice-from-greenland-will-raise-sea-level-10-inches

Data usage on commercial maritime vessels has jumped more than threefold since 2019, according to new communications analysis that underlines the shipping industry’s reliance on digital connectivity to enhance operating efficiency and safeguard crew welfare during a period of unprecedented disruption to seaborne trade.

The internal study undertaken by Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications services, which connects more vessels than any other provider, reveals that maritime demand has continued to rise as commercial shipping recovers following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic – with data usage among Inmarsat maritime customers rising almost 70 percent in the 12 months to mid-2022.

Analysis of data usage by leading vessel operators shows year-on-year demand for data was highest among container shipping companies, more than doubling (108%) in June 2022 compared to June 2021, while use of connectivity increased by 70% among oil tanker operators and by 47% on bulk carriers over the same period.

Ben Palmer, President of Inmarsat Maritime, said: “Maritime data usage is a leading indicator of economic activity and international trade in the shipping industry, which carries 90% of all global trade. More and more shipping companies are upgrading their satellite communications services and adopting new technologies for applications including route-planning, ship-to-shore broadband data transfers and to maximise fuel efficiency. They are also ensuring that their crews remain connected with family and friends while at sea, the mandatory requirement now recognised by the Maritime Labour Convention. Our study shows data usage is on the rise among all commercial vessel types.

“The success we’re seeing in our order book is due to our understanding of the commercial maritime industry and the needs of ship owners and operators. This appreciation led directly to the development of our unique service proposition for shipping companies, which combines two wholly-owned and operated global networks in our market leading Fleet Xpress service. Our strategy is to continue to innovate at pace, supporting the rapid digitalisation the industry is experiencing, which in turn is being driven by industry-wide targets for decarbonisation and the imperative of ensuring crew welfare.”

Inmarsat’s maritime data usage study comes amid a record order book for the company’s Fleet Xpress satellite communications systems. The Fleet Xpress installed base rose by 17% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to Q2 2021, to almost 13,000 ships, with an order book of over 1,000 vessels.

Earlier this year, Inmarsat completed technical proof of concept tests for the terrestrial 5G mesh component of its new ORCHESTRA network. The tests took place in Singapore, one of the world’s busiest container ports. ORCHESTRA provides innovative spectrum-management and connectivity technology to deliver additional data capacity at key shipping hot spots via a unique, shore-based terrestrial networks. The 5G mesh network has the potential to integrate seamlessly with Inmarsat’s geostationary satellite constellations and a highly targeted low earth orbit (LEO) fleet to deliver the lowest average latency and fastest average speeds with unique resilience of any planned global service.

“As data demand continues to grow in the shipping industry, our ORCHESTRA testing in Singapore has shown in real-world cases how to enhance ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship connectivity, including distances, range, throughput and link availability,” continued Palmer. “We are innovating with this technology because connectivity demand in key ports and shipping lanes is only going to increase further and lead to growing congestion.”

The figures on data usage and maritime orders coincide with continued planning by Inmarsat for its combination with Viasat of the US, which also serves a range of customers in the maritime sector. On completion of the transaction, the enlarged company will drive greater customer choice in B2B satellite communications serving maritime customers, as well as aviation, government and enterprise users, by providing a strong multi-layered, global architecture, and uniquely in the space sector, the ability to bring together multi-orbital satellite and terrestrial 4G and 5G assets.
Source: Inmarsat