The annual indexation (2022) for “A guide to cost standards for dredging equipment 2009” is now available. New in this year’s edition are the inclusion of sustainability factors.

The dredging sector recognises the importance of working in a sustainable way and the IADC (International Associations of Dredging Companies) promotes the industry’s vital role in the global sustainability transition and contribution to solutions for sustainability challenges.

A guide to cost standards for dredging equipment 2009

The publication “A guide to cost standards for dredging equipment 2009” offers a standard method to establish the capital and related costs of various types of dredging plant and equipment that are commonly in use within the industry. Every year, an updated index is prepared by IADC’s Indexation Cost Standards Committee and published by Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), a neutral, independent and not-for-profit body.

The guide supports stakeholders in dredging projects and provides essential information for determining tenders and cost estimates. It provides a description of the most common dredgers and dredging equipment used as well as the principles and definitions for the standards and cost standard tables. These tables represent calculations on replacement values, depreciation and interest costs as well as maintenance and repair costs for the various types of equipment.

Prepared by IADC with data exclusively collected for this purpose, the reference gives the replacement value for ex-works, yard or importer for several types of dredging equipment including trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers, boosters, jack-ups and steel pipelines. The publication is based on the experience and statistics from international dredging contractors that are members of IADC.

Sustainability factors

The introduction of a sustainability factor is applicable to the standard value of a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD). Its value can therefore be increased by a sustainability factor that considers the following:

1. If SCR (selective catalytic reduction) installations on each engine >130 kW have been installed (except on engines used solely for emergencies), and have been commissioned on the vessel;
2. If DPF (diesel particle filters) on each engine have been installed (except on engines used solely for emergencies) and have been commissioned on the vessel; and
3. If the LNG installation has been commissioned on the vessel, which can be proven by a BV class notation “dual-fuel” or equivalent.

‘We are pleased that important sustainability factors are now also published together with the annual indexation,’ says Rene Kolman, Secretary General of IADC. ‘This proves that sustainability is increasingly becoming an important part of dredging-related topics, both within the industry itself, but also among independent researchers, policy makers and regulators.’

The annual indexation and sustainability factors are published by CIRIA and can be downloaded for free from the CIRIA website and are also available on IADC’s website.

Source: https://swzmaritime.nl/news/2022/07/13/cost-standards-indexation-for-dredging-equipment-now-includes-sustainability-factors/

There have long been warnings that failure by IMO to act more aggressively on shipping decarbonization would lead more countries and regions to introduce their own measures. Already, the EU is moving to include shipping in its Emissions Trading System. Now, the discontent with IMO actions has reached the U.S. Congress in the form of a new Clean Shipping Act.

Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), who represents the Port of Long Beach, today introduced the Clean Shipping Act, legislation aimed at zeroing out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the U.S. The bill is cosponsored by Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44), who represents the Port of Los Angeles, which with the neighboring Long Beach port comprise the busiest container port complex in the Western Hemisphere.

“Since my earliest days of public service on the Long Beach City Council three decades ago, I have worked to clean up the maritime industry,” Congressman Lowenthal said. “This legislation continues this effort .”

If passed, the Clean Shipping Act would amend the Clean Air Act to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to, among other thing:

• Set carbon intensity standards for fuels used by ships. The bill sets progressively tighter carbon intensity standards for fuels used by ships consistent with a 1.5° Celsius decarbonization pathway. These standards would require lifecycle carbon dioxide-equivalent reductions of 20 percent from January 1, 2027, 45 percent from January 1, 2030, 80 percent from January 1, 2035, and 100 percent from January 1, 2040, relative to the 2024 emissions baseline. The EPA will retain regulatory discretion to ensure the continued success of the ocean freight system through this transition, while achieving maximum carbon reductions.

• Set requirements to eliminate in-port ship emissions by 2030. By January 1, 2030, all ships at-berth or at-anchor in U.S. ports would emit zero GHG emissions and zero air pollutant emissions.

“The Clean Shipping Act of 2022 is bold legislation that will make the United States a global climate leader in addressing pollution from the shipping industry and protect the health of port communities in Los Angeles and around the country,” Congresswoman Barragán said. “This is a big step forward for climate-smart ports and a clean energy future for every community. Proud to support this legislation as an original co-sponsor. Thank you to Congressman Lowenthal for your leadership and partnership to clean up the maritime industry and advance the greening of our ports.”

A backgrounder from Congressman Lowenthal’s office notes that IMO’s goal of cutting shipping emissions by at least 50 percent below 2008 levels by 2050 is not aligned with achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5-degrees Celsius in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“We no longer have the luxury of waiting to act,” Congressman Lowenthal said. “We must face the fact that we are at a tipping point in the climate crisis; we must move beyond fossil fuels, and that includes air, land and sea transportation sources. No emissions sources can go overlooked. This legislation will set clear standards and drive the investment and innovation we need to transition to a zero-carbon future. It will clean up our ports once and for all, with a straightforward nationwide policy. This bill is the right policy for the future of our planet, for the health of our communities, and ultimately for the resiliency of goods movement.”

Source: https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/environment/tougher-than-imo-bill-on-ship-emissions-introduced-in-house/

TOTE Services and Philly Shipyard yesterday celebrated the cutting of steel for the third National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), which is set for delivery to Maine Maritime Academy by the end of 2024.

The event marked another major construction milestone for the MARAD NSMV program, designed to provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art training platform for the state maritime academies in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas, and California. In addition to their training role, the five NSMVs will be available to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions in times of need.

“We’ve reached a historic milestone with the cutting of steel for this ship that will be used to train future cadets at the Maine Maritime Academy,” said TOTE Services President Jeff Dixon. “We’re grateful for the widespread, bipartisan support the NSMV program has received to help make this significant investment in the U.S. maritime industry possible.”

TOTE Services is MARAD’s Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) for the NSMV program. The innovative VCM contract structure enables the government to benefit from commercial best practices to design and construct vessels that are built by union labor in a U.S. shipyard with U.S.-made steel and U.S.-made engines.

The VCM model has allowed TOTE Services and Philly Shipyard to coordinate closely to meet critical construction milestones for MARAD’s NSMV program throughout the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, economic pressures, and other challenges.

In April 2022, TOTE Services awarded Philly Shipyard a contract to construct the fifth and final NSMV, fulfilling MARAD’s vision of recapitalizing the fleet of maritime training academies throughout the country.

“Just over two years ago, we received the initial order from TOTE Services for two NSMVs which officially ended our production gap and breathed new life into our shipyard,” said Steinar Nerbovik, President and CEO, Philly Shipyard. “Today, we proudly cut steel on a vessel destined for the docks of Maine Maritime and add a third ship to the active production lines within our yard. I want to thank everyone involved with this project to date and look forward seeing the cadets welcome their new training vessel in 2024.”

“This historic day has been years in the making and – thanks to the efforts of the Maine Congressional delegation – we’re proud to now celebrate the start of construction of the State of Maine training vessel – which will help elevate our nation’s maritime interests and readiness for global humanitarian assistance,” said Maine Maritime Academy President Jerry Paul. “We look forward to welcoming this world class, state-of-the-art vessel to its future home in Castine, Maine and its place in U.S. maritime history.”

Construction of the first two vessels is well underway with contracted delivery of NSMV I to SUNY Maritime College in 2023 and NSMV II to Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2024.

Source: https://www.marinelog.com/shipbuilding/shipyards/shipyard-news/philly-shipyard-cuts-steel-for-third-nsmv/

Report has emerged, that bulk carrier KHARIS TRINITY on Jul 7 suffered deck machinery cargo collapse in Arabian sea off western coast of India off Kannur, while en route from China to Mumbai. The ship anchored off Kannur, on Jul 8 moved to Cochin, to reload and secure cargo. On Jul 10 bulk carrier left port and anchored at Cochin outer anchorage, as of 1400 UTC Jul 11 was in the same position. Understood no cargo was lost overboard, it’s damaged but not lost.

Source: https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2022/38801/korean-bulk-carrier-deck-cargo-collapse/

The Interlake Steamship Company said its new vessel, the Mark W. Barker, departed from Sturgeon Bay, Wis. shipyard Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding last week for the first stage of underway testing.

The 639-foot-long vessel is the first new Great Lakes bulk carrier to be built in the U.S. in nearly four decades.

The builders trial marks the first time the ship has sailed under its own power. Personnel from Fincantieri and Interlake are on board for the trials.

“This is the beginning of a process that has several stages. It’s the pretest to the test so to speak,” said Mark W. Barker, president of The Interlake Steamship Company and the vessel’s namesake. “There are multiple stages where the vessel will depart and return to the shipyard so necessary adjustments can be made. This is a normal process to prepare for the U.S. Coast Guard sea trials and to ensure that the vessel is truly ready to go operational on the Lakes.”

Once in service, the new River-class, self-unloading bulk carrier will transport raw materials such as salt, iron ore, and stone to support manufacturing throughout the Great Lakes region.

(Photo: The Interlake Steamship Company) 

(Photo: The Interlake Steamship Company)

Source:https://www.marinelink.com/news/first-modern-usbuilt-laker-begins-sea-497975

Cargo ship ND 3525 with 2700 tons of limestone on board sank in Van Uc river estuary, Haiphong, Gulf of Tonkin, on Jul 11. Ship’s hold or holds were flooded by big waves brought by thunderstorm. 5 crew were rescued by Vietnamese Border Guard. The ship according to photos, is resting on bottom, remaining partially above waterline.

Source: https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2022/38809/vietnamese-coaster-sunk-thunderstorm/

Designs for what could become the world’s first ammonia-fueled tugboat received class approval overcoming the unique challenges that are associated with the cruise of ammonia. The vessel is being designed as part of a broad Japanese collation focusing on green technologies and they report that their goal is to demonstrate the tug at the port of Yokohama in 2024.

The Approval in Principle (AiP) was awarded by the Japanese classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) to NYK Line and IHI Power Systems Co. NYK is responsible for the hull design and overseeing the construction and certification of the vessel in the project. IHI developed the design for a 4-stroke engine and will build the engine for the tugboat.

“By using ammonia as a fuel for ships, it will be possible to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during voyages,” points out NYK while also highlighting design challenges for using ammonia as the vessel’s fuel. “For this AiP, NYK Line and IPS attempted a design to safely and practically install ammonia fuel-related equipment in a limited space on board by developing an ammonia fuel engine, selecting equipment, and devising the equipment layout in the design.”

The companies reported that they were able to overcome unique challenges to achieve the design for A-Tug, without changing the size of a conventional tugboat. The main design issues identified by the project when using ammonia as a fuel included the necessity to combust ammonia stably and operate the engine while increasing the usage ratio of ammonia, which is flame-retardant and has low energy density.

In addition, since the combustion of ammonia generates high levels of nitrous oxide (N2O) instead of CO2, it is necessary to control the combustion to prevent the generation of nitrous oxide. In addition, capture systems are required not to discharge N20 overboard.

Finally, the vessel also needs to have a design to prevent potential leaks of ammonia which is toxic when released in large quantities into the environment. Adequate safety measures are required in the event of a leak. Safety measures based on risk assessment are necessary to ensure the same level of safety as conventional vessels.

The project to develop the designs for A-Tug began in 2020 as part of the Green Innovation Fund project with Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).  This R&D is for the development of vessels equipped with a domestically produced ammonia-fueled engine. The engine designs were adopted in October 2021 and recently the partners reached an agreement with Yokohama as the location for the first demonstration of the tug.

The Japanese government is funding broad research into ammonia-fueled vessels and the development of the necessary systems in support of the shipping and shipbuilding industries.  In addition to projects focusing on domestically-developed engines, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Mitsubishi are involved in a project to design ammonia-fueled gas carriers which they hope to launch by 2026. Efforts are also focusing on ammonia-fueled bunker vessels while Sumitomo and Oshima Shipbuilding are working on ammonia-fueled bulkers.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/design-approval-overcomes-challenges-for-first-ammonia-fueled-tug