Seably, the global online marketplace for maritime bespoke training is proud to welcome the Peter Döhle Group fleets and their crew to the Seably marketplace.

Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG is one of the world’s largest shipping companies headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, with numerous offices, subsidiaries, and partner companies located worldwide. The Group provides tailor-made solutions for the whole shipping industry covering a wide range of services including financial and technical support, as well as chartering, sale and purchase, insurance and crew management. With this agreement, the Group confirms it will engage 130 of its fleet vessels as part of their maritime training and development. Over 5,500 Peter Döhle seafarers will now access the latest quality maritime eLearning and content available on the Seably marketplace.

The decision to confirm Seably for maritime training for the Peter Döhle fleets followed a detailed process of in-depth research, trials and due diligence. This included the marketplace technology, the quality of the content, its eLearning components and the benefits of the online digital platform underpinning the marketplace.

Rainer Starke, Training Manager, Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG spoke about the process. He said, “Before deciding on Seably, we had a series of different providers and learning platforms. Our goal was to establish a solution which is easy to implement and offers a wide variety of training. We embarked on a thorough market research exercise, where we looked at possible solutions for our fleets. When we came across Seably, we were attracted to its unique approach. So, we asked a number of our captains to trial it “under cover”. They logged in as normal users and provided us with very good positive feedback.”

Mr Holger Egener, Head of HR at Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG added,  “The other winning factor was the system itself. The cloud-based solution – which does not need installation of any additional software – is fully aligned to our security protocols. With Seably, crew can access the marketplace from anywhere, on their own devices, at sea or on shore. That means that if we need to reach out to our seafarers to bring training options to their attention, they can immediately access them and download them on to their devices. Nowadays every seafarer has a smartphone, so we are working with systems and devices that are familiar and easily accessible. Wrap this all up in a solution that is delivered by specialists who are there to respond to our requests, who are available to answer all our questions and who also made it easy for us to conclude – then you can see why we believe that Seably is the right solution for us.”

Through this arrangement, Peter Döhle seafarers have access to both their bespoke company content as well free and full access to the dedicated and exclusive content, tools and learning plans, all available on the Seably marketplace.

Andrea Lodolo, CEO of the Swedish-owned Seably platform, warmly welcomed the Peter Döhle Group on the Seably marketplace, “I am delighted to welcome the Peter Döhle fleets and seafarers to Seably. We are immensely proud that a large and prestigious organisation such as the Peter Döhle Group has chosen Seably as its eLearning partner. As a premier destination for seafarers, superyachts and shipping companies globally, at Seably they will access new immersive technologies and dedicated content in addition to professional, well-being and mental health support.”

Source: https://www.seanews.co.uk/people/peter-dohle-group-steers-fleets-towards-seably-maritime-training-marketplace/

Thirty women from maritime administrations across the globe have completed the first ever Leadership Accelerator Programme (LEAP) run by Maritime SheEO, designed to equip women with leadership skills and the confidence to progress in their careers. Following the success of the first iteration, IMO has committed to sponsoring another group of future women leaders in the second half of this year.

The programme, which ran over eight-weeks, was announced in November 2020 and launched on International Women’s Day in March 2022. It was part of the IMO’s Women in Maritime programme and run in collaboration with the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA International). The participants were a mix of candidates from the eight IMO-established Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAs) and WISTA International.

A virtual graduation ceremony for participants was held on 30 June 2022.

IMO’s Head of Africa and manager of the Women in Maritime programme, William Azuh says, “The Maritime SheEO programme is focused on building competence, which is one of the most important factors that organisations consider when choosing leaders. Programmes like these are very important to build an individual’s confidence as they go into leadership and the confidence of the sector in appointing leaders from historically marginalised communities. We look forward to supporting the next edition of the Maritime SheEO programme and will be releasing details of the programme in due course.”

Professional development

The LEAP blended-learning course, which includes self-paced learning as well as small group coaching, is designed to enhance personal development of leadership skills through modules on building professional networks, strategic thinking, persuasive communication and more. Despite challenging schedules, course statistics show that participants completed and submitted 90% of compulsory coursework on time. Sixty per cent (1,800) of the 3,000 optional self-learning modules have already been accessed by participants.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Sanjam Gupta, Founder, Maritime SheEO said, “It has a long journey to get to this point of the Maritime SheEO leadership accelerator programme and the graduating class’ success is a testament to their hard work. All the women on this course were putting in the work in addition to their full-time jobs and many of them continued with the programme despite being ill with COVID. I am very proud of their work and everyone running this programme is invested in their success as they are the future leaders of the maritime industry.”

Despina Theodosiou, President, WISTA International added, “It has been highlighted during the years that the path a woman must take to advance to top positions is more difficult than it may be for men. But that shouldn’t be the case. Leaders in any profession and of any gender should be able to direct, encourage, and inspire others. I think the most important about this course is that it gives women equal opportunity [as that granted to men] and the means to succeed.”

Tangible success

The women participating in the course have varying degrees of maritime work experience, with careers that range from just a few months to over two decades. The networking opportunities created within the course have benefitted attendees and many of the graduates of the course have already reported career progression because of the training and support they received.

Zahra Al Lawati from Oman said, “I can use the programme and contents in my actual work and could actually experience the benefits. One of the important things I learned from the programme was the power of the ask. I asked for a promotion and have been granted that.”

Priscilla Koufie from Ghana said, “Joining LEAP and listening to other women and their success stories has been the most resounding wake up call. The self-paced courses have helped me in my day-to-day activities in my office and have led me to talk to my boss about taking up new ventures.”

Kenyan graduate Virginia Muindi said, “The programme triggered in me the growth mindset. I took the step to approach our general manager for an office position and it has worked out for me.”

Source: https://www.seanews.co.uk/maritime-events/imo-honors-future-female-maritime-leaders/

Climate science and the global shipping industry collide in an ice-poor Arctic. The shipping season could start 3 days earlier and extend 4 more days per decade in the Arctic in a world that exceeds 1.5°C of warming, according to new projections from eos.org

Controversy over shipping lanes in the Arctic Ocean is intensifying in light of recent climate science projections of melting sea ice. By mid-century, ice-free routes in international waters once covered by summer sea ice may appear for the first time in recent history, according to new research. A more accessible Arctic could influence the timing, sustainability and legal status of international shipping.

Diverting ships from their original routes, often from the Panama or Suez canals, could reduce transit time and distance for many international voyages. And a small subset of shipping routes could significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions if they are diverted through the Arctic.

“The unfortunate reality is that the ice is already retreating, these routes are opening up, and we need to start thinking critically about the legal, environmental and geopolitical implications.”

The extent of sea ice can even influence the scope of international law: currently, article 234 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gives coastal countries regulatory power over areas that are covered by ice during most of the year. Though opinions differ, some have said shrinking sea ice could limit countries’ claims on the Arctic Ocean.

“There is no scenario in which melting ice in the Arctic is good news,” said climatologist Amanda Lynch of Brown University. “But the unfortunate reality is that the ice is already retreating, these routes are opening up, and we need to start thinking critically about the legal, environmental and geopolitical implications.”

The extent of Arctic melting depends on how warm the world gets. Scientists have warned that heating the Earth much beyond 1.5°C will have disastrous and deadly consequences.

Changing seas

Supply chain disruptions from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have highlighted the delicate flow of global goods.

For some, a warming Arctic presents an opportunity for trade: Channeling ships through the Arctic Northern Sea Route is 30% to 50% shorter than taking the Suez Canal, according to a review by the international shipping from 2021. Travel time could be reduced by more than 2 weeks, depending on the speed of the ship.

The deviations “will have a low impact on global emissions.”

However, those looking for a climate-friendly reason to ship to the Arctic may be disappointed.

Zhaojun Wang of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, who conducted research on Arctic shipping while a doctoral student at the University of Delaware, found that diverting a small subset of global shipping reduced its emissions by an average of 24%. , conserving about 264 metric tons. of fuel each.

But those trips make up only a small fraction of sea travel: only 20 of more than 500,000 international commercial trips save money and time by taking the Arctic route. These deviations “will have little impact on global emissions,” Wang said. He published the results in the journal Maritime Policy and Management last year.

According to new results from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the reduction of the ice could affect the digital footprint of the Arctic law. Sea ice is preferentially retreating from the eastern Arctic, near Russia.

“Decreasing sea ice means that the state of Russia will not be able to make the same level of claims, at least not legally, across the waters,” said Charles Norchi, director of ocean and coastal law at the University’s School of Sciences. University of Maine. Law, who participated in the new study. “What we have is the law and geopolitical relationships really driven by the science of climate change.”

But Arild Moe, a research professor at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway and a co-author of the 2021 analysis of the Northern Sea Route, said Russia can maintain control of the traffic even when the sea ice disappears. “I don’t see a reduction in regulatory friction.”

Thin ice

There are many kinds of ships that could take advantage of ice-free waters in the future: warships, cruise ships, container ships, science ships, and transport ships to offshore drilling rigs.

These ships would have to face myriad challenges in an increasingly ice-free Arctic. One of the most prominent is the fact that the ice in the Arctic will vary dramatically from year to year. “Regardless of which climate change scenario path we are on, interannual variability remained very high for a long period,” said Lynch, who led the latest PNAS study.

“The diversification of trade routes, especially considering new routes that cannot be blocked, because they are not channels, gives the global shipping infrastructure much more resilience.”

Although 83 of more than 500,000 voyages were shorter and 45 saved sailing time in Wang’s sustainability analysis, only 20 were economically viable. “We definitely think this is a surprising result, because people always talk about the Arctic as having great potential for shipping.”

The complications don’t end there: it’s hard to get satellite navigation coverage in the Arctic, ice is difficult to forecast, emergency operations are challenging, and shipping has several restrictions under the Polar Code, which limits the size of vehicles allowed. Wang has also been concerned about the effects of invasive species on the fragile Arctic environment.

“Even if there were some carriers that preferred trans-Arctic shipping, others might not,” Moe said. “Risk assessments and insurance are key here.”

But Norchi pointed to the potential benefits of diversifying shipping.

“The diversification of trade routes, especially considering new routes that cannot be blocked, because they are not channels, gives the global shipping infrastructure much more resilience,” Norchi said.

Source: https://fullavantenews.com/arctic-shipping-routes-feeling-hot/

Critics say the decision is likely to reverberate beyond Europe’s borders and hamper its efforts to lead global climate negotiations, as Europe considers gas (LNG) and nuclear energy “green”.

In a landmark vote for Europe’s climate and energy policies, the European Parliament on Wednesday backed labeling some gas and nuclear power projects “green,” allowing them to access hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans and including state subsidies.

The decision added pressure to the European Union on the scale of a global debate on how and how quickly major industrialized economies can wean off their heavy reliance on fossil fuels, and immediately proved controversial, drawing boos from opponents inside and outside. of the parliamentary building in Strasbourg, France.

Critics said it would secure and prolong Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels, while supporters of the move, including in the European Commission, the EU. The executive arm that drafted it said it was part of a pragmatic approach to transitioning to renewable energy, especially as Europe seeks to stop importing Russian fuel following the invasion of Ukraine.

The move had been in the works even before Russia’s tanks crossed the border, but it gained urgency when the European Union responded to the invasion by banning Russian energy sources, including most coal and oil. Russian gas, on which Europe remains heavily dependent, has been left untouched.

The Russian invasion presented European countries with an urgent choice: get gas from anywhere other than Russia, or double down on renewable sources like wind and solar.

Wednesday’s vote signaled Europe’s intention to prolong its dependence on gas, whose main component is methane, which accelerates global warming.

The choice could undermine a competing European imperative to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by 2030. E3G, an energy research group, said it was “at odds with the EU’s general direction. is taking.”

The amendment that Parliament backed on Wednesday was part of a broader EU policy. effort to give banks and other organizations tools to assess which projects deserve loans and funds on the basis of being environmentally friendly.

The policy, known as “taxonomy,” is aimed at stopping “greenwashing,” the widespread practice of mislabeling energy projects as environmentally friendly, and could determine where hundreds of billions of dollars in investment will flow. in the coming decades.

But critics of the proposal argue that classifying gas and nuclear projects as sustainable is in itself “greenwashing” and runs counter to European efforts to cut carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and reach the carbon neutrality by 2050, while increasing the risks of nuclear power. accidents

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, called Wednesday’s decision hypocrisy.

“This will delay a real sustainable transition that is desperately needed and will deepen our dependence on Russian fuels. The hypocrisy is conspicuous, but unfortunately not surprising,” she wrote on Twitter after the vote.

The classification of gas and nuclear energy as “green” was controversial even beyond environmental circles, with its opponents in the European Parliament spread across the political spectrum, including from the right.

“Billions of euros in ‘green’ funding are now at risk of being diverted into polluting energy sources that are far from harmless and temporary, at the expense of energy efficiency and renewables,” said the European Environment Office, a pan-European environmental lobby group. in a statement shortly after the vote, calling it an “institutional greenwashing act.”

But the move ultimately succeeded with strong backing from Germany and France, Europe’s two biggest economies, and will help both sustain their energy policies and industries.

In the aftermath of the devastating Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, Germany moved away from nuclear power altogether and committed to switching to renewable energy sources. But it has remained heavily dependent on Russian gas as a “bridge” and has resorted to using coal, especially during deficits.

France, by contrast, gets 70 percent of its power from aging nuclear plants, which have been plagued by problems and closures in recent years. It recently announced a plan budgeted at 51.7 billion euros (more than $53 billion) to build up to 14 next-generation reactors by 2035.

While nuclear power generation does not directly produce carbon emissions, the specter of nuclear accidents has left many wary on a continent still traumatized by the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.

The European Commission has said that it knows that gas and nuclear power are not perfectly aligned with environmental goals and carry risks, but that it still sees them as important in Europe’s transition from its current energy mix to a carbon-neutral future that is will build primarily around renewables It calls gas a “low emission” fuel, which is only accurate compared to coal, which is highly polluting, but not compared to wind and solar.

“This vote is an important recognition of our pragmatic and down-to-earth approach to assisting many member states on their transition path to climate neutrality,” the commission said in a statement shortly after the vote.

“Climate neutrality is our objective and legal obligation. We are committed to using all available tools to move away from carbon-intensive energy sources,” he added.

These goals, and the means to achieve them in the coming decades, are key to Europe’s efforts to lead the world on climate policy. But Europe’s decision to classify gas and nuclear power as “green” is likely to have wide repercussions and could also undermine European efforts to convince other countries, such as China, to control their own emissions, analysts said.

The new classification of the gas is likely to make it much more difficult to meet a climate goal championed at the latest international climate negotiations: reducing methane.

Methane is more powerful in its ability to warm the planet than carbon dioxide emissions, although it breaks down earlier in the atmosphere. Over 20 years, it can generate 80 times more heat than the same amount of carbon dioxide.

In short, reducing methane emissions would slow warming more quickly, which is the argument the European Union itself used when it joined the United States last November in announcing a global commitment to cut methane emissions by 30 percent. by 2030.

Leading non-governmental organisations, including the WWF and Greenpeace, said they planned to litigate against the EU. gas and nuclear labelling, and European lawmakers are also expected to sue the European Commission over its handling of the policy.

But aside from a divergence from their environmental goals, Wednesday’s move also constituted a strategic mistake in dealing with Russia, other critics said.

So far E.U. Nations have banned Russian coal and most will phase out even the import of Russian oil in response to the Ukraine invasion, but they remain especially dependent on Russian gas for electricity and heating.

Russia has used its gas exports to Europe as leverage to exert pressure on the European Union. The bloc is trying to get gas from other sources, including Africa, the Middle East and the United States, but is far from banning Russian imports because it needs them too much.

By doubling down on longer-term gas investments, the European Union virtually secures higher longer-term global demand for the fuel, even if it doesn’t buy it from Russia itself. That will mean Russia can continue to sell its gas to other countries at high prices, perpetuating a vital revenue stream.

Some Ukrainian experts and lawmakers criticized the decision.

“Vladimir Putin is rubbing his hands with joy today,” Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian deputy, said in emailed comments. “Europe has just given you a great gift by classifying gas and nuclear as sustainable. A gift that will funnel billions into their pockets and further increase their war chest.”

Source: TheNytimes.com

Since Thursday, Russia began transporting grain from the occupied territory of Ukraine, with a ship loaded with 7,000 tons of grain from the occupied port of Berdyansk in Ukraine.

Kyiv has for weeks accused Russia and its allies of stealing its grain from southern Ukraine, contributing to global food shortages caused by the blockade of grain exports at Ukrainian ports.

Until now, the shipments have been transported by land, Kyiv says.

The grain transport set sail last Thursday from the port of Berdyansk marks the opening of a sea route for exporting wheat from Ukraine to third countries.

“After several months of delay, the first merchant ship has left the commercial port of Berdyansk, 7,000 tons of grain is on its way to friendly countries,” Evgeny Balitsky, head of the pro-Russian administration, said on Telegram.

Russian Black Sea ships “are ensuring the safety” of the voyage, he said, adding that the Ukrainian port had been demined.

Balitsky did not specify the final destination of the cargo.

Berdyansk is a port city on the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov, in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine.

The southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have been largely under Russian control since the first weeks of Moscow’s military intervention, and are now being forcibly integrated into Russia’s economy.

‘Goodwill gesture’

Pro-Moscow officials in the two Ukrainian regions claim they have “nationalized” state infrastructure and property there and buy their crops from local farmers.

A representative of the pro-Moscow authorities, Vladimir Rogov, told the state news agency RIA Novosti that 1.5 million tons of grain can be exported through Berdyansk.

Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine, a country known as the breadbasket of Europe, has pushed up food prices and caused shortages, as Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports prevents the shipment of millions of tons of grain.

The crisis has sparked fears of famine in vulnerable countries that rely heavily on Ukrainian exports, particularly in Africa.

Russia insists it will allow Ukraine to ship its grain if Kyiv forces sea lanes to be de-mined.

Kyiv fears that Russia will launch an attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea coast.

Talks involving Turkey and the UN have so far yielded no results.

On Thursday, Russia said it had withdrawn its forces from Ukraine’s Snake Island, calling it a “goodwill gesture” to allow Kyiv to export agricultural products.

Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, has said it faces difficulties exporting its own grain due to unprecedented Western sanctions over its intervention in Ukraine.

Pro-Moscow officials in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions hope that the occupied territories will be able to hold a referendum and join Russia in the near future.

On Wednesday, pro-Russian authorities said they were launching bus and train services between Moscow-annexed Crimea and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The pro-Moscow administration of the Kherson region also announced the opening of a branch of the Russian Pension Fund responsible for paying state pensions.

Putin has said Russian forces will not occupy Ukraine, reports TheMoscowTimes.com

The Kremlin claims that local residents will choose their own future, suggesting that they are in favor of a referendum on the status of the occupied territory of Ukraine.

Source: AFP / theMoscowtimes.com

On June 22, China’s CSSC Group formally handed over the EVER ALOT megamax container ship to Evergreen. The new ship is the first of nine conventionally powered units that sister shipyards from Hudong-Zhonghua and Jiangnan (Group) Shipyard will build for the Taiwanese aircraft carrier, according to Alphaliner.

With a nominal container inflow of 24,004 teu, the new EVER ALOT and her next siblings will be the largest container ships in the world and the first to break the “magic” barrier of 24,000 teu, reports Alphaliner.

They represent what Alphaliner calls the ‘megamax-24’ or ‘MGX-24’ type: a vessel that is 24 container bays long (approx. 400m), 24 container bays wide (approx 61.50m) and carries around 24,000 teu when fully loaded.

Just twelve teu in nominal consumption terms has put the new CSSC series ahead of the current record holders, which also trade for Evergreen. From July 2021 to May 2022, the carrier received six 23,992 teu megamaxes from Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea, informs Alphaliner.

Furthermore, the new EVER ALOT and her sisters are 399.90 m long and 61.50 m (24 rows) wide. The scrubber-equipped boats are powered by a WinGD-11X92B main engine that is rated at 58,600 kW and drives the boats at speeds up to 22.5 knots. Six generator sets provide up to 22,100 kW of electricity for up to 1,500 reefer containers. Ships of this class were designed in-house by Hudong-Zhonghua.

Alphaliner reports thet Evergreen’s new vessel will begin its career on the airline’s Asia-Europe ‘CEM’ service, also known as the OCEAN Alliance loop ‘NEU6’. This Evergreen-operated loop currently deploys Evergreen’s six ‘A-class’ Samsung-built 23,992-teu ships, as well as seven Imabari-built ‘G-class’ 20,000+ teu ‘megamax-23’ class ships. The latter will be successively replaced by China’s largest ships.

Lastly, Evergreen initially ordered the first four megamaxes from CSSC in September 2019 and increased the tally to six ships in June 2021 and nine in March 2022.

Source: Alphaliner & CSSC

Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) continues to support ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliance) initiative in Defence manufacturing with certification of Caisson Gate and Intermediate Gate, recently delivered by M/s Hindustan Construction Company to enable the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier dry dock at Mumbai.

These dock gates were built under design approval and certification of Indian Register of Shipping. Amongst the largest caisson gates, weighing more than 1700 Tons, the gate is fitted with advanced features like electrically actuated valves and high-performance seals for zero water leakage. The other Intermediate gate for the Aircraft Dry Dock is unique lambda shape modular construction designed to fold “flat”.

These gates can be installed at either of the three different locations of the dry dock to provide options for multiple docking. Both the dock gates have been handed over to the Naval dock authorities after successful performance trials.

KK Dhawan, Chief Surveyor and Head Defence IRS said, ‘Indian Register of Shipping is committed to provide design verification and certification services for not only Defence vessels but also for marine infrastructure facilities in line with the ‘Make in India’ call given by the honourable Prime Minister of India’.

Source: https://www.seanews.co.uk/maritime-events/indian-register-of-shipping-sponsors-atmanirbhar-project-in-defence-manufacturing/

The high profits and exogenous factors show a reduction in ship recycling in maritime transport; According to a report by VesselsValue on behalf of ShippingWatch, current good finances in containers, dry bulk and tankers have seen shipping companies scrap far fewer older vessels this year, ShippingWatch.com reports.

The scrapping or recycling of older ships at the end of their useful life is down markedly in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, according to a report by VesselsValue on behalf of ShippingWatch.

While 323 ships were sent to scrap in the first half of 2021, only 187 end-of-life ships were sold for scrap in places like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan during the first six months of this year.

Likewise, according to Marine Link, as we enter the monsoon season: a prevailing seasonal wind in South and Southeast Asia, blowing from the southwest between May and September and bringing rain (the wet monsoon), or from the northeast between October and April (the dry monsoon), traditionally quieter, it is not surprising to see recycling markets remain inert and quiet, with rains and floods hampering production in Chattogram yards and Alang workers returning to their jobs. places of origin as recycling activities come to a seasonal end. This may have inadvertently triggered the recent leveling off of subcontinent steel plate prices as steel production declines and plate prices stabilise/firm in reaction, according to GMS.

Although vessel prices are down by $100/LDT in subcontinent markets and around $250/MT in Turkey, global recycling sentiments remain depressed given the rate of recent declines. As such, it is not surprising to see minimal activity emanating from all markets at present, including the respective waterfronts showing the shoddy state of affairs at present.

Nonetheless, global currency depreciation remains the main source of distress for the ship recycling communities, as the worrying declines in steel prices seem to have leveled off comparatively and we expect them to start showing some positive signs in the coming years. weeks.

While there is still a degree of caution and a prevailing nervousness to buy in local markets, there are unlikely to be any firm/serious deals for both homeowners and cash buyers, and this is part of the reason why even the few fringe candidates have started to dry up of late.

Of course, all freight shipping sectors remain in a positive position, as most owners are now dry-docking their aging ships, rather than disposing of their older tonnage, even as recycling rates are in historically firm numbers.

For week 27, 2022, the GMS demo pricing/rankings for the week are as follows:

Source: ShippingWatch – Marine Link

Port Skills and Safety (PSS) has welcomed the start of Maritime Safety Week 2022, which seeks to promote the sharing of knowledge and experience of maritime safety across the UK.

PSS have launched the week with a high-level members’ conference on 5 July at Victory Services Club London. Maritime Minister Robert Courts addressed the conference on the importance of working in partnership to ensure the highest standards in maritime safety.
Maritime Minister, Robert Courts, said: “Ports and their workers play a crucial role in our country and are essential for delivery of the goods, food and fuel we need.

“As we work together to create the sector of the future, safety remains at the core of everything we do, as well as ensuring that workers have the skills necessary to fuel the sector’s growth and achieve our Maritime 2050 objectives.”
PSS Chief Executive Debbie Cavaldoro said: ‘I am delighted that Maritime Safety Week has become a significant event in the maritime calendar. A safe maritime industry is vital to the stability of our nation, the success of our ports and the security of port jobs.

‘At PSS we firmly believe that safety and skills go hand in hand, the safest ports are those with the best trained and supported workers. I look forward to welcoming our members to our conference, to continue this conversation and build towards making ports safer.’

Representatives from across the maritime sector will attend the PSS member conference, providing an excellent opportunity for networking and engagement.

Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents Andrew Moll provided an update on UK MAIB, alongside presentations on future skills and safety statistics

Executives from the chemical, steel, energy, and rail sectors are also speaking to port representatives, giving information on improvements those sectors have made to their safety records and how those improvements might be incorporated into the ports sector.
Source: Port Skills & Safety

Blackouts represent a major accident hazard for the passenger ship industry. A new DNV guidance paper “Managing the risks of blackouts” addresses the prevention and mitigation of blackouts to support safe operations as the sector finds its feet again following the pandemic.

In certain situations, the resulting loss of propulsion after a blackout may pose an imminent threat to the ship, its passengers and its crew. DNV’s new guidance addresses the main causes and risks associated with blackouts, while offering recommendations and best practices to prevent and mitigate them. The paper outlines a five-step structured approach that makes the information and practical tools easy to access and implement.

‘While in recent years there has been a lot of focus on sustainability factors, we urge owners and operators to not lose sight of the safety element. By increasing awareness of what to do to avoid and manage blackouts, we want to contribute positively to building trust,’ says Hans Eivind Siewers, Segment Director Passenger Ships & Ro-Ro at DNV.

Three actions to prevent blackouts on cruise vessels

If Siewers were to select just three core blackout prevention principles, they would be, firstly, that operators set clear safety performance goals while managing all conflicting objectives (such as decarbonisation and cost pressures) that might hinder those goals.

Secondly, they should assess the fault tolerance in power management and propulsion systems to ensure safe and reliable operations. This can be done by conducting Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA).

Thirdly, efforts should be made to bolster training, especially for new personnel, through blackout prevention and recovery testing, ensuring that power and propulsion systems, as well as human interaction, are robust and aimed at rapid recovery.

Also read: DNV gives approval in principle to new 12 MW floating offshore concept

Power losses on the rise

Blackout occurs when there is a sudden total loss of electric power in the ship’s main power system. Most passenger ship operators have experienced it, but the majority of such incidents occur in open water or while moored in port with minimal consequences. However, reported instances were on the rise pre-pandemic and in 2019, the media reported twelve power loss events on cruise ships that resulted in full or partial blackout while in transit or manoeuvring. That was up from four events in 2018.

Blackout is very much related to engine and machinery failures and the joint DNV/Lloyd’s List Intelligence 2012–2021 Maritime Safety report found that machinery damage accounts for 58 per cent of all passenger ship casualties. Factors such as new fuels, change of speed and other measures to remain compliant with Energy Efficiency eXisting ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regulations could also increase the risks.

‘All this should prompt industry stakeholders to make machinery a focus area for safety amid the transition to cleaner energy carriers,’ says Siewers.

Five-step approach

In its paper, DNV introduces a five-step model for managing blackout and loss of propulsion risks both for ships in operation and newbuilds. This presents a user-friendly, logical progression examining the underlying interrelated causes of faults that lead to blackout and resulting loss of propulsion, and the factors influencing successful recovery.

Each step culminates in recommendations and best practice based on insights from incident statistics, literature reviews, workshops with key operators and collaboration with experts. Learnings have also been drawn from other segments, particularly offshore, which traditionally has a very strong safety regime.

Barrier-based approach to identify risks

There are many “barrier” risk models available to assist in the identification and management of risk. In this case, DNV has used a simplified bow tie model to present the threats and barriers that contribute to increasing/decreasing the likelihood of blackout and the mitigating barriers for supporting recovery.

Also read: Wagenborg general cargo ship grounds in Sweden after blackout

Barriers in a bow tie can be characterised as technical or operational. The latter can be manifested at an organisational or individual level. Risk management requires that all factors influencing human, organisational and technical (HOT) elements are identified and their interactions understood.

Regulatory framework provides minimum standards only

IMO rules, SOLAS regulations, together with core class rules, constitute the mandatory requirements for blackout prevention and recovery that generally provide a minimum technical standard for a newbuild. The aim of the SOLAS Safe Return to Port (SRtP) regulations, which apply to ships over 120 metres long, is to increase safety through more redundant and segregated system configuration. However, they do not specifically target operational reliability, where a single failure may still lead to functional loss of power, possibly requiring extensive manual intervention.

In segments where a blackout and even a temporary loss of propulsion may have severe consequences, additional measures are either required or voluntarily added by owners aiming for higher reliability or availability.

Ensuring operational reliability

To tackle machinery failures and reduce the risk of a total blackout, DNV published an additional class notation, Operational Reliability (OR), in July 2021. This applies to passenger ships built to SRtP regulations and specifically targets resilience and availability of propulsion, steering, electrical power and manoeuvrability.

Complexity of integrated systems poses higher risks

Blackouts can often be traced back to the operation of increasingly complex interconnected systems. Everyone is being pushed to design and implement technical solutions and operations that reduce costs and improve energy efficiency.

‘Integration complexity challenges our ability to fully understand how these systems behave in practice and has become an increasing concern for the entire industry,’ says Siewers.

The guidance paper is intended to support a step change in safety for operators, from gaining an overall understanding of causes of blackouts, defining safety ambitions and prudently managing conflicting goals to identifying appropriate operational and technical measures to reduce risk based on cost-benefit evaluations.

Article and pictures by DNV.