Greek shipowner Gaslog has picked the Finnish technology group Wärtsilä to maintain and ensure operations of ten of its very large LNG carriers.

GasLog specifically selected Wärtsilä’s optimised maintenance agreement to cover the LNG carriers. It is designed to ensure certainty of operations with budgeted maintenance costs.

The parties signed the agreement back in June 2021.

The tailored agreement covers the vessels’ twin two-stroke dual-fuel main engines. This way, it is enabling them to benefit from the condition monitoring and asset diagnostic services. These include Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight solution and remote operational support capabilities.

The Expert Insight digital predictive maintenance innovation utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and diagnostics to provide accurate and pro-active advice and recommendations. The system is able to recognise performance deviations, thus allowing timely corrective actions, thereby increasing uptime. Furthermore, by ensuring efficient operations, it lowers emission levels.

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Wärtsilä to upkeep 10 Gaslog LNG carriers

Expedition cruise ship owner SunStone Ships has launched the fifth out of seven Infinity-class vessels at the ceremony held at China Merchant Heavy Industries (CMHI).

The vessel Ocean Odyssey is 104 metres long, 18 metres wide, and has a draft of 5.1 metres with a capacity for 160 passengers.

Like the rest of Infinity-class vessels, the Ocean Odyssey is built with mechanisms for safe return to port, dynamic positioning and zero speed stabilizers and belongs to ice class 1A, Polar Code 6.

As informed, the vessel will sail worldwide year-round expedition cruises for Vantage Travel, Boston.

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SunStone launches fifth eco-friendly expedition ship

Finnish-Baltic LNG bunkering service provider Elenger Marine has wrapped up the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation in Estonia with its newbuild ship Optimus.

On 5 November 2021, the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering took place in Estonia.

The newbuild Optimus bunkered Tallink’s shuttle ferry Megastar at the Old City Harbour of Tallinn. Megastar is sailing between Tallinn and Helsinki.

“Ship-to-ship bunkering of LNG has not been done in Estonian ports before,” said Kento Tamm, Optimus’ captain.

Tarvink-Carlos Tuulik, captain of Tallink, said that Optimus significantly simplifies the bunkering of Megastar. In other words, a much larger amount of LNG can be bunkered from a ship at once.

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LNG bunkering ship Optimus in Estonia’s 1st STS bunkering op

Dubai-based logistic provider DP World has launched the global wholesale e-commerce platform in Kenya.

The platform DUBUY.com is expected to add new digital trading corridors to DP World’s ports, terminals, and logistic operations across Africa.

As informed, this expansion of DUBUY.com follows its launch in Rwanda earlier this year, where the platform became a trade gateway in the East Africa region.

“DUBUY.com is an innovative online marketplace that will help unlock access to global markets for Kenyan businesses, with fulfilment through DP World’s worldwide ports and logistics network”, DP World said.

The logistic provider currently owns eight existing terminals on the African continent and three more in development.

The platform is expected to solve some of the key challenges facing the growth of e-commerce in Africa, including reliable fulfilment, secure financial transactions and the movement of goods.

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DP World introduces e-commerce platform in Kenya

PUBLISHED NOV 8, 2021 6:27 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The cruise industry is continuing to move forward with efforts to restore more of its ships to service with the focus shifting to North America and operations in the Caribbean for the winter of 2021-2022. Last weekend saw the busiest port day at Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades as well as the first cruise ship to return to San Juan as its homeport. With the United States reducing international travel restrictions starting today, the cruise industry continues to look forward to expanded operations this winter.

Port Everglades approached its pre-pandemic levels of operations for the first time on Saturday, November 6. The port, which saw the first U.S. cruise resume sailing at the end of June, for the first time in 20 months hosted six cruise ships sailing with passengers on board.

“Six of our eight cruise terminals will be in use, so it is not the port’s record and the ships will not be filled to capacity, but it will be a sight to behold and is a solid sign of recovery,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Jonathan Daniels. “We have gone from three cruise ships starting up in June and July, to more than 20 ships that will be sailing in November.”

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/port-everglades-and-san-juan-continue-cruise-ramp-up

Shipping is the critical enabler in the world’s transition to low carbon operations and needs government support to ensure it is at the front of the queue for next-generation fuels, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki told delegates at COP26.

“Governments will have a pretty significant role in this, but shipping is going to be the critical enabler. It is going to be shipping that will move the next generation of fuels from the centers of production to distribution hubs around the world,” Wiernicki said at the International Chamber of Shipping’s COP26 event Shaping the Future of Shipping.

“Governments need to prioritize shipping. It is not the second show, it should be the main show,” he pointed out.

Wiernicki also took part in the World Climate Summit event, speaking on a panel titled Accelerating the Green Transition and Technologies through Partnerships – Best Practices from the Shipping Sector alongside representatives from Maersk, International Maritime Organization and Kuehne + Nagel.

“The real future fuel will be a mixture of leadership and cooperation. This is a ‘we’ game, where success is a team sport. No one organization, no individual company, has the resources to meet this challenge alone. We will need to work together, pool our resources, experience, and knowledge if we are to achieve our sustainability ambitions,” ABS CEO further said.

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ABS CEO: Shipping is ‘critical enabler’ in global transition

PUBLISHED NOV 8, 2021 7:19 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Danish shipping company Scandlines announced the next step in the evolution of emissions-free shipping ordering its first ferry capable of maintaining normal service operating entire of battery power. The hybrid ro-pax freight ferry will be the company’s first zero-emission ferry and is the next step in the evolution of battery power operations.

The ferry which will be 484-feet long will be built at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for delivery in 2024.  It will be powered with a hybrid propulsion system capable of running the one-hour voyage between Denmark and Germany and back again or using fuel propulsion making the run in 45 minutes between the ports of Puttgarden and Rodby.

The initial plan is to use the charging facilities Scandlines developed in Rody to recharge the ferry. The company installed a 50kV / 25 MW power cable. They plan to extend that cable to the ferry berth where a transformer and charging station will be installed. In the future, they also plan to develop a charging capability at the other end of the route in Puttgarden. The service speed will be 18 knots.

In addition to having the ability to operate emission-free, the new ferry represents a significant increase in capacity for the company. It will replace two older ferries while increasing capacity by 23 percent. The new ferry will have approximately 1,200 lane meters giving it the ability to carry 66 freight units as well as a maximum of 140 passengers.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/scandlines-orders-hybrid-battery-ferry-for-zero-emission-operations