The maritime sector has witnessed several significant events over the past five days, encompassing policy changes, strategic initiatives, and geopolitical discussions. Below is a summary of these developments:
U.S. Proposes Fees on Chinese-Built Ships
The Trump administration has introduced a proposal to impose substantial fees on vessels constructed in China that enter U.S. ports.This initiative aims to counter China’s dominance in shipbuilding.However, a diverse coalition of American businesses, including farmers, dockworkers, and shipowners, has voiced opposition, citing concerns over increased freight rates, delivery delays, and heightened supply chain costs.The proposed fees range from $500,000 to $1.5 million per port call, depending on the percentage of Chinese-made ships in a carrier’s fleet.Critics argue that these fees could raise transportation costs, burden consumers, risk job losses at U.S. ports, and disadvantage American farm exporters.Nearly 300 companies and individuals have expressed their opposition during hearings in Washington. Financial Times+2WSJ+2Reuters+2Reuters+1WSJ+1
Challenges in Meeting U.S. Shipbuilding Demand
In response to the U.S. proposal to levy fees on China-linked ships, concerns have emerged regarding the capacity of Japan and South Korea to fulfill increased U.S. demand for non-Chinese shipbuilding.Japanese shipyards are operating near full capacity until 2028, while South Korean shipbuilders face financial constraints after years of hardship.U.S. shipbuilders also require substantial investments and technological advancements to enhance capacity.Currently, China, South Korea, and Japan account for 90% of global shipbuilding, with China alone capturing over 50% of the market share for merchant vessels. Financial Times+2Reuters+2WSJ+2
U.S. Navy Deployments for Border Security
The U.S. Navy has deployed the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance to support operations at the U.S. southern border.This deployment aims to assist in curbing maritime-related criminal activities, such as weapons smuggling and illegal immigration.The USS Spruance, along with the USS Gravely, had previously engaged in combat against Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.Equipped with significant firepower and advanced electronic warfare capabilities, these ships are now tasked with new roles along the U.S.-Mexico border, underscoring the Pentagon’s strategy to strengthen border security and control drug trafficking. maritimeoptima.com+2Business Insider+2New York Post+2
U.S.-Russia Talks on Black Sea Ceasefire
U.S. and Russian officials have engaged in discussions in Saudi Arabia to seek progress towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, focusing on establishing a Black Sea maritime ceasefire to ensure safe navigation.These talks follow U.S. President Trump’s recent engagements with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Russian President Putin.The conversations covered bilateral issues and confidence-building measures, such as the safe return of Ukrainian children from Russia.Russia indicated a temporary halt on attacking Ukrainian energy facilities.The talks are part of broader efforts to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which previously facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain despite ongoing conflict.
Upcoming Maritime Regulations in 2025: Key Changes and Compliance Requirements
The maritime industry is constantly evolving, and 2025 is set to bring significant regulatory changes that shipowners, operators, and maritime professionals must be aware of. Staying compliant with these regulations is crucial to ensuring smooth operations and avoiding penalties. Here’s a breakdown of the most important upcoming maritime regulations and what they mean for your business.
In 2025, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will introduce stricter measures to improve the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) framework. This will impact shipowners by requiring more efficient operational measures to maintain compliance. Ships with poor CII ratings may face operational restrictions or increased scrutiny from regulatory bodies.
How to Comply:
Optimize voyage planning and fuel consumption
Invest in energy-efficient ship technologies
Implement real-time data monitoring for emissions tracking
2. EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Expansion
Starting January 2025, the European Union will fully integrate shipping into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This means that ship operators trading within the EU must purchase carbon allowances for their CO2 emissions, significantly impacting operational costs.
Key Actions:
Assess the financial impact of ETS compliance
Invest in alternative fuels like LNG or biofuels
Enhance fleet efficiency to reduce overall emissions
3. Stricter Ballast Water Management Regulations
The Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) will see additional enforcement measures in 2025, requiring all ships to install and operate IMO-approved ballast water treatment systems.
Compliance Steps:
Ensure your fleet meets D-2 standard requirements
Schedule system upgrades well before the deadline
Train crew on ballast water management best practices
4. Enhanced Cybersecurity Measures for Maritime Operations
Cyber threats in the maritime sector are growing, leading to updated cybersecurity requirements in 2025. The IMO’s MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3 guidelines emphasize risk assessments, system resilience, and continuous monitoring to prevent cyberattacks.
How to Prepare:
Conduct regular cybersecurity risk assessments
Implement multi-layered security frameworks
Train crew on cybersecurity awareness and best practices
5. EEXI and Energy Efficiency Compliance Updates
The Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) regulations, first implemented in 2023, will continue to evolve in 2025. Ships will be required to meet stricter efficiency benchmarks to maintain compliance.
Compliance Measures:
Conduct regular hull maintenance to improve efficiency
Use shore power where available
Upgrade engine and propulsion systems for better energy efficiency
Final Thoughts: Preparing for the Future
With regulatory changes on the horizon, maritime companies must take proactive steps to ensure compliance. Investing in greener technologies, improving operational efficiencies, and enhancing cybersecurity will be critical to navigating these challenges successfully.
Stay ahead of maritime regulations with expert insights and compliance solutions. Contact us today e-mail SALES(at)SHIPIP.COM to learn how we can help your business stay compliant and competitive in 2025!
New rule changes adopted at the 108th session of the International Maritime Organisation’s maritime safety committee will result in the reporting of lost containers becoming mandatory from 1st January 2026.
The rule changes – which take the form of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) – will mean that Masters involved in the loss of containers must immediately report specific details of the loss to nearby ships, the nearest coastal state, and the vessel’s flag state.
Additional information that must be provided includes the total number of lost containers, and if any containers contained dangerous goods.
Masters will also – voluntarily – be able to provide details about the sea conditions and more, should they wish.
Following the provision of information, it will then be up to the flag state to pass the data to the IMO via a new module in the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).
The changes to SOLAS also cover requirements if drifting containers are observed. In this instance, the position and total number of drifting containers must be reported.
The amendments have been warmly welcomed by stakeholders across the maritime industry, perhaps most notably the World Shipping Council, which has been gathering lost container data from its members since 2008. This information has been published by the Council each year in their ‘Containers Lost at Sea’ report.
Commenting on the amendments to SOLAS, the World Shipping Council’s SVP Safety & Security, Lars Kjaer, said:
“The new regulations, specifically amending SOLAS Chapter V Regulations 31 and 32, mark a significant advancement in maritime safety and environmental protection. By ensuring prompt and detailed reporting of lost and drifting containers, these amendments will enhance navigational safety, facilitate swift response actions, and mitigate potential environmental hazards”.
The World Shipping Council’s Containers Lost at Sea report for 2024 (covering 2023), shows a decline in lost containers. 2023 saw 221 containers lost, compared to 661 in 2022. An impressive number when one considers that approximately 250 million containers were transported by sea last year. The report also highlights that of the containers lost, some 33% were recovered.
Ms Zama Chonco Chonco, the Acting CEO, South African Maritime Safety Authority has emerged Africa Public Sector Magazine’s “CEO Of the Week” for the month August 21st-27th,2022 rankings.
She is a finance expert whose experience spans across financial and non-financial service sectors, controlling and providing financial strategies and innovative for the growth of the organisation at the capacity she is holding.
Ms Zama is a chartered accountant by professional, hardworking, lustrous and a smart worker, holding a crucial position in ensuring safety of life and property on the sea. She has become our face of the week, the highly rated CEO of the week is a weekly accreditation of Top performing CEO ‘s of public institutions, MDAs of African governments, following their achievements and portfolios amongst other criteria for the best in performances and developments… To read more visit www.publicsectormag.net
(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) Chirpmaritime has recently published their flagship magazine, a very educational publication on maritime safety. Anyone who comes across an unsafe situation in their maritime world can report this to Chirpmaritime. Chirpmaritime will anonymize the report and contact the parties involved. The purpose is to prevent an unsafe event from happening again without starting a blame game or pointing fingers.
2021 has been another very difficult year for seafarers with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic causing major disruptions, particularly regarding crew changes. Many of our colleagues are still trapped at sea long after they should have been repatriated, while others are stuck at home and do not know when they will be able to work again. The professional way our colleagues have continued to move the world’s trade goods, often in terrible conditions, has been an inspiration. Perhaps one day the world will acknowledge the great debt it owes to the men and women at sea.
Despite all the hardships, seafarers have still managed to submit reports to CHIRP but we believe the standard of those reports is higher than ever and we wish to publicly thank all contributors for their excellent feedback.CHIRP Maritime and the results are for all to see.
Students on the NMIT Superyacht course recently got to experience the process of inflating a life raft, gifted by Glen Andrews from Centreport in Wellington.
Centreport changed life raft suppliers recently and this RFD life raft had become surplus to requirements.
Glen is a Tug Master and is currently assigned to the ASD Tug Tiaki at Centreport. He obtained permission from Marine Manager Josh Rogers and chose to donate the raft to a good cause.
“Seeing as how we have a strong affiliation with NMIT and use the Maritime School for a large proportion of our training requirements, we thought you would appreciate the raft and put it to ongoing good use,” says Glen.
Glen says he has done many courses over the years with NMIT and always found the facilities, tutoring and administration staff to be helpful.
“Logistically, managing renewal courses and being at sea can be difficult,” he says.
The raft will be used for all future maritime training courses as a demonstration model in the classroom.
Students are required to complete Basic Safety Training (STCW) as part of the Certificate in Superyacht Crewing, a 12-week programme that features world-class learning facilities, thanks to Nelson’s boat culture and thriving port.
The programme not only offers multi-day yacht trips through Sail Nelson, but training on the only purpose-built 3-storey maritime firefighting facility in the country.
Students make connections with professional yacht recruiters and may walk into employment after completing the certificate.
Charlie Squance, maritime academic staff member at NMIT is grateful for the gift of the life raft.
“The life raft is a valuable contribution, and our tutors and students are certainly going to make the most of,” he said.
“It is wonderful to have such strong connections within the maritime industry.”
The next intake for the Certificate in Superyacht Crewing is in September.
Industry partners could still do more to ensure the safety of crews, says INTERCARGO, as it has submitted its latest Bulk Carrier Casualty Report to the Sub-Committee on IMO Instruments (III 8), convening at the end of the month.
Despite high levels of awareness from shipowners themselves of the dangers of improperly loaded cargo, the Report identified that liquefaction continues to be the greatest contributor to loss of life in the bulk sector. In the last ten years the lives of 70 seafarers were lost as a result of five bulk carrier casualties, four carrying nickel ore and one carrying bauxite.
Image for representation purpose only
During this period the Report identifies a total of 27 bulk carriers over 10,000 dwt as total losses, and 92 crew members lost their lives. Liquefaction accounted for 18.5% of the total vessel casualties in the past ten years yet was the cause of 76.1% of the total loss of life.
The Report highlighted that not only were IMSBC Code requirements not being followed, especially in relation to testing and certification of cargo condition, but that there was also lack of adequate assessment and monitoring of the condition of cargoes being loaded in the cargo holds by representatives of all interests.
Uttam Kumar Jaiswal, Vice-Chairman of INTERCARGO says: “Unusually, this report is not targeted at ship operators. They are well aware of the risks to their crews and their vessels caused by carrying cargos prone to liquefaction and make every effort they can to mitigate those risks.
“It is the lack of consolidated effort and commitment from many stakeholders to resolve the problem that is evident. These can include shippers, receivers and port state authorities at loading and discharging ports. We need action from those our industry relies upon for its safety – the IMO, legislators, and suppliers to ensure that that the minimum obligations under the IMSBC Code are properly fulfilled. The industry is simply talking to itself, if we cannot force action from our other stakeholder groups.
“INTERCARGO urges all shipowners, operators, and seafarers to exercise extreme caution when accepting, for carriage, nickel ore, bauxite, iron ore fines, ball clay and other cargoes that have the potential to liquefy. They need to be especially cautious when loading during a wet season as is currently being experienced in certain parts of South-East Asia and West Africa. We would like to stress the importance of adhering to the provisions in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) to ensure the safety of lives at sea and the safe transportation of dry bulk cargoes.”
The Report highlights grounding as the most common reported cause of bulk carrier losses from 2012 to 2021, with 13 casualties, representing 48.1% of total losses. The investigation reports available highlight that human error both operationally and in navigation contributed to the majority of the 13 casualties.
Accident reporting also comes under the spotlight. It is well known that lessons from incidents and casualties and sharing of experience are effective approaches to raise safety awareness and vital to deepen understanding and knowledge of existing rules, regulations and skills. All too frequently however, there is a significant delay between the time at which a report, or an initial report is submitted by an accident investigating organisation and when that information becomes publicly available.
There is some good news. Statistics of ship losses and consequential seafarer fatalities suggest that safety performance of the bulk carrier industry is heading in the right direction, with a clear trend of improvement. However, there is no room for complacency and there are still opportunities for further improvement by re-evaluating and implementing enhanced measures to address cargo safety and safe navigation, thereby striving to eliminate losses in the future.
The INTERCARGO Bulk Carrier Casualty Report can be accessed free of charge from the Association’s
website.
Israeli company SIXAI has invested US$4 million in compatriot start-up Captain’s Eye, a developer of safety, security and management systems used to identify and highlight real-time events occurring on ships.
Captain’s Eye was founded in 2020, offering an AI-based system that detects unusual incidents on ships in real time to prevent property, physical and financial damage that might occur at sea.
The company says that the system is able to alert users on a range of operational, safety and security issues on all types of vessels, such as smoke and leakages, security breaches, unsafe crew behaviour or performance anomalies. Implementation involves a network of cameras covering the critical areas on the vessel configured to detect anomalies in accordance with predefined parameters.
Captain’s Eye took part in the Techstars Eastern Pacific Accelerator in 2020, run by Techstars and Eastern Pacific Shipping, and already has a strategic partnership in place with XT Shipping, as well as a pilot underway at Ashdod Port in Israel.
“Our partnership with SIXAI is the right thing at the right time for Captain’s Eye. We welcome SIXAI’s decision to join the company as a strategic investor,” said Uri Ben-Dor, Captain’s Eye’s CEO.
“The investment will enable us to expand our activity to additional markets and offer our unique technology to additional segments in the maritime world. Our pilot with Ashdod Port proves that our system is extremely relevant to various customers in their effort to prevent accidents and severe environmental pollution.”
This new investment follows SIXAI’s signing of a partnership agreement with Israeli Aerospace Industries in October 2021 to convert military technologies from certain segments to commercial deployments to address civil market needs.
NEVE ILAN, Israel, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — SIXAI, founded by Israeli entrepreneur Ran Poliakine, invested 4 million US$ in Captain’s Eye, which developed an advanced safety, security and management system that identifies and alerts real-time events on ships.
Headquartered in Haifa, Israel, Captain’s Eye was founded in 2020 by Col. (Res.) Uri Ben-Dor and Col. (Res.) Doron Oizerovich. The company developed a holistic AI-based system that detects unusual events on ships in real time, thus preventing property, physical and financial damage that might occur at sea. The system is able to identify and alert operative, safety and security issues in all types of vessels, such as smoke and leakages, security breaches, unsafe crew behavior or anomalies.
The system is based on an infrastructure of cameras covering the critical areas in the vessel and monitors it automatically 24/7 in order to detect anomalies in accordance with predefined parameters. The company has a strategic partnership with XT Shipping, signed agreements with several global shipping companies, and a pilot at the Ashdod Port in Israel.
This strategic investment follows SIXAI’s signing a partnership agreement with the Israeli Aerospace Industries in October 2021 to convert military technologies from certain segments to commercial deployments to address civil market needs and introduce game-changing solutions that could potentially solve pressing global challenges.
SIXAI concurrently continues to develop its operations in Japan in partnership with the Japanese automotive giant, Musashi Seimitsu (TYO:7220). Together the companies operate MusashiAI, which developed the first AI-based robot for gear quality inspection for the automotive industry and 634AI, which developed the ‘Maestro’ – a platform controlling all traffic on the entire production floor, helping organizations improve their efficiency at a low operational cost without uncompromising safety standards.
Uri Ben-Dor, Captain’s Eye’s CEO commented: “Our partnership with SIXAI is the right thing at the right time for Captain’s Eye. We welcome SIXAI’s decision to join the company as a strategic investor. The investment will enable us to expand our activity to additional markets and offer our unique technology to additional segments in the maritime world. Our pilot with Ashdod Port proves that our system is extremely relevant to various customers in their effort to prevent accidents and severe environmental pollution.”
Ran Poliakine, SIXAI’s Founder, commented: “We are pleased to announce today the completion of our strategic investment in Captain’s Eye. The company’s platform and expert team are a significant addition to SIXAI’s AI-based service and product offering, and opens new and relevant markets to SIXAI, enabling us to provide our global partners with solutions to their burning needs.”
Since the beginning of May 2022, European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) have been flying over the East Baltic Sea region following a coordinated request for enhanced maritime surveillance from the Finnish Border Guard, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and the Latvian Coast Guard Service.
IMSAR’s radar is supporting EMSA on the Textron Systems Aerosonde unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, flown by contractor Nordic Unmanned. The Aerosonde can stay in the air for 10 hours and can fly up to 140 km within radio range and further depending on the ground relay stations. It is equipped with a gimbal with optical and infrared sensors, and an AIS receiver alongside the IMSAR radar.
The regional scope of the operation enables cross-border flights over the Gulf of Finland and the exclusive economic zones of both Estonia and Latvia. While the service increases situational awareness for a wide range of coast guard functions, the focus of the operation is on maritime safety and security, environmental protection, fisheries control and search and rescue.
During this five-month operation, the national authorities from Finland, Estonia and Latvia are working in close cooperation, planning, following and receiving data from the flights irrespective of the point from which the RPAS is deployed. As the flights will continue throughout the summer, when maritime activities typically increase, the operation is expected to bring additional support to the emergency services as they monitor and respond to incidents in the coastal waters.
This operation builds on the services provided by EMSA in 2021 to both Estonia and Finland, taking forward the regional dimension by enabling cross-border flights within the airspace of the three participating countries.
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