The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has advised Recognised Organisations of a change in the focus of Port State Control (PSC) inspections with respect to planned maintenance on ships.
AMSA states that recent incidents have demonstrated the potentially serious consequences of a lack of effective maintenance of main engines and power generation systems. These can pose serious risks to the safe and pollution-free operation of ships. There will be an increase in the focus on planned maintenance during routine PSC inspections of the propulsion and auxiliary equipment and associated systems. AMSA will take necessary compliance actions to address any identified areas of concern.
What ship operators should do now
Ship operators are advised to ensure that planned maintenance of propulsion and auxiliary machinery and associated systems is up to date on arrival at Australian ports. In cases where deficiencies are apparent (e.g. due to a delay in the delivery of spare parts), this should be communicated to the PSC authority prior to arrival in order to prevent problems arising at PSC interventions.
South Korea issued weather advisories and raised its typhoon alert level on Monday as typhoon Hinnamnor neared, with heavy rain and strong wind already lashing southern parts of the country.
The typhoon, travelling northward at a speed of 19 km per hour (12 mph), is expected to land 90 kilometres southwest of the port city Busan early on Tuesday, after reaching waters off Jeju Island around Monday midnight.
“Very strong winds and heavy rains are expected across the country through to Tuesday due to the typhoon, while there will be places where very high waves cross breakwaters and coastal roads along with storm and tsunami,” the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.
Warnings have been issued across the southern cities, including Gwangju, Busan, Daegu and Ulsan, following that in the southern island of Jeju, while the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Sunday upgraded its emergency response posture to the highest level for the first time in five years for typhoons.
The port city and its neighbouring area have received rain throughout the weekend, with more rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
On Sunday, President Yoon Suk-yeol held a meeting with the authorities to review the response system, while promising to put all efforts in minimising damage from the typhoon.
Local media reported on Sunday that the country’s three South Korean shipbuilders – Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries – are expected to halt operation on Tuesday.
Other businesses such as steelmaker Poscoare also expected to suspend operations, while major airlines such as Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines have reportedly cancelled some of its flights departing after 1 p.m. Monday (0400 GMT).
Kongsberg Digital (KDI) launches a maritime digital twin with Höegh Autoliners as its first pilot customer. This is the beginning of a new transformation journey for ship operations.
As a market-leading developer and vendor of digital twins for the energy sector, KDI is now adding digital twin for maritime to its portfolio. Digital twins allow new ways of working and interacting with data and operational insights. The first areas the maritime twin supports are trim advisory, 3D visualization of the vessel, and situational awareness around it, including weather conditions. The twin is powered by real-time data from the Vessel Insight data infrastructure and its eco-system of applications.
“The maritime industry is facing huge challenges to meet the new standards for increased transparency and reduced carbon footprint. As a response to this, we have developed a dynamic digital twin that provides a holistic view of the vessel and its surroundings, where data from the vessel is merged with other relevant data sources and presented in one common work surface for operators and shipowners. This will be the first step of enabling advanced integrated workflows in shipping,” says Andreas Jagtøyen, Executive Vice President of Digital Ocean in Kongsberg Digital.
The objective of KDI´s holistic digital twin is to support partners in utilizing advanced simulations to troubleshoot operations, make predictions of future performance, and over time, enable condition-based maintenance to reduce cost and operational downtime. The digital twin for maritime will build upon the Kognitwin® framework, KDI’s digital twin for the energy market.
“Utilizing twin technology on an area of most importance, fuel reduction, is the first step in building a new family of technology and applications, component by component.”, says Jagtøyen. “Furthermore, working towards risk assessment, twin technology can help ship owners and operators understand risk and make better decisions.
Among other things, visualization to understand risk is critical. When you’re assessing the situation of a vessel in the middle of the Atlantic, you must understand the real risk, for example, in the case of severe weather or side waves, and make decisions based on that understanding. Twin technology can achieve that better than any other tool.”
Digital twin technology allows new ways of working and utterly new interaction possibilities and transparency between different stakeholders in the industry. Höegh Autoliners is KDIs partner for the pilot with their car carriers, supported by Delta Marine.
“We are pleased to partner with Kongsberg Digital on this pilot for digital twin for maritime,” says Chief Operations Officer of Höegh Autoliners Sebjørn Dahl. “Like us, our customers and partners focus on sustainability, electrifying their products, and decarbonizing their supply chains. Our fleet is one of the most environmentally friendly car carriers ever built.
The additional insight and more rapid and cost-effective vessel management provided by KDI’s digital twin will supercharge their environmental performance and enable future benefits faster. We already see benefits on trim optimization, but when we add the data around other facets of vessel operation, along with training and maintenance, we expect further benefits and savings to come thick and fast.”
In the coming months, KDI will reinforce this digital twin for maritime development by adding new components for visualization and performance.
Marine electric drive train specialist Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch inks five-year global sourcing agreement with ABB Marine & Ports in Shanghai for its next-generation PMM2000M permanent magnet machines to be used as shaft generators in large containerships.
The first order for 16 machines, each with a power output of over 4 MW, will be installed as permanent magnet shaft generators (PMSGs) for dry cargo container vessels.
“We are excited to include ABB among the trusted vendors we collaborate with. They are famous worldwide for their systems integration and vessel automation expertise,” said Risto Ahvo, Head of Key Account Management at Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch.
The Switch PMM2000M permanent magnet shaft generator has huge potential as electric propulsion gradually replaces conventional diesel-mechanical propulsion.
Bouyant newbuilding market
“The contract also takes us deeper into the Asian market, where there is a lot of growth potential given the spate of new orders in China, Korea and Japan made on the back of hot container freight rates. It’s also great for business efficiency, as we won’t have to spend lots of time on individual proposals,” he said.
The company first marketed The Switch direct-drive PMMs to the wind industry where they have significantly improved turbine efficiency. It entered the marine market with its marine PMSGs featuring a frame size of 1,000 mm targeting bulk, chemical and car carriers with single and twin propulsion, and then with newly developed frame size of 1,500 mm machines for LNG carriers. The company has sold approximately 200 PMSGs to date.
Boxships in focus
The inline, direct-drive PMM2000M is specially designed for big container vessels powered by 2-stroke engines. Shaft generator power output on such vessels is often 4 MW to 5 MW. The PMM2000Ms has an operational speed of approximately 50–80 rpm. At more than five metres in diameter, it is physically large due to the high torque. As a PMSGs it offers competitive advantages in terms of low weight, extremely good efficiency and high power density, enabling top performance. The machine is simple to install and still compact given its huge power capacity.
“Ships won’t require any other source of electrical energy during long ocean voyages. This reduces genset wear-and-tear as gensets can stay off. Its mechanical simplicity also increases reliability and lowers maintenance requirements. A further characteristic is low vibration levels,” Ahvo said.
PMM2000Ms can be fitted to comply with EEXI and CII regulation parameters coming into force from 2023. Customer motivations are a mixture of reducing energy consumption, lowering emissions and increasing the amount of electricity available for other fuel-saving systems such as air compressors for hull air lubrication.
‘Star team’
The stators will be produced in China and other components in the EU. Manufacturing of such big machines calls for specialist knowledge due to the high magnetic forces involved. Consequently, all assembly work on the units will take place at The Switch’s Large Drive Test Center (LDTC) in Lappeenranta.
World-class test center
“We will then test the machines using ABB frequency converters to verify electrical and thermal performance of all drive elements. This is typical at the LDTC where we can test solutions using either our own or customers’ drives and components. Testing involves string tests and back-to-back testing at full load. We will then ship the machines to China and will also send engineers to supervise installation,” said Ahvo.
The contract is the company’s first long-term supply agreement targeting large merchant vessels. “It proves our agility to create new machines suited to different markets. The PMM2000M is designed from scratch and, like all our innovations, stands on their own merits,” he said.
Towards greener shipping
He adds that this kind of supplier-vendor collaboration on energy-saving equipment is the best way to accelerate the green transition. “The PMM2000M has huge potential as electric propulsion gradually replaces conventional diesel-mechanical propulsion. With a PMM2000M propulsion motor, it’s possible to reach power up to 12 MW per propulsion line. With two machines on two propulsion lines, power can reach almost 50 MW, which is sufficient even for the largest ships,” said Ahvo. “PMSGs are just the beginning.”
The commanding officer of USCGC James (WMSL 754), has been temporarily relieved of duties following an onboard mishap, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Friday.
Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, effected the relief due to a loss of confidence in Capt. Marc Brandt’s ability to command the cutter in wake of the mishap, in which no personnel were injured. Brandt has been temporarily assigned to Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
Lunday appointed Capt. John Driscoll to assume temporary command of the cutter pending the results of an investigation into the incident.
James is a Legend-class national security cutter (NSC) homeported in Charleston, S.C., with a crew of 148 officers and enlisted personnel. NSCs are the Coast Guard’s most technologically-advanced cutters in the fleet.
As part of efforts of federal government to boast maritime security, Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, over the weekend commissioned two patrol boats (PB – Gusau and PB – Jalingo) as well as a 32- Seater Passenger Ferry Boat to enhance operational efficiency and encourage water transportation at the National Inland Waterways Authority’s (NIWA) Area Office in Port Harcourt.
A statement by the Eric Ojiekwe, Director of Press and Publicity in the ministry reported that The Minister who was former General Manager at NIWA further disclosed that while he was at the helm of affairs there, he did not only maintain the amount of revenue target set by his predecessors, but surpassed it.
He said, “When I came here, a lot of people were wondering if we are going to succeed. But I did not only sustain the level of revenue that was sustained by my predecessors, but I even surpassed them,” he said.
He commended the Managing Director NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, for the giant strides attained, saying: “Seriously, MD, l am happy I came here today. If didn’t come, I would not have known the strides you have achieved. Without doubts, I think you have made the greatest impacts of all the Managing Directors that have served the Authority”. “Your tenure has moved the Authority from level 5 to Level 9”.
He described inland water way transportation as the cheapest and safest means of moving goods and persons and key to development of any country, especially that endowed with water.
Furthermore, the Minister observed that Nigeria is blessed in that regard as 28 States of the Federation can be accessed by water, hence the need to develop the sector.
While promising to provide support in any capacity, he called on the MD to quickly operationalize the Marina Area Office in Lagos which has been identified as a hub for trans- shipping cargoes from Lagos through the Intercoastal routes like Warri and Onitsha.
Earlier, the Managing Director, NIWA, Dr. Moghalu, informed that in less than a year, the Agency commissioned more than twenty patrol boats, as well as a house boat, tugboat and water ambulance for distribution to various Area offices of the Authority.
According to him, the act is part of the Agency’s vision to ensure that the nation’s Inland waterways provides a truly safe, efficient, cost effective and alternative mode of transportation of goods and persons as well as become competitive and attractive.
Speaking further, Moghalu said: “the huge opportunities that abounds in the nation’s Inland waterways can only be maximized if concerted efforts are geared towards the development of infrastructure and proper funding to make the waterways attractive and competitive to players”.
Also, he disclosed that the Authority has licensed several companies for the transportation of cargoes across the waterways in Nigeria, especially from Lagos so as to decongest it and open up other Inland ports.
Launched at the SMM event in Hamburg, Germany, a new guide from ABS explores emerging onboard carbon capture technology. The guide, Insights into Onboard Carbon Capture, examines the various methods of onboard carbon capture as well as carbon handling and storage and downstream considerations, as well as regulatory issues.
Although there has been increased interest from the industry, the technology and its associated value chains have a long way to mature, and there are many factors to consider such as onboard power supply, fuel types, exhaust characteristics and onboard storage,” said Georgios Plevrakis, ABS vice president, global sustainability. “This Insights document is an important step in moving the conversation forward, supporting shipowners and operators with the latest information from ABS engineering and joint development projects,” said Georgios Plevrakis, ABS vice president, global sustainability.
Although onboard systems are sill being piloted, investment is expected to increase over the course of the next decade, especially as discussions on global carbon markets advance.
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has ordered 12 Konecranes RTGs (rubber tire gantry cranes) for the Port of Savannah. When these cranes are working, the Port of Savannah will operate a fleet of 234 Konecranes RTGs. Konecranes booked the order in third quarter 2022, and the cranes will be delivered by the end of 2024.
The Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal is the fastest-growing container terminal in North America. The port already operates 198 Konecranes RTGs with another 24 on order, making it the largest RTG fleet in the U.S. The current order will bring the Savannah fleet to 234 RTGs.
The GPA is experiencing significant growth, moving an all-time monthly high of 528,300 TEUs in July.
“Our expansion program is proceeding well, and this order for 12 Konecranes RTGs will support our productivity and continuing growth,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “Konecranes is our go-to partner for container handling equipment and has been for over 25 years.”
Jussi Suhonen, VP, regional sales, port solutions, at Konecranes said: “The Port of Savannah is an American success story for the state of Georgia and the entire USA. The Port of Savannah and Konecranes have been growing together in a mutually beneficial relationship, which continues with this RTG delivery.”
The 12 RTGs on order are diesel-electric units, but have a built-in readiness for electric operation via cable reels. They are high-performance, 16-wheel RTGs with a lifting capacity of 40 tons, a stacking height of 1-over-5, and a stacking width of 6 plus truck lane wide. They will be equipped with Konecranes’ active load control system, which prevents container sway. The auto-steering feature is included, which keeps the cranes on a pre-programmed, straight driving path. They willalso have Konecranes’ Truconnect remote monitoring system.
French transport giant CMA CGM is creating a five-year investment fund of 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) aimed at accelerating its energy transition in shipping and logistics, it said on Sunday.
The fund will support industrial production of new fuels and low-emission transport solutions across the group’s businesses, including maritime, overland and air freight shipping and port and logistics services, it said in a statement.
Among other initiatives mentioned on Sunday, the group will develop a biomethane production and liquefaction project to produce up to 100,000 tonnes by 2025, with the possibility of doubling output by 2027, it said.
CMA CGM also referred to a joint plan announced in June to partner energy group Engie in the production of 11,000 tonnes per year of biomethane in France starting in 2026.
CMA CGM, privately controlled by the Saade family, on Friday reported second-quarter net profit more than doubled to $7.6 billion, also surpassing the first quarter.
Its soaring profits prompted the French government to call on the company this year to help to cushion inflationary pressures. CMA CGM responded with shipping rate discounts for cargoes to France. Read full story
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against a dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel caught fire and sank off the California coast three years ago.
The 75-foot (23-meter) Conception caught fire while most of those onboard were sleeping, killing 33 passengers and a crew member. It is considered one of California’s worst maritime disasters.
U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the indictment, handed down on December 2020 against captain Jerry Nehl Boylan by a federal grand jury, must be thrown out because prosecutors had failed to accuse him of gross negligence.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, said prosecutors would seek authorization from the Department of Justice to appeal Wu’s ruling. An attorney for Boylan, 68, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
The indictment accused Boylan of causing the deaths through “misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties.”
The U.S. District Court grand jury cited three federal safety violations – failure to assign a night watch or roving patrol aboard the boat, to conduct sufficient crew training or to conduct adequate fire drills.
The victims had been sleeping below deck when the boat went up in flames while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, off the Santa Barbara coast, during a sport diving expedition. They included a family of five, a teacher and his daughter, a diving instructor and marine biologist.
The five surviving crew members, including Boylan, had been above deck in berths behind the wheelhouse and escaped by leaping overboard as the burning boat sank into the Pacific.
They told investigators that flames coming from the passenger quarters were too intense to save anyone trapped below. Coroners investigators determined the victims died of smoke inhalation.
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