Comment

Comment: The Baltimore bridge ‘Black Swan Event’ and its effect on the insurance markets

Comment: The Baltimore bridge ‘Black Swan Event’ and its effect on the insurance markets

Learning from this tragedy could prove an invaluable lesson in risk mitigation with complex maritime operations, writes John Butler  In the early morning of 26th March the container ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore forcing its dramatic collapse which was captured and circulated on television and social media across the world. […]

LISW returns, for the many, not the few

LISW returns, for the many, not the few

September saw the return of the London International Shipping Week (LISW). Now in its tenth year of operation, LISW appears to be maturing into a key waypoint in the global maritime calendar, as was evidenced by this year’s breadth of events, calibre of speakers and record-breaking attendance. With more than 350 events taking place across […]

News Analysis: Future fuels and some uncomfortable truths

News Analysis: Future fuels and some uncomfortable truths

By Malcolm Latarche, correspondent Future fuels were a topic for much discussion throughout September with both DNV and Lloyd’s Register publishing studies on the subject, Maersk naming the world’s first methanol-fuelled container ship and entering into partnership with Equinor to secure a supply of green methanol and it also being a theme of the London […]

Editorial Comment: Deeper waters, stronger winds

Editorial Comment: Deeper waters, stronger winds

The energy transition is without doubt one of the most complex issues of our time. An accelerated growth of renewable energy is needed to meet the challenge and floating offshore wind promises to play a significant role in the required move towards clean energy. Approximately 80% of the ocean’s wind resource potential is found in […]

News Analysis: GHGs, EV fires and tanker order drought

News Analysis: GHGs, EV fires and tanker order drought

By Malcolm Latarche, correspondent Shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) had been a topic of conversation for several months in the run up to MEPC 80 in July with many predicting that the economic climate and lack of suitable alternative fuels could see ambitions watered down. Depending upon your viewpoint that was either what happened, or […]

Why marine coatings are vital for shipping’s fuel transition

Why marine coatings are vital for shipping’s fuel transition

Hirokazu Kaji, technical division director, Nippon Paint Marine There is no ‘silver bullet’ to secure shipping’s decarbonisation, but it’s fair to say that future fuels dominate much of the sustainability conversation in the industry and across the supply chain. Whether it’s discussion of increasingly common LNG, methanol, and biofuel solutions, or less developed alternatives, such […]

Ammonia and recycling ramp up needed

Ammonia and recycling ramp up needed

By Malcolm Latarche Ammonia as a marine fuel was making many headlines in May. In mid-month came news of a consortium of Lloyd’s Register, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), SDARI and MAN Energy Solutions signing a MoU for a design for the ammonia dual-fuel operation of an MSC container ship. This is planned to result in […]

Saving lives at sea: time to reinvent the lifeboat?

Saving lives at sea: time to reinvent the lifeboat?

Failure to eradicate injuries and fatalities from lifeboat launches is prompting demand for a drastic rethink, writes The Naval Architect‘s editor Daniel Johnson The potential dangers of lifeboat drills are in the news once again, following an intervention last month from the Container Ship Safety Forum (CSSF) calling for “a reinvention” of lifeboats onboard cargo […]