With the increasing demand for decarbonisation and lower-cost green electricity, offshore wind turbine and foundation components continue to increase in size, to a point where their dimensions have largely outgrown the current market installation capability. The global offshore wind industry is already forecasting installation vessel shortages by the mid-decade. “The bigger the turbine, the more […]
By Jose Gonzalez and Guntars Zommers Stolt Tankers, The Netherlands Biofouling is a major contributor to energy efficiency reduction; the ships spend almost their entire operational life afloat favoring the creation of biological layers (biofilm) and macrofouling populations in different working areas of the ship. The consequence of this occurrence is mainly reflected in additional […]
Sustained demand for sustainable PCTC equipment, says MacGregor With a VesselsValue blog post logging earnings for the Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) ship type at US$150,000 a day in August 2022 – 174% more than in January 2022 – the finished car logistics sector is “short of PCTC supply following years of underinvestment”. Demand […]
The global expedition cruise fleet continues to grow at a brisk pace and at the high end of the market the cruise yachts that some hotel groups are introducing mark further diversification of the cruise industry. The switch to clean fuels poses challenges for both, but these are felt more in the expedition segment. Both […]
German startup has disruptive ambitions for cloud-based 3D ship design platform As a notoriously conservative industry it probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that ship design and construction wasn’t exactly among the pacesetters when it comes to cloud-based collaboration. However, a German startup company is hoping it can seize the advantage where other […]
New digital technologies, supported by developments in connectivity and the ability to transfer data in greater volumes between ship and shore, promise significant gains for ship and fleet performance. However, the deepening of onboard and onshore interconnectedness and the mixing of shipboard IT and operational technology (OT) systems also opens up new avenues for security […]
The GCE Blue Maritime cluster comprises more than 100 Norwegian ship designers, yards and OEMs. Recently, it has set out a new strategy of fully decarbonising, and becoming “the world’s full scale net-zero maritime cluster,” explains Daniel Garden, CEO of GCE Blue Maritime. “Throughout the pandemic, we made up a new strategy called the new […]
As the maritime industry pivots towards greener operations, switching to alternative fuels will be crucial to decarbonising the sector. Although it is not clear which fuels will prevail, methanol is fast emerging as an attractive option for shipowners and operators looking to reduce their carbon footprint – container shipping giants Maersk Line and CMA CGM […]
Danish ferry company Scandlines, which operates two services between Denmark and Germany, converted a ferry to hybrid propulsion in 2013 and has since worked on ways to reduce emissions and to meet its target of becoming emission free by 2040. A ro-pax ferry currently on order at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey will take the […]
Modern wind-assist systems are a major departure from traditional sail systems in that they are not made of canvas and while there may be some systems that can alter their shape, most are made of rigid materials and have automated control systems. Flettner rotors have been the most popular choice of system so far accounting […]
In recognition of the important role that inland shipping can play in helping to reduce freight transport-related greenhouse gas emissions, the Dutch government is making significant investments to accelerate the sector’s decarbonisation and has committed itself to reduce CO2 emissions from the country’s still largely diesel-fuelled fleet by between 40% and 50% in 2030 compared […]
Although the effects of Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) caused by ships on marine life have been a cause of concern for many years it’s a nebulous, multi-faceted problem where evidence may be contentious and remedial action difficult to put into practice. Part of the challenge has been forging relationships between stakeholders from quite disparate fields […]