BREAKING: MV Dali Cited for...

A view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse...

BREAKING: MV Dali Cited for Propulsion Issues Before Baltimore Incident
posted on: Mar 27, 2024

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE LIVE UPDATESRecovery...

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE History of Key Bridge Live updatesPhotos NTSB releases close-up aerial footage of Key Bridge collapse On...

BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE LIVE UPDATESRecovery efforts to begin as 6 are presumed dead
posted on: Mar 27, 2024

Sustainable fuels could cost the...

Sustainable shipping fuels could reach cost parity with fossil fuels as early as 2035 with the help of decisive...

Sustainable fuels could cost the same as fossil fuels by 2035, says Wärtsilä report
posted on: Mar 27, 2024

India Brings Back 35 Somali...

By Krishn Kaushik NEW DELHI, March 23 (Reuters) – The Indian navy handed over 35 Somali pirates to the police in Mumbai on...

India Brings Back 35 Somali Pirates As Part Of Operations Near Red Sea
posted on: Mar 27, 2024
As Australia Rebuilds its Merchant Fleet, Industry Groups Want More Input

As Australia Rebuilds its Merchant Fleet, Industry Groups Want More Input...

posted on: Mar 27, 2024

Australia is currently in the initial stages of procuring a strategic merchant shipping fleet, which will include up to 12 Australian-flagged and crewed vessels. Last week, three Australian industry groups issued a joint letter asking transport minister Catherine King for more transparency and collaboration as the plan unfolds. The industry coalitions – Shipping Australia, the International Forwarders & Customs Brokers Association of Australia (IFCBAA), and the Australian Meat Industry Council – have complained that the existing process is not transparent. The coalition noted there was no open, public, application process to apply to be a member of the Strategic Fleet Task Force, with the composition of the Task Force fully determined by the government. Further, the coalition said that there has been little-to-no meaningful consultation with the broader industry on how the strategic fleet policy will be implemented, or how it will work in practice. Last year, the transport...

 How OSV shortages are driving digitalization

 How OSV shortages are driving digitalization...

posted on: Mar 27, 2024

By Damien Bertin, Business Director, Opsealog Amid the escalating demand, the industry faces offshore support vessel (OSV) shortages, many of which were scrapped or withdrawn from the market during the pandemic. The resurgence of the offshore market has seen an increase in the utilization of digital solutions for the reassessment of fleet composition and upgrades. A myriad of factors is driving the OSV sector towards heightened fuel and operational efficiency. Notably, major oil-producing nations in the Middle East and other regions are planning to significantly increase production, resulting in a surge in demand for OSVs. This scarcity has led to substantial hikes in day rates, compounded by elevated fuel prices, posing challenges and opportunities for both shipowners and charterers, with far-reaching implications. The domino effect extends to various assets, including drilling rigs, subsea construction boats, and OSVs. Balancing fuel efficiency and fleet utilization Following several years of low costs, charterers are experiencing...

Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum issues guidelines for vehicle loading

Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum issues guidelines for vehicle loading...

posted on: Mar 27, 2024

The Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum (VCSF) publishes its first industry good practice guidelines entitled ‘Common Guidance on the loading and presentation of vehicles’. The guidance, and supporting checklist, are intended to reduce the risks associated with the shipment of unaccompanied vehicles, including electric and hybrid vehicles, and to promote the safety of terminal and vessel personnel and the protection of property including the vessel itself. The Vehicle Carrier Safety Forum is a consortium of vessel operators, insurers and other industry experts, whose role is promote safety on vessels designed to carry vehicles. The guidance is supported by industry bodies The International Group of P&I Clubs, The International Chamber of Shipping and the TT Club. The guidelines and checklist define the information that should be provided and the checks to be carried out at: the time of the booking, when the vehicles arrive at the terminal, during loading and stowing, and...

The science of happiness: Exploring the 4 key brain chemicals

The science of happiness: Exploring the 4 key brain chemicals...

posted on: Mar 27, 2024

Happiness is often an emotional state marked by emotions of pleasure, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfilment. Ever wonder what triggers feelings of happiness, closeness, and joy? It’s the magic of brain chemicals!  The foundation of the positive emotions you experience daily rests upon four core chemicals: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, collectively known as D.O.S.E. By gaining a basic understanding of how these chemicals function, we can make better-informed decisions about whether the latest trends will enhance or detract from our happiness. According to a study, at least 1 in 3 people in the world who were surveyed in 2020 were unhappy. That’s a huge portion of the population. People with clinical depression have increased levels of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A). This is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters. What are happy chemicals? Dopamine: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced by the hypothalamus, a small region of the brain that helps you...

Six presumed dead after crippled Singapore-flagged cargo ship knocks down Baltimore bridge

Six presumed dead after crippled Singapore-flagged cargo ship knocks down Baltimore bridge...

posted on: Mar 27, 2024

Six presumed dead after crippled Singapore-flagged cargo ship knocks down Baltimore bridge Officials have announced an investigation into the incident of the Singapore-flagged vessel, in the country’s worst bridge collapse in decades. The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on top of the container ship Dali in Baltimore harbour. (Photo: AFP/Jim WATSON) 27 Mar 2024 Channel News Asia CNA BALTIMORE: Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday (Mar 26) when a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing closure of one of the busiest ports on the US Eastern Seaboard. US Coast Guard and Maryland state police officials said that based on the frigid temperature of the water and the length of time that had elapsed since the bridge came down there was little if any chance that the six missing could...

How a cargo ship took down Baltimore’s Key Bridge

How a cargo ship took down Baltimore’s Key Bridge...

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

How a cargo ship took down Baltimore’s Key Bridge By Michael Laris,  Jennifer Hassan and Joel Achenbach A partially collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after a container ship struck a support column on Tuesday in Baltimore. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Washington Post March 26, 2024 To bridge experts, the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after being hit by a heavy cargo ship was as inevitable as it was devastating. When a vessel as heavy as the Singapore-flagged Dali collides with such force against one of the span’s supercolumns, or piers, the result is the type of catastrophic, and heartbreaking, chain reaction that took place early Tuesday. “If the column is destroyed, basically the structure will fall down,” said Dan Frangopol, a bridge engineering and risk professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who is president of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety. “It’s not possible to redistribute the loads. It was...

Houthis Threaten Saudi Arabia Over U.S. Military Actions

Houthis Threaten Saudi Arabia Over U.S. Military Actions...

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

By Mohammed Hatem (Bloomberg) The Yemen-based Houthi militants renewed their threats against Saudi Arabia, warning it not to support US strikes against the group. “We have sent a message to Saudi Arabia that it will be a target if it allows American fighter jets to use its territory or airspace in their aggression on Yemen,” Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, said in an interview with Al-Masirah TV. US and UK forces have been striking Houthi military facilities since the start of this year to stem the group’s assault on ships in the Red Sea, a vital waterway for global commerce. Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen, hasn’t joined those air assaults or a US-led naval operation meant to provide commercial ships safe passage through the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The kingdom is trying to reach a peace agreement with the Houthis to end Yemen’s civil war,...

UN Secretary-General Dismisses Gaza Pier Plan

UN Secretary-General Dismisses Gaza Pier Plan

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

By Nafisa Eltahir (Reuters) – The only effective and efficient way to deliver heavy goods to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs is by road and includes an exponential increase in commercial deliveries, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.  Speaking after meeting Egypt’s president and foreign minister in Cairo, Guterres also warned of the impact the war in Gaza was having around the globe. “The daily assault on the human dignity of Palestinians is creating a crisis of credibility for the international community,” he said. Guterres is visiting Egypt and Jordan as part of an annual Ramadan solidarity tour to Muslim countries and traveled on Saturday to Egypt’s border with Gaza, where he called the backlog of aid destined for the Palestinian territory a moral outrage. While more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas have shattered Gaza, donations of aid have piled up in Egypt’s northern Sinai, with limited amounts sent in through Egypt’s Rafah...

‘Green’ marine fuels could cost less than oil bunkers from 2035: Wartsila

‘Green’ marine fuels could cost less than oil bunkers from 2035: Wartsila...

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

Sustainable marine fuels could become cheaper than conventional, oil-based bunkers from 2035 when greenhouse gas emissions regulations like carbon pricing mechanisms are taken into account, Finnish technology firm Wartsila said March 21. The EU has extended its Emissions Trading System to include maritime transportation from this year, with 40% coverage of emissions from shipping companies in voyages involving the bloc this year, before the ratio rises to 70% in 2025 and 100% from 2026. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed the EUA contract for December delivery at Eur60.62/mtCO2e ($66.14/mtCO2e) on March 20, not far from a 31-month low of Eur52.36/mtCo2e seen on Feb. 23. But many market participants expect EUA prices to set a long-term upward trajectory, with the EU in need of tightening its supply to meet its climate neutrality goal by 2050. Brussels has also planned to usher in FuelEU Maritime on the GHG...

Scrutiny of Scrubber Discharge Practice Intensified

Scrutiny of Scrubber Discharge Practice Intensified...

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “in light of Denmark’s contemplation of a ban on scrubber washwater discharge, an assessment of the global stance on exhaust gas cleaning systems is paramount for stakeholders in the shipping industry. Scrubbers, introduced to align with IMO’s sulfur emissions regulations, have been instrumental in allowing ships to continue using HSFO by cleaning exhaust before it is released into the atmosphere. However, the washwater discharged, particularly from open-loop and hybrid systems, raises environmental concerns due to its content of harmful substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, associated with significant risks to marine life”. According to Intermodal’s Research Analyst, Ms. Chara Georgousi, “the global scrutiny over scrubber discharge has intensified, with various jurisdictions imposing outright bans or stringent restrictions. Our latest data shows 93 measures are in force across 45 countries, predominantly prohibiting open-loop scrubber discharge. The response from national...

ETS: ‘Quite a year’ for ship owners

ETS: ‘Quite a year’ for ship owners

posted on: Mar 26, 2024

It has been “quite a year” for ship owners preparing for the EU Emission Trading System, according to Steve Laybourn, chartering manager at Ardmore Shipping. Describing the preparation as a “bit of a rollercoaster ride”, Laybourn urged laggards to move quickly and put in place proactive measures. “We’ve had to negotiate everything from our internal roles, responsibilities, workflows, and dealing with our technical managers. We’ve had to set up a trading account with our EU Administering Authority. We’ve gone through KYC and onboarding with our carbon trading partners, and we’ve gone through our commercial terms with our customers as well to allow for carbon pricing. And finally, after all of that, we’ve actually started trading EU Allowances (EUAs) as well.” Laybourn was speaking at the Baltic Exchange’s annual Tanker & Gas Market Insights Forum, held as part of International Energy Week in late February. The next issue, said Laybourn,...

Negotiation thru third party in progress

Negotiation thru third party in progress

posted on: Mar 25, 2024

Negotiation through a third party was going on over the release of the hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah and its 23 crew members until Sunday, four days after the pirates communicated through the third party. ‘We have regular communications with the pirates through a third party, but no remarkable progress has been made yet that can be shared with the media. The ransom amount has also not been fixed yet,’ said Mizanul Islam, spokesperson of SR Shipping, the owing company of the hijacked ship. ‘The process takes time, and it might not be possible before Eid-ul-Fitr. We are also in touch with the hostages regularly to get updates about their health and security,’ he added. He said that from the beginning of the crisis, the owner group had prioritised the safety and security of the hostages. ‘In this regard, we maintained regular communication with the families,’ Mizan said, adding...

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