Ship News

World’s first autonomous spill response vessel demonstrated

Posted on by News Hound
Spill Response Vessel
Spill Response Vessel

A US maritime robotics specialist company has held a successful on-water demonstration of what it claims is the first unmanned and autonomous oil spill response vessel.

As a part of its cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics has announced that it has successfully demonstrated its autonomous systems in action on board a Kvichak Marco skimmer boat during events held along the Portland harbour.

The on-water demonstrations took place aboard the world’s first autonomous spill response vessel Continue reading “World’s first autonomous spill response vessel demonstrated”

IMO sulphur cap: Joint industry guidance for the supply and use of 0.50% sulphur fuel published

Posted on by News Hound
Joint industry guidance issued regulation ahead of IMO Sulphur Cap implementation. Photo credit: IMO
Joint industry guidance issued regulation ahead of IMO Sulphur Cap implementation. Photo credit: IMO

Disruptive change facing the shipping industry is fast approaching in the form of the IMO Sulphur Cap regulation, which comes into force from 1 January 2020. Although the picture is still far from clear, those in the know expect a number of vessels and operators to be non-compliant come January. Where this leaves things and how authorities will react, only time will tell.

To aid those operating in the sector who ‘need to know’, a number of shipping, refining, fuel supply and standards organisations have collaborated in order to produce Joint Industry Guidance on the supply and use of 0.50% sulphur marine fuel, which was released on 20 August 2019.

Continue reading “IMO sulphur cap: Joint industry guidance for the supply and use of 0.50% sulphur fuel published”

Clean Maritime Plan: Diesel’s days could be numbered for UK domestic vessels and inland waterways

Posted on by News Hound
Clean Maritime Plan
Clean Maritime Plan

The diesel engine could be on the way out if the Government carries its recently launched Clean Maritime Plan through to its conclusion.

Part of the Clean Air Strategy, which aims to cut air pollution across all sectors to make the UK “net zero” on greenhouse gases by 2050, the Plan sets out how the Government hopes to achieve ‘zero emissions shipping’. But despite this wording, it doesn’t just affect seagoing craft. The plan also covers inland shipping and recreational boats, and a Call for Evidence has been issued specifically for “domestic vessels and inland waterways”.

This states clearly that “the expectation that the maritime sector will transition away from fossil fuels extends to all parts of the sector, including those vessels on inland waterways”. And a Government announcement accompanying the launch Continue reading “Clean Maritime Plan: Diesel’s days could be numbered for UK domestic vessels and inland waterways”

USCG says MARPOL deficiencies found on bilge alarm systems

Posted on by News Hound
USCG makes recommendations after discovery
USCG makes recommendations after discovery

During an inspection by the Marine Safety Detachment Port Canaveral Port State Control Officers, there were MARPOL deficiencies identified related to the 15-ppm Bilge Alarm system of the Oily Water Separators (OWS) onboard four separate ships.

Specifically, the PSCOs discovered that the entries in the Oil Record Book (ORB) weren’t compliant to the Bilge Alarm Data being displayed by the bilge alarm, also known as oil content meter.

Concerning the Bilge Alarm Data, it is required to record:
– date
– time
– alarm status
– the operating status of the 15-ppm Bilge Separator.

Moreover, the device is required to store the data for minimum of eight months, so that data is displayed or printed in a protocol for official system inspections as Continue reading “USCG says MARPOL deficiencies found on bilge alarm systems”

Hapag-Lloyd set to impose $15,000 penalty for mis-declaration of hazardous cargoes

Posted on by News Hound
Hapag-Lloyd
Hapag-Lloyd

Following the Yantian Express fire incident that Hapag-Lloyd experienced in early 2019, the company has published a statement to say that they will implement a penalty of USD 15,000.00 per container with effect from 15 September 2019.

Specifically, the company highlights that failure to properly declare hazardous cargoes prior to shipment is a violation of the Hazardous Material Regulations. Such violations may be subject to monetary fines and/or criminal prosecution under applicable law.

Hapag-Lloyd has also noted that to ensure the safety of our crew, ships and Continue reading “Hapag-Lloyd set to impose $15,000 penalty for mis-declaration of hazardous cargoes”

West of England P&I Club says More can be done to prevent engine room fires

Posted on by News Hound
Photo credit: West of England P&I Club
Photo credit: West of England P&I Club

West of England P&I Club says that it is well known that fires on ships require a lot of effort to address. And they risk all those on board, presenting extreme danger to the vessel. Engine room fires are especially challenging to put out because of the potential confined nature of the scene and an abundance of fire triangle elements; namely heat, fuel and air.

Now, condition surveys conducted by the West of England P&I Club repeatedly present worrying examples of substandard fire safety in engine rooms which can easily be avoided by taking some simple steps.

The main sources of ignition in the engine room include hot exhaust manifolds of engines, boilers and indicator valves of the engines. When flammable Continue reading “West of England P&I Club says More can be done to prevent engine room fires”

AMSA set to consult with accredited marine surveyors and others over standards for domestic commercial vessels

Posted on by News Hound
AMSA is reviewing its approach to setting standards
AMSA is reviewing its approach to setting standards

To ensure standards are fit for purpose for the domestic industry, the Australian Maritime Authority (AMSA) is reviewing its approach to setting standards. For this reason, in August 2019, AMSA will be consulting with individual stakeholders, focusing on those who have regular, direct interaction with the technical standards.

AMSA is responsible for developing and maintaining the National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV), which is the contemporary technical standard for domestic commercial vessels.

To make sure that the standards remain fit for purpose for the Continue reading “AMSA set to consult with accredited marine surveyors and others over standards for domestic commercial vessels”

Shipwreck of 500-Year-Old Vessel Discovered in Baltic Sea Looks ‘Like it Sank Yesterday’

Posted on by News Hound
Credit: Deep Sea Productions/MMT
Credit: Deep Sea Productions/MMT

An international team of scientists has announced the discovery of a shipwreck. The 500-year-old ship remains pristinely intact in the cold, dark depths of the Baltic Sea.

Scientists say the shipwreck is perhaps the best preserved shipwreck of its period yet to be discovered.

It was first detected in 2009 by the Swedish Maritime Administration using state-of-the-art sonar. For years it went unexplored until earlier this year when, as part of work carried out by survey specialists MMT, the wreck was identified as having great archaeological and historical significance.

Further inspection of the wreck was led by Dr. Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, Continue reading “Shipwreck of 500-Year-Old Vessel Discovered in Baltic Sea Looks ‘Like it Sank Yesterday’”

BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision

Posted on by News Hound
BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision
BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision

Germany’s Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) has drawn operators’ attention in a recent collision incident involving a container ship and a fishing vessel on the river Elbe off Stadersand earlier in 2019.

The German schooner ‘No. 5 Elbe’, built in the 19th century, collided with the Cyprus-flagged 141-meter-long container ship ‘Astrosprinter’ about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Hamburg on 8 June 2019.

A total of 28 passengers and 15 crew were onboard the schooner at the time of the incident.

The vessel managed to reach the Schwinge estuary without assistance, Continue reading “BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision”

Hapag-Lloyd tests ship-painting robots

Posted on by News Hound

Traditional manual work is increasingly being replaced by automated processes, such as self-driving Automated Guided Vehicles in container terminals. Thanks to robots, the quality of ship painting can also be improved and the docking time shortened. Hapag-Lloyd is currently testing the process with nine ships.

Keeping barnacles, mussels and algae off the hull – the subject of fouling is as old as shipping itself. Fouling dramatically increases drag, which results in high fuel consumption and makes it harder to achieve climate targets. So, it’s a question that repeatedly arises: How can fouling be efficiently and reliably prevented over a period of five years, when a vessel will have to go into a shipyard anyways for its regular classification survey? Continue reading “Hapag-Lloyd tests ship-painting robots”

Mis-declared dangerous cargo cause of KMTC Hong Kong fire

Posted on by News Hound
Photo credit: Reuters

Port Authority Director of Thailand, Kamolsak Phromprayoon, has reported that the fire onboard the ‘KMTC Hong Kong’ containership was due to mis-declared chemical cargoes of calcium hypochlorite and chlorinated paraffin wax.

More than 130 people were transferred to hospital after an explosion and fire onboard the South Korean container ship ‘KMTC Hong Kong’ while berthed in Thailand’s eastern Laem Chabang port.

The port Authority inspected 35 containers at the centre of the blaze and more than half of them contained chemical products.

Continue reading “Mis-declared dangerous cargo cause of KMTC Hong Kong fire”

The long awaited report into the loss of Stellar Daisy is published by the Marshall Islands

Posted on by News Hound

The Maritime Administrator of the Republic of the Marshall Islands has released its long-awaited report for publication on the investigation into the 2017 loss of the Stellar Daisy in the South Atlantic.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Stellar Daisy, a 266,141 DWT very large ore carrier, sank on March 31, 2017, approximately 1,700 nautical miles from Uruguay while underway from Brazil to China with a cargo of iron ore for Vale. Of the 24 crewmembers on board, only two were rescued. The other 22 are missing and presumed deceased.

The wreck of the vessel was only located last February in 3,461 meters of water.

The investigation determined that the likely direct cause of the foundering was a rapid list to port following a catastrophic structural Continue reading “The long awaited report into the loss of Stellar Daisy is published by the Marshall Islands”

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