DNV Maritime CEO: decarbonization is slowing down
According to DNV, 93 percent of the global shipping fleet still relies on conventional fuels. Ørbeck-Nilssen explained that this statistic can be viewed from two perspectives. On one hand, nearly half of the current order book includes vessels equipped with dual-fuel capable engines. This indicates a significant step toward reducing shipping emissions and demonstrates that the industry is making progress.
However, the sector still faces considerable obstacles that are hindering further decarbonization efforts. The fact that 93 percent of the fleet still uses conventional fuels highlights the scale of the challenge. The adoption of alternative fuels is hampered not only by high production costs but also by the need for extensive bunkering infrastructure that must be developed worldwide. Additionally, shipping is not the only industry competing for alternative fuels, which raises concerns about their future availability.
Nuclear-power container shipping
Nuclear-Powered container ships could be moving cargo in and out of Europe by the end of the decade, thanks to the launch of a joint study by leaders in the shipping and nuclear industries.
Danish company Maersk, which moves 12m containers a year, has partnered with Lloyd’s Register and nuclear technology start-up CORE POWER to study the regulatory feasibility of using fourth-generation nuclear reactors to power container ships.
As negative public perception and waste management continue to be a challenge for the nuclear industry, the study will investigate how to improve regulation and safety rules for its use.
Ole Graa Jakobsen, Maersk’s head of fleet technology, said: “Nuclear power holds a number of challenges related to for example safety, waste management, and regulatory acceptance across regions”.
Algerian tanker sails humanitarian mission
Algeria conducted a humanitarian mission to bring badly needed fuel to Lebanon to end a nearly two-week-long blackout by the country’s central power company. It is the first of several efforts in the coming days that are attempting to restore a steady supply of fuel to the impoverished country.
Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune instructed the state-owned oil company Sonatrach to make an emergency delivery of fuel to Lebanon shortly after Electricite du Liban announced it had run out of fuel for its power stations. The company said on August 17 that it had no more fuel supplies having depleted its reserves. The shutdown created a crisis that impacted operations at Beirut Port, the international airport, and key services such as wastewater and drinking water.
EdL has an agreement with Iraq where it normally imports heavy fuel oil but the company then must sell the fuel because it needs low-sulfur fuel or gas oil for its generators. Iraq suspended deliveries to Lebanon accusing it of not having paid for a prior shipment.
Boxship orders surpass last year
The Appetite for new containerships remains high reports BIMCO in its latest market analysis. The trade group highlights that orders after a slight pause in late 2023 are once again roaring in with the volume at its third-highest level since 2008.
Year-to-date contracting already exceeds the 2023 full-year total points out Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO. They calculate the sector has contracted for 10.47 million TEU of new capacity since the start of 2021. Compared to the size of the fleet at the beginning of 2021, BIMCO says the contracted capacity will add 44 percent new capacity to the industry.
The First portion of the wave began arriving in late 2023 and has accelerated into 2024 with the arrival of the newest ultra-large vessels pushing to new capacities. Yesterday, for example, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) celebrated the naming of the company’s twelfth 24,188 TEU newbuilding at a ceremony held at Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. The new vessel, named OOCL Portugal, is the last in the company’s new mega vessel series and was followed with the naming of Maersk’s fourth 18,000 TEU methanol-enabled boxship, Alette Maersk, in a ceremony hosted with Nike at the Port of Los Angeles.
EU says no oil spill (so far) from burning tanker sounion
The Eunavfor operation Aspides issued an update on the burning oil tanker Sounion disputing rumors on social media of oil leaks, but repeated its warning of an “imminent environmental hazard.” There are no reports of any actions to possibly avert the potential disaster while the authorities warned of additional sightings of unmanned and maned small boats in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
After the images released by the Houthi late on Friday of explosions and fires on the tanker, Aspides issued an update on the situation as of Sunday, August 25. They said that when the French frigate conducted the SOLAS operation on Friday there were no visible fires. Presently, they are saying there are “fires on at least 5 locations,” aboard the Sounion.
Two Russian seafarers killed
On Friday, two seafarers lost their lives in a confined-space accident aboard a freighter at the port of Bandirma, Turkey.
The Russian freighter Navis 2 arrived in Bandirma on August 21 with a cargo of five thousand tonnes of animal feed, and on Friday, she moved to a pier in the inner harbor to offload. That day, the local coast guard command center received notice that two men had been poisoned by gas that had accumulated in one of the ship’s cargo holds. A specialized chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear (CBRN) response team was dispatched to the scene to retrieve the two workers’ bodies.
The victims were identified as Dmitrii Mochalov (52) and Konstantine Martynov (46), both Russian nationals. Their remains were taken to the regional morgue for an autopsy, and the public prosecutor’s office has begun an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths.