GL premiers Class Exchange Forum in Dubai

Maritime classification society Germanischer Lloyd conducted its first Exchange Forum dealing with shipping emissions and energy efficiency in Dubai.

Organized by GL Office Dubai, the Forum highlighted the current status of emission control in respect to Sulphur-oxide emissions (SOx), Nitrogen-oxide emissions (NOx) and Carbon-dioxide emissions (CO2). A key issue brought up was the necessity of the IMO to obtain an international agreement on further reduction of ship related emissions. The forum also served as a platform for GL to showcase its operational CO2-index for shipping, which is already available onboard all GL classed ships within the “fleet online” service tool used to check the complete survey status of the fleet. The society has already seen an uptake of its CO2 index, with Costamare Shipping Co and Allseas Marine both announcing that they are to implement the indexing system to their fleets. The index calculates emissions on the basis of installed power, consumed fuel and transported cargo. Computed index values can then be compared to other ships’ indices and eventually be used to minimise emissions from transport. As per carbon emission factors specified by IMO, the CO2-index is calculated for each voyage and later averaged for a yet to be defined period. The GL CO2-index tool can be used to record fuel consumption, transported cargo and distance between two consecutive ports not just for one vessel, but across a fleet. With certified CO2-index values becoming public, the transport industry can actively further minimize emissions. Ships with a low index will transport more cargo and improve their index even further. Other topics touched upon at the forum included ship efficiency and use of alternative fuels.
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Sea Asia 2009 launched

Sea Asia 2009, the region’s leading maritime conference and exhibition, returns to Singapore’s Suntec City Convention Centre from 21-23 April 2009.

Moreover, for the first time it will take place as part of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Maritime Week, it was announced at the official launch.
Theme of Sea Asia 2009, co-organized by the Singapore Maritime Foundation and Seatrade, is ‘The Asian Voice in World Shipping - Clearer and Stronger.’ Chairman of the SMF, SS Teo, is backing the Asian Voice in World Shipping movement. “Top Asian shipowners and leading maritime operators will congregate in Singapore for Sea Asia 2009 (and) will share insights of the maritime issues pertinent to this region to develop the voice of Asian shipping,” said Mr Teo. The Sea Asia 2009 exhibition is expected to boast an expanded show size of 11,000 square metres in gross exhibition space to house more than 350 exhibitors and at least 10 national pavilions including those from Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, and Norway. International brand names like PSA, Keppel, Sembcorp Marine, ABB, Wartsila as well as major classification societies and shipyards from China, Korea, Malaysia and the Middle East already feature among the list of exhibitors.
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MOL names new LNG carrier

Mitsui OSK Lines' President Akimitsu Ashida has held a naming ceremony for a new LNG carrier the ‘Energy Navigator' in Japan.

The ceremony took place at the Kawasaki Shipbuilding Sakaide Shipyard. Mitsunori Torihara, the President of Tokyo Gas announced the name the new vessel. Mitsui and Tokyo LNG Tanker will co-own the 73,640DWT ‘Energy Navigator', with MOL holding a 30 percent share and Tokyo LNG Tanker 70 percent. After its completion at the end of June, the 289.5-by-49-metre vessel will transport LNG from Malaysia, Australia, and Sakhalin to supply Tokyo Gas, Toho Gas, and Shizuoka Gas. The Japanese-flagged vessel has an LNG tank capacity of 147,000 cubic metres, and a top speed of 19.5 knots. MOL's LNG fleet now totals 62 vessels, and will be expanded to about 80 by the end of 2010.

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STX to explore world's largest boxship

Korean shipbuilder STX has recently announced that the company has successfully worked on a container ship with capacity of 22,000TEU, which will be the world largest box ship.

Not only will this break the record held by Maersk's 13,500TEU ship, but the ship also can economize 40 percent bunker costs for each box. The ship is 460 metres long, 60 metres wide and 30 metres high. The deck is as large as four soccer fields. Even with one propeller, the ship can sail with a speed of 24 to 26 knots per hour, which is similar to other mega-sized container ships. STX has not announced further technological details for the ship but the company stated that the ship has been carefully designed to be able to fit in world's major hubs. With a contract of nine 13,000TEU ships from a European buyer, STX believes that mega ships are still a trend in container ship market.
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Trio team up in VLGC venture

Three shipping companies, led by Denmark’s Maersk Tankers, are pooling their fleets of very large gas carriers (VLGCs), a market segment where BW Gas has been by far the most dominant player.

The other partners in the pool, which will control 14 VLGCs by 2011, are integrated tanker company Transpetrol Maritime Services and Zodiac Maritime Agencies, part of the Sammy Ofer empire. Maersk Tankers, the tanker division of the A.P.Moller-Maersk Group, currently operates eight vessels, with a ninth added by 2011. Transpetrol will add two newbuildings during 2009, while Zodiac manages three other newbuildings, which will enter the pool during 2010-11. Maersk Tankers will operate the pool, undertaking all daily commercial and operational tasks, including fixing vessels, voyage execution, post-fixture operations, and demurrage/claims procedures.
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Grand Alliance Introduces Environment-Friendly Service Concept for EU1 Service

The Grand Alliance is pleased to announce the implementation of a ninth vessel (6,200 TEUs) to its Japan-North Europe service (EU1).

The addition completes an environment-friendly program aimed at lowering emissions that has been implemented on the Grand Alliance North Europe-Far East services. By adding additional vessels, these services can operate at eco speeds that will reduce emissions by 20-30 percent. The four GA partner lines have made substantial investments for the additional ships, which have been phased into their Europe-Asia loops. The port coverage of the EU1 service remains unchanged. Higher schedule contingencies have been allocated to compensate for delays in congested ports, which occur as a result of the high volume in global container traffic. This allows the GA to improve schedule reliability without harming the environment. Grand Alliance lines hope that our customers will welcome these measures to significantly reduce emissions and further increase service quality. The Grand Alliance, formed in 1998, is the leading integrated consortium in global container shipping. Its members include Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), MISC Berhad (Malaysia), NYK (Japan), and OOCL (Hong Kong).
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